After Beckham’s recent return to training with the Galaxy again, LA Times decided to give him some ink.  Here is the Q and A:

Question: With everything that has happened to you in 2007, both good and bad, this has to have been one of the strangest of years in your career?

Answer: It definitely has been. On the living side, it’s been perfect, it’s all been great. But I don’t think I’ve ever had so many injuries in such a short space of time. It has been tough because I hate being injured and I hate not being able to play football. It’s come at the worst time.

Q: How are the knee and ankle and how soon will you be able to get on the field again? Would you play even if the Galaxy cannot qualify for the playoffs?

A: The knee’s coming along really nice. It’s been five weeks now. The doctor told me eight to 10 weeks, but I was determined to be back before eight weeks. So hopefully it will be six or seven weeks. I think I’ll play before the end of the season. Even if we lose a game and are not able to make the playoffs, I’ll still try to get one or two games in. I need to get back to playing.

Q: Given that the Galaxy is pretty much built around yourself and Landon Donovan, what changes would you like to see made for next season?

A: I think what we need to do is just strengthen the squad. We have got a good squad of players. It’s not helped that we’ve had so many games in such a short space of time and the injuries haven’t helped. I don’t think it needs a major turnaround. I just think that it needs a few more players brought in.

Q: Would you like to see Frank Yallop stay on as coach?

A: I’d like to see him stay on. I think he’s a coach with a lot of experience in U.S. soccer. He’s been successful. The players respect him. That’s an important thing to have. It’s been difficult for him this year. We haven’t got the results that we should have and that we’ve needed. The last three or four games have shown the character of the players and the character of the team, and that comes from the manager. That comes from what he says before games, at halftime and after games.

Personally, I like Frank as a manager. I get on well with him, not just on the field but off the field as well. When I first arrived, he and his wife took me and my wife to dinner and made sure the kids were all settled and things like that. Off the field it’s been great, and on the field I have a good relationship with him.

Q: Cobi Jones was one of the few Galaxy players you had heard of before arriving in Los Angeles. Now that you’ve seen him play, even in the twilight of his career, what are your impressions of him?

A: To have shown the commitment he has for so many years I think is incredible. It’s great to have that loyalty at this time in soccer. As a player, he might be 34 years old [37, in fact], but he can change a game. Players respect him. I’d love to see him stay for another year. I’d like to play a season with Cobi before he finishes. Whether he will or not, I don’t know.

Q: Which players do you enjoy watching?

A: You always enjoy watching good footballers. I know that sounds a bit basic, but it’s the truth. I think [FC Barcelona’s Lionel] Messi is a player everyone’s interested in at the moment simply because he does things on the pitch, he’s small, he’s only young, but he’s a player who reminds you so much of [Diego] Maradona. I think that’s why it’s so great to watch him at the moment. He’s so exciting.

Q: You have mentioned wanting to play in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. That presents quite a challenge in staying at that level for another three years.

A: It’s a huge challenge, but I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t believe that I could do it. I believe I can play for my country up until the World Cup and I’d love to do that. If it’s possible, then great. If it’s not possible, then I will look back on my career for my country as a successful one.

It might be me being stubborn, but I believe I can play in that World Cup. Whether I’m given a chance to or not, who knows? But I’ve got the belief.

Q: You have visited South Africa and met Nelson Mandela. What was that experience like?

A: I remember him just sat [sitting] there holding my hand and talking to me. Just meeting him was pretty incredible because he’s such a powerful man who gives so much to so many people. For him to be actually talking to me, let alone interacting with me in the way that he was, for me it was one of the highlights of my life. There’s many people that I’ve always said that I’d love to meet and have met. I’ve always wanted to meet the Queen. I’ve met the Queen. Prime Ministers. Many, many people in the sporting side. And then to meet someone like Nelson Mandela, with so much history behind him, was one of the most incredible moments of my life.

Q: You once talked about maybe being an artist if you hadn’t been a soccer player. Do you dabble in art now?

A: It’s one of the things that I’ve always loved doing. Brooklyn, my eldest, is the same way. He loves art. He loves drawing. He’ll sit there and ask me to draw cartoons and things like that.

It’s one thing I’ve always loved doing. I’ll sit there and I’ll copy Mickey Mouse and things like that for the kids and they’ll stick them up on the wall.

Q: You could probably make a lot of money out of that. A David Beckham-signed original Mickey Mouse painting would probably fetch millions.

A: That’s true. Maybe I should do that while I’m not playing.

Source: LA Times