Becks bends it past 33

Tanvir Khan

The unfortunate irony of being David Beckham is that people generally tend to relate his name to things that have little to do with soccer. Someone who loves to sport tattoos on every inch of his skin and changes his hairstyle as often as the weather in London. The general perception is that he is more of a socialite than a football star. All this is maybe because he is happily married to Spice Girls pop star Victoria Beckham. He has friends in Hollywood, mingles with the ‘Rich and the famous’….. David has appeared on innumerable magazine covers and is also associated with brands like Pepsi, Nike and IBM. He was hailed as the stereotype metro sexual. Google claimed that David Beckham was searched more than any other sports topic in 2003 and 2004. This, undoubtedly, is a measure of his popularity, worldwide. It is this rise of the brand ‘Beckham’ which often emasculates his on field exploits. It is always easy to under estimate his abilities as a player. His contribution to the game has more often than not been overshadowed by his activities off the field. But those who have a tendency to associate Beckham to the realm of fashion only seem to have forgotten his contribution to the England national team as well as his club performances. David won the PFA Young Player of the Year award in only the second year after he debuted for England. Twice has he been the runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year. What has to be understood is that he is a football star who indulges in outdoor activities and not a socialite who occasionally plays football! A few highlights of his career include his stint with his favourite team Manchester United and the 58 caps he earned as the skipper for the England team. He also became the first Brit player to appear in 100 Champions League matches. Beckham’s career has been eventful, to say the least. Through the various ups and downs, David Beckham still displays the same hunger and a child like enthusiasm every single time he steps onto the pitch. Despite playing regularly with Manchester United, David did not get a berth in the national squad before Euro 1996. He was part of a group of young players in Manchester United and got a chance with the Red Devils only when experienced players like Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis retired. Alex Ferguson, who has been with the club for more than two decades, drew a lot of criticism when he introduced young players in the club rather than buying million dollar stars like his rivals. The critics were provided further ammunition when Red Devils stumbled to a 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa in the season opener. The only solace for Ferguson was that the sole goal for United was struck by rookie Beckham. Bend it like Beckham Beckham first caught the nation’s eye when he scored a spectacular goal from half-line in a match against Wimbledon FC in 1996. For those who witnessed the once in a lifetime goal, there is no need to explain. For those who did not, here is a quick recap - David saw that the keeper Neil Sullivan was a long way out of his position, slowed down until the ball was just on the half line, and bang! The ball actually changed course midair and hit the nets. That was skill, foresight, practice, training & timing. Absolutely nothing to do with `luck`. The commentator in the match rightly said that it was a goal that’ll be talked about and replayed for years. The story behind David Beckham’s number 7 shirt might not be known to many. Eric Cantonna, the man hailed as a demi-god at Manchester United, was the regular number 7. He retired on May 18, 1997. While, Teddy Sheringham was to arrive to United from Tottenham Hotspur, Beckham picked up the number 7 jersey and left the number 10 for Sheringham. Since then, Beckham remained the number 7 at Manchester. However, the Beckham fairytale came to an abrupt end during an eventful evening at St Etienne. Playing for England against Argentina in a 98 World Cup match, in a moment of madness, he kicked Argentina’s Diego Simeone of Argentina on his calf. Replays showed that Beckham was provoked by Simeone who had fouled David’s moves. The Golden Boy of English football was duly handed a Red Card by the referee. This incident was seen as the turning point of the match by majority of English supporters, which until then had been hanging by thread. As England went on to lose the match on penalties, subsequently, crashing out of the World Cup, Beckham was made the scapegoat for the debacle. The nation’s darling not so long ago, saw himself in deep trouble as his effigies were burnt and he received death calls. It was only in the 2002 World Cup, that Beckham got a chance to redeem himself. In a poetic justice of sorts, he scored the only goal in the match against Argentina, which subjected the latter to the ignominy of being ousted from the World Cup in the Group stage itself. His image as the perfect husband and an ideal father took a hit in 2004. Father of three: Brooklyn Joseph Beckham, Romeo James Beckham and Cruz David Beckham, his personal life was rocked by ‘rumours’ of extramarital affairs in a British tabloid News of the World that published that he had a fling with Rebecca Loos, his former personal assistant. Later an Australian model, Sarah Marbeck, claimed that she had slept with David on two occasions. The marriage with Posh somehow survived, many believe due to their kids. His career span includes a decade long spell with Manchester United, spanning from 1993 to 2003 during which he donned 265 caps. He scored 65 goals for the Red Devils and set up innumerable others. His next stint was at Real Madrid where he stayed for four seasons. Though his time at the Bernabeu wasn’t as productive, netting just 13 goals, he was the surprise catalyst as Real Madrid launched a splendid turn around, to lift the La Liga title after a gap of 4 years. In 2007, he moved to the US’s Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles and became the highest paid MLS player in their history. His move to LA Galaxy, undoubtedly, popularised the sport in America. Although he has not scored many goals for the club, he has helped in setting up quite a lot of them. His stint with LA Galaxy has not been very good as far as his fitness is concerned. He has been fighting it all to gain cent per cent fitness and get back on the pitch for the American club. His move to US was seen by critics as Beck’s way of easing into retirement. He, however, managed to prove his critics wrong yet again as he not only won back his place in the England squad, but also won his 100th cap.Beckham’s tattoos:

April 1999 - Son Brooklyn`s name on his back.

April 1999 - An angel on his back.

2000 - Hindi "Victoria" design on his left arm.

April 2002 - Roman numeral VII on right forearm.

May 2003 - Latin phrase "Perfectio In Spiritu", meaning "Spiritual Perfection", on his right arm.

May 2003 - More Latin, "Ut Amem Et Foveam" or "So That I Love And Cherish", on his left arm.

2003 - Romeo`s name on his back.

2003 - Classical art design on his right shoulder.

2004 - Winged cross on his neck.

2004 - Angel with motto "In The Face of Adversity" on right arm.

Mar 2005 - Cruz`s name on his back.

June 2006 - Second angel and clouds added to right arm and shoulder.

Jan 2008 - Portrait of Victoria on left arm.