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Becks buries the hatchet with Donovan

DAVID Beckham returned to training with the Los Angeles Galaxy on Monday and said his conflict with teammate Landon Donovan was water under the bridge.

Donovan criticized Beckham in excerpts of a soon-to-be released book "The Beckham Experiment" saying he was a bad teammate and an unsuitable captain.

The former England skipper upset many in LA with his decision to extend his loan spell with Italian club AC Milan and miss the first half of the Major League Soccer season.

Beckham hit back by calling Donovan "unprofessional" for airing his feelings in the media.

But speaking to reporters on Monday, Beckham said he had met with Donovan and club coach Bruce Arena to clear up matters.

"It's over. I'm not going to talk about what was said. That's between me, Landon and the manager. But it's finished. It's over. So we move on," said the midfielder who should return to US action in tomorrow's game away to the New York Red Bulls.

Donovan regained the captain's armband after the Englishman's move to Italy and will retain the post - something Beckham said he had no problem with.

"Landon's a good captain. He's a captain that leads by example. He's not a captain like myself that goes shouting at people. Every captain is different. Landon leads by example," he said.

But Beckham, 34, was still clearly upset by the questions raised about his own stint as captain.

"At the end of the day, that's something to ask all the players. I've always felt as captain I've made myself available for players and been there for the team. I've been captain for England for over 50 caps, and I've gotten on really well with the players," he said.

Donovan said that he also wanted to put the discussions to bed and that he had regrets about the spat. "We're getting past it, we're moving on. There are a lot of things I regret. I regret the way that I went about this process and I also regret some of the things I said."

After the game in New York, Beckham's first home appearance for the Galaxy will be Sunday's friendly against, of all teams, AC Milan.





 

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