As Landon Donovan was leaving a small group of reporters at the edge of the practice field Thursday, exiting stage left, he caught a glimpse of David Beckham, who had emerged after working out in the gym, ready to take his place. “Hey, thanks for showing up, pal,” Donovan said, joking, as both men laughed. In another time, having Beckham arrive in the middle of the season would have created a sensation — and not necessarily a comfortable one for the Los Angeles Galaxy. But as Beckham prepares to return to the Galaxy after being sidelined for six months with a ruptured left Achilles’ tendon, he is doing so relatively quietly, without the trappings of a pop culture icon. Instead of landing with a splash, he is barely creating a ripple. “It’s a great thing,” said Beckham, 35, who was activated Thursday and could play as a substitute Saturday night in a Major League Soccer game against Columbus. “No one likes drama.” He said this with a smile, but it might as well have been with a wink. When Beckham arrived in 2007, he was greeted by an army of paparazzi at the airport, made the cover of Sports Illustrated and was introduced to several hundred members of the news media in an elaborate production that was broadcast live in parts of Europe. When Beckham reluctantly rejoined the team last summer after being lent to A.C. Milan, it was with icy stares toward Donovan and taunting Galaxy fans. In the book “The Beckham Experiment,” which chronicled his first two seasons in Los Angeles, Beckham had been severely criticized for his commitment and his handlers’ meddling. On Thursday, along with the good-natured needling from Donovan, Beckham was greeted by nine television cameras and about twice as many reporters. A British morning program was the only entertainment news media representative, and The Sun, an English tabloid, was the only foreign print outlet. The only accompanying controversy — England Coach Fabio Capello’s saying last month that Beckham was too old to play for England again — had been tamped down when Capello said last week that the door would be open for Beckham. Also gone is Beckham’s great lure at the box office. Average attendance at Galaxy games, which includes tickets distributed, dropped by nearly 6,000 at home and 10,000 on the road last season. Home attendance has fallen off slightly more this season at 20,298, the lowest since the Home Depot Center opened in 2003. It is not expected to get more than a nudge from Beckham’s return. “I don’t think it’s going to be massive,” the Galaxy’s president, Tom Payne, said of any boost from Beckham’s return. “Let’s say we introduce that he’s going to be starting. That doesn’t mean we’re going to move 5,000 tickets in a day.” Beckham is in the fourth year of a five-year, $32.5 million contract, one that gives him the option to buy a stake in a Major League Soccer team. Early on, he was a boon to ticket sales (home and away), to sponsorship and to building the Galaxy brand in Asia and Europe. The appearance fees the club earned on tours of Asia, Australia and Canada were what it pays out to teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid, Payne said, about $1 million. “From an international standpoint, we’re thought of as the team in M.L.S.,” Payne said. “That said, we need to hit a home run at home.” That the Galaxy has, in some ways, swung and missed at its opportunity with Beckham can be traced to how the player himself has been managed. Beckham’s interest in continuing to play for England meant shuttling to Europe during the M.L.S. season and spending the last two winters on loan to A.C. Milan. For a player in his mid-30s, the year-round workload proved too much, particularly when no one — not Beckham, his coaches, his management or team executives — demanded that he take some time off to rest. When his Achilles’ tendon snapped while he played for A.C. Milan, it was only the latest in a series of injuries over the last three years. Those missteps have the Galaxy handling Beckham’s return cautiously. He was not eligible to come off the disabled list until Sept. 4, and the initial target date for his return was Oct. 2. Though he could be on the bench Saturday against Columbus, the Eastern Conference leader, Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena said it was more likely Beckham would get on the field next Saturday against D.C. United, the league’s worst team. The Galaxy hosts the Red Bulls on Sept. 24. “I’m accepting responsibility with our medical staff for making sure he’s not coming back too early,” Arena said. “If there’s a finger to point, it’s going to be at everyone but David. We’re going to make sure we’re moving him along in the right way.” Beckham’s return is coming at a propitious time. Los Angeles (13-5-5) began the season 10-0-2, but it has foundered, winning only one of its last six matches and scoring two goals in its last four. Donovan acknowledged that he was drained — emotionally and physically — from playing in the World Cup. Forward Edson Buddle, who played sparingly for the United States in South Africa, is leading M.L.S. with 13 goals but has scored once since July 22. Beckham’s precise passing, as well as his presence, could provide sparks. “I think we’ve hit a little complacent patch,” Donovan said. “It’s going to give us some energy that we’ve been missing.” As for Beckham himself, simply restoring his fitness is his top priority. The tendon injury forced him to sit out for six months, including a stint at the World Cup in South Africa, where instead of being on the field he was on the England bench in a coat and tie as an adviser and goodwill ambassador. The forced time off gave Beckham, not usually a reflective sort, a chance to reconsider what the game means to him. He is not ready to give up playing, he said, even if it means not playing in Europe in the M.L.S. off-season and resting instead. “The most important thing is the soccer,” he said. It is a phrase that Beckham has uttered repeatedly since he arrived in Los Angeles amid a rain of confetti. But on this day, the words did not seem to ring so hollow. Source: Nytimes