Los Angeles Galaxy: David Beckham, Star Power Put Philippine Azkals to Sleep 6-1

First off, I am proud to consider myself Filipino, albeit Filipino-American. My parents and older sister were born there, and I do have a soft side for the Azkals, the Philippines National Team and support their endeavors in helping improve the quality of play in that region.

That being said, I have to wonder how the Philippines will take the  euthanization their Azkals took at the hands of Major League Soccer's glamour club, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy, 6-1, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in the capital city of Manila.

Will they take it along the lines of "Well, it was bound to happen. At least we tried"? Or will it be along the lines of "This is an unacceptable result because we did not make the scoreline respectable?"

If the Philippines is to foster its love for the world game, they must take this news along the lines of the latter. Aside from Phil Younghusband's heroics in the 41st minute—more on him later—and the first 20 minutes of the contest, the Azkals were thoroughly outclassed by firepower of the Galaxy.

David Beckham opened the scoring in the 20th minute with his trademark curler that hit the top right corner. Mike Magee made it 2-0 in the 38th minute with a shot reaching top left shelf.

It was the second half that really told the story for both sides, as Los Angeles reeled off four unanswered goals. Robbie Keane continued his hot scoring form in the 48th minute, Adam Cristman recorded a brace in the 63rd and 87th minutes of play and Gregg Berhalter converted a penalty in the 81st minute.

One fan in attendance held up a sign suggesting that the Azkals were ready to face Manchester United. If he was referring to the Manchester United Youth Academy side, the fan may have a case. Unfortunately, with this performance, not even the Red Devil kids will be given a dream match of their own against the Philippines because it's not in the first team's best interests.

Excuse me, I meant Sir Alex Ferguson's best interests. But you get my point.

Back to Phil Younghusband. For a player from a footballing minnow like the Philippines to score on the Los Angeles Galaxy, one would believe that he would have a decent shot at trying out for a side in MLS. He's only 24 years old, and Major League Soccer might be a possibility.

Now Los Angeles has a very strong and vibrant Filipino community, and the Galaxy signing Younghusband to a deal that will see him add depth at the forward position might not be such a bad idea. whether or not that will be even considered is up to the shotcallers at the Galaxy front office to decide.

At the same time, it is clear that the salary is much better than that of his current club, Loyola Agila, which competes in the United Football League. Just food for thought.

As for the Galaxy, this was a breath of fresh air. The first 20 minutes were chaotic, and the Azkals had a number of chances to secure a dream start over LA. But the Galaxy have shown that they able to adjust, and in spite of giving up possessions, Los Angeles generated plenty of space and their sequences made it pesos well spent for the fans in attendance.

One of those fans happened to be boxer/congressman Manny Pacquiao, who is close to signing off on a fight with a certain Floyd Mayweather Jr. next year. After Beckham was subbed out in the 75th minute, he gave his shirt to Pacquiao as a gesture of goodwill to the raptures of the fans.

As a caution, it would be smart for the casual fan to not read too much into this scoreline.

Up next for the Los Angeles Galaxy is a trip to Australia, a place that they have yet to win a game in. The good news is that they are taking on an opponent that hasn't been performing to expectations this season.

Billed as a match between Beckham and Harry Kewell, the G's take on struggling Melbourne Victory in the final leg of the Asia Pacific Tour 2011. If there was ever a time get a large gorilla off their backs, the time would be now.

Kickoff between the Galaxy and Victory is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 12:30 a.m. PT/3:30 a.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.