By Bruno Garcez BBC Brasil, Washington

One of the first pieces of news related to football in the US - or soccer, as they call it - when I arrived in Washington DC was a sad one - the departure of Freddy Adu.

Beckham has struggled to hold a first-team place at Madrid

The former player from DC United had been hailed as the new Pele.

For the following months, no other news related to soccer made the American headlines.

That all changed suddenly this week, after the announcement that David Beckham had signed a deal worth �128m to play in America's Major League Soccer.

Beckham might be no Pele, but his arrival in the US to play for the LA Galaxy might spark an even greater interest in soccer than the one that was seen when the Brazilian player was brought to America by the now defunct New York Cosmos, in 1975.

David Hirshey is the executive editor of Harper Collins Books and was starting his career as a sports journalist when Pele came to play in America.

Popularity

The author, who reported that period in his book Pele's New World, says that the climate is far more favourable to the English player than it was to the Brazilian.

"Thanks in part to Pele, Beckham comes along when soccer's TV profile and popularity amongst young people is much bigger than it was at that time.

"Now, there are 18 million kids who practise the sport and who have seen Beckham's commercials, his changing hairstyles, his Hollywood life and his glamorous wife."

Billionaire backing

Pele's finest hour had passed a few years earlier. But, unlike the English player, who was sacked from the national squad and who is currently on the bench at Real Madrid, the Brazilian willingly retired from his national team and chose not to play in the 1974 World Cup.

Soon you probably could see the arrival of players like Ronaldo John Haydon Washington Times

When Pele signed for the Cosmos for what was an unbelievable sum at the time, he not only resurrected his career, but also paved the way for many worldwide quality players to come to Cosmos and to the US, such as Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto, Giorgio Chinaglia, Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and George Best.

That phenomenon could be repeated in the foreseeable future, since current Major League Soccer not only has the money to invest, but is also better run than its predecessor, the North American Soccer League, that collapsed in the 1984, mainly due to overspending and mismanagement.

That is the view of John Haydon, a soccer writer for the Washington Times.

"Soon you probably could see the arrival of players like Ronaldo, who still have playing time ahead. The league is appealing for those like him. You have some billionaires behind it and it is very financially stable."

The glamour is also likely to come back. If in the 70s, Pele became a nationwide celebrity, a poster-boy for a wide range of products and even made his way to Hollywood, working alongside Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine. With Beckham it could go even further.

"Beckham definitely wants to conquer America and he's going to LA, which is the place to be, with its movie stars. And he'll be bringing to the stadiums his friends, like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. You will definitely see more glitz in the LA Galaxy," says Haydon.

Female interest

Although the US has already hosted a World Cup, in 1994, the sport hasn't yet managed to reach the masses, as it has in most countries in the world.

In America, it is predominantly practised by kids from white middle-class backgrounds and its audience is concentrated on the Latino community. In spite of that, its TV ratings and stadium attendances are growing.

Pele was a success at the New York Cosmos

Some believe Beckham could play a part in attracting Americans who don't rank soccer among their top priorities.

"I think women, for instance, who have never seen a soccer game, out of curiosity would certainly attend several of Beckham's initial games and maybe they'll become hooked on the sport, not just on his well-toned physique", says David Hirshey.

John Haydon says the former English captain could change the make-up of US football crowds.

"In Pele's days, most of the crowds came from ethnic backgrounds. You didn't have average Americans. Now you will, because they know who Beckham is and he can also bring the crossover fans" - those who watch international soccer games, but turn their noses up at the national soccer league."

Although David Hirshey stresses that as players there is quite a distance separating Beckham from Pele, of the pitch both athletes have much in common and a similar gift of charming the crowds.