Victoria Beckham, bestselling author? Crazier things have happened—like David Beckham finally making good on his hype (and paycheck).

As it is, both happenings went down Wednesday, when the midfielder christened a night of firsts on the soccer pitch and his missus set out to do the same on the bookshelves.

Three and a half weeks after making a highly anticipated end-of-game debut with the L.A. Galaxy, the 32-year-old athlete both started and scored for his team for the first time.

Playing on his Home Depot Center home turf, Beckham was deemed captain for the match, taking the mantle from usual team honcho Landon Donovan. In the 27th minute of the game, played against D.C. United, the man known as number 23 scored his first goal on his trademark bendable set piece, the free kick.

Wife Victoria and sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz watched and cheered on the goal along with a handful of friends and family from their usual box seats. An announced crowd of 17,223 were also on hand in the 27,0000-capacity stadium to cheer on the team.

"The free kick was the first I've taken for eight weeks, so it was quite pleasing," the ankle-nursing player told reporters after the game. "I felt I was going to score as soon as I had the ball in my hands." Or, as it were, feet.

"It was very important for me to actually get on the pitch and play some minutes."

Beckham also proved his mettle as not just a solo star but a team player, setting up Donovan later in the game to score the match's only other goal. The L.A. Galaxy ended up winning the game, 2-0. Beckham, however, timed himself out after playing a hearty 63 minutes of the 90-minute match. He walked off the field to a standing ovation and quickly had his perhaps no longer so bum ankle tended to aside the field by a team trainer.

Beckham, for one—his team and fans for another—is already chalking up his first major foray into the MLS as a success, setting the stage for more and more playing time and possibly a starting spot in the England national team's exhibition game against Germany next Wednesday.

England manager Steve McLaren also announced he wanted Beckham to start in next week's international game and that he would be keeping an eye on the player and touching base with the L.A. Galaxy brass to assess whether a Beckham start was a viable option.

"We've got to assess it over the next few days," McLaren said just prior to Beckham's ball-busting display. "He will be in the squad. We want him to come over and play a part against Germany. We'll be keeping in close contact with him and the Galaxy medical staff to see his condition. If at all possible, of course, we'd like David to join us [for training] on Monday."

If the match against D.C. United is any indication, fans can expect the player to don his jolly old gear next week.

"I didn't expect to last an hour, but it felt great after 10 minutes into the game," Beckham said. "My confidence got up with my ankle, and I was happy to be out there for 60 minutes. Overall, the ankle was a lot better than I thought it was going to be, and I felt confident going into tackles."

Also feeling pretty confident about now is David's better half Victoria, who signed a deal with HarperCollins this week to publish a Stateside style guide. That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between, has already hit bestseller status in the U.K., where it was published earlier this year, and is now primed to guide the grooming habits of American women as well.

"I've always been a girl's girl," the fashion icon said about the book's U.S. release. "And I know from experience that making the very best of yourself is something any woman can do. I was never the six-foot-tall pinup."

"I've always been the girl next door who got lucky. I've come a long way in the last 10 years, but this book isn't my attempt to tell you what or what not to do. It's just to share some of what I've learned."

The guide will hit bookstores this November.