These are hectic days for David Beckham.

The English soccer superstar, who is in training camp with his L.A. Galaxy teammates ahead of a season-opening match at Rogers Centre against Toronto FC in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final, has been going full out both on and off the pitch.

In between training sessions for the defending MLS Cup champion Galaxy, the midfielder and former England captain has kept a frenetic schedule.

On Saturday, Beckham, who turns 37 in May, joined a parade of celebrities, including singer Stevie Wonder, actors Anthony Hopkins and Samuel L. Jackson, and dozens of others in paying tribute to Muhammad Ali at a 70th birthday bash in Las Vegas for the former heavyweight champion.

Since hoisting his first championship trophy in North America last November, Beckham has been promoting his new underwear line and even picked up an award for best dressed sports star from the Cartoon Network.

Beckham’s most recent appearance in Toronto was last April in an MLS match against TFC at BMO Field. It was early last season, the final one of his five-year, $32.5-million (U.S.) contract with L.A.

Most of the 22,453 fans for the 0-0 draw that night thought the match, Beckham’s only scheduled appearance besides the 2008 Major League Soccer all-star game, would be his last in Toronto. He was widely expected to leave MLS.

But the English superstar has foregone the perfect ending he scripted in 2011. After struggling through his first four seasons, Beckham had a career-high 15 assists, he was selected to the league’s Best XI, won comeback player of the year and capped it off by leading L.A. to the MLS Cup title.

Rather than taking one of several offers to return to Europe, Beckham inked another two-year deal with L.A. He’ll begin his sixth season in MLS March 7 — his only scheduled appearance of 2012 in Toronto.

With a crowd of more than 45,000 expected, Beckham will once again help draw record attendance to a TFC home match.

It’s the first time the Reds have made the knockout stage of the tournament for top club teams in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Calling the MLS Cup with the Galaxy “one of the most satisfying of my career,” Beckham, a trophy winner with Manchester United and Real Madrid, said his family and a desire to continue growing soccer in North America were keys behind his decision to sign with the club through 2013.

“I'm still passionate about playing in America and winning trophies with the Galaxy,” Beckham said when he signed his new deal.

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Toronto FC Training Camp Report

TOMORROW: Postcard from Camp by Reds striker Danny Koevermans.