Ever since his $32.5 million move from Real Madrid was completed, fans have waited with baited breath for the 32-year-old to take the field. However Beckham has had injury issues. He suffered an ankle strain against Estonia when he played for England in the Euro 2008 qualifier in June and that injury has hampered his ability to play the full 90 minutes.

In fact Becks as he is fondly called played in only two games this season. One was an inconsequential friendly against Chelsea, while the other was a 1-0 loss to DC United last Tuesday. But Beckham played for only 13 minutes against Chelsea and 21 minutes against DC United.

Fans have been following his progress or the lack of it over the last three weeks. Hysterical media coverage has only added to the allure of Beckham. But the former England captain did not endear himself to the fans with his comments on the artificial playing surfaces.

Coming from England where the grass is greener than a grasshopper, his comment was a fair one. But try telling that to hyperventilated fans. And fans began to get impatient when Galaxy suffered a lean trot losing to Toronto as well as DC United.

But Beckham lived up to all hype yesterday in the SuperLiga semifinals. He came on the field as a captain and led his team to a great win. More importantly he showed why he was worth waiting for.

It was in the 27th minute that Beckham finally found the back of the net. His trademark free kick found the top left corner of the goal leaving DC United goalkeeper Troy Perkins openmouthed in admiration. The goal set off a mad celebration in the stands as Galaxy fans and those of the opposition as well finally realized why Beckham is one of the leading soccer players in the world.

But Beckham was not done with the game. Just after the interval, the ace midfielder put through U.S. international Landon Donovan who saw off the attention of two defenders to slot home Galaxy's second goal. In the 58th minute Beckham again took a free kick, but this time Perkins affected a brilliant save.

The only blemish in an otherwise flawless Beckham performance was an 18th minute yellow card for a mistimed foul on D.C. captain Jaime Moreno. Fans showed their appreciation when Beckham was substituted midway through the second half by cheering wildly.

As soon as he returned to the bench medical staff wrapped ice and gave massages to Beckham's troublesome ankle. However by then he had showed he belonged - in the Galaxy.

"It was nice to get the early goal. But tonight was not just about my goal and Landon's goal. I think it was a team performance that was exceptional, we worked hard as a team and played hard as a team and we won as a team," he said after the game.

"We've won tonight, we're in a final but it's more important now that we just play as a team and carry on winning," Beckham added.

His recovery and fine form will come as a relief to England manager Steve McClaren who has injury worries on his hand ahead of the crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers next month. England face Germany in a friendly next week before taking on Israel and Russia next month.

Losses in either game are bound to dent their chances of qualification and McClaren will be pleased to see Becks up and running - as were Galaxy fans last night.

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