Pele warns Beckham to be prepared for US test

Pele, who helped stir US interest in soccer when he joined the New York Cosmos in the 1970s, said on Wednesday that David Beckham can help promote the game but had better be prepared to work hard.

Beckham, the 32-year-old England midfielder who spent the last four seasons at Real Madrid, has generated a huge buzz since signing a lucrative deal to play for Major Soccer League's Los Angeles Galaxy, who will formally introduce him today.

"Everybody knows David Beckham is a good player. He's very well known all over the world and I think he could help soccer in the United States," said Pele, who was promoting the 'Read Futbol Mundial' project that encourages children to read.

Pele, however, had a word of caution for Beckham, noting the standard of play in the US had grown considerably since his pioneering days in the North American Soccer League.

"But I advise him... it will be very difficult to play because the teams are very good. They mark very well. Be prepared, be in good condition because it is not easy to play in the United States. The football is now at a high level.

"In my time it was a little different. It was more complicated," Pele told Reuters. "I came here to start (the professional game). The football here was just amateur and college. The football has grown a lot over here.

"I had the opportunity to play with great players - (Franz) Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto, Giorgio Chinaglia, (Johan) Cruyff. This motivated the kids, the people, to come into the game.

"Now Beckham has to continue the work."

250,000 Galaxy shirts sold

Beckham's move to L.A Galaxy has already set the cash tills ringing at the Major League Soccer club with a quarter of a million replica team shirts ordered before they were even unveiled.

"We're already well over a quarter of a million units that were ordered ... without knowledge of what they were going to look like," Galaxy president Alexi Lalas told the club's website.

Galaxy have changed from a yellow and green outfit to an all-white home kit very similar to the one Beckham wore with Spanish club Real Madrid.