This is the Galaxy, not Real Madrid, says soccer chief as Beckham ticket sales slow

Hong Kong's soccer association chief put on a brave face yesterday as 80 per cent of the 35,000 tickets for tomorrow's exhibition match between David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy and a South China invitation side remained unsold.

"For this event, [attendance of] more than 20,000 would be very good. This is the Galaxy, not Real Madrid," said Football Association chairman Brian Leung Hung-tak.

"It is more than I expected. We had to organise this in a very short period of time."

The association only confirmed the match at Hong Kong Stadium in So Kon Po 12 days before kickoff.

The association sold 1,080 tickets yesterday and 6,000 on Thursday, leaving almost 28,000 still to be sold.

Mr Leung said a private promoter had paid Major League Soccer side Galaxy to come to Hong Kong, not the association. He would not say how much the Los Angeles club had been paid.

A team of Galaxy players held a soccer clinic for 80 young local players at King's Park in Ho Man Tin yesterday.

Rather than demonstrating his renowned free-kick and passing skills, midfielder Beckham, a former England captain, played goalkeeper in four 10-minute matches.

Although the superstar did not perform very well - he let the opposition teams score five goals - his young fans were impressed by his friendliness.

The 32-year-old father of three sons was all smiles during the session and encouraged the young footballers to "keep practising and keep enjoying the game".

David Ho Chun-long, 13, one of those who scored past Beckham, said he was happy to have beaten the stand-in keeper, and said he had got the player's autograph.

"He said `good job' to me after the match," the young David said. "I feel like I'm dreaming.

"People in the United Kingdom, Spain and everywhere in the world know him, but he is here today and plays football with me. He's nice and approachable, although he's a world-class player."

Anson Chan Tse-hung, 10, who has been a Beckham fan since he was three years old, said the Galaxy player was cute.

"It's because he is playful while playing with us, and at the same time he is serious about football," he said. "His football skill is great."

But he was a bit disappointed that his idol did not show his outstanding free-kick skills.

SCMP. Mar 8, 2008.