Qatar Sport 21_COVER_FINAL.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee

SUPERSTAR PROFILE
David Beckham has redefined what
it means to be a global sports icon.
World Cup; his return to his beloved Old Trafford to play against
Manchester United during his second spell at AC Milan; his
tearful farewell to the England captaincy…the list goes on and on.
But if one was pushed, cajoled and ultimately forced into
selecting just one moment which encapsulated the qualities of
David Beckham the footballer, it came back in 2001 in a vital
World Cup qualifying match in Manchester.
England, which the previous month had demolished Germany
5-1 in Munich, needed to at least match the German’s result in a
separate match against Finland to book their places for the 2002
tournament in Japan and Korea.
But while Germany were held to a draw against the Finns,
England were having a bad day at the office and were 1-2 behind
as the 90 minutes were up. Then a free kick in the third minute of
extra time provided Beckham’s cue. His wickedly curling shot into
the top right hand corner of the goal left the Greek keeper flat
footed, the stadium in euphoric uproar and one TV commentator
demanding that Beckham be given a knighthood.
It was a goal which summed up what Beckham’s career has
been all about. He is not the fastest player and not the trickiest.
He doesn’t always cover the most ground and certainly doesn’t
score the most goals. Instead his gifts are a supreme range
and accuracy of passing and mastery of corners and free kicks
which have won countless games for the array of teams he
has represented. When something good happened, Beckham
was generally behind it and for much of his career he had
an inspirational impact on his colleagues at both club and
international level.
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If there is one thing which makes a truly great sports star stand
out from their competitors, it is the difficulty of pinning down a
single defining moment in their careers.
While lesser athletes are likely to be remembered for a single
instance of brilliance and triumph, it is far more difficult to say
which of Tiger Woods’ Masters victories was his finest or which
of Federer’s Grand Slams was the ultimate achievement. Likewise,
how can Michael Schumacher be characterised by just one win or
Messi by a single goal?
In a similar way it is more or less impossible to determine
which moment sums up David Beckham’s long and illustrious
career, a career which has seen him make the journey from
London to Paris via Manchester, Madrid, Milan and Los Angeles
and all stops in between as he has transitioned from precocious
teenage footballer to global megastar.
Naturally a few stand out. His stunning goal from the half
way line against Wimbledon in 1997 which announced him as
a serious and very special talent; his red card for kicking the
Argentinian Simeone at the 1998 World Cup in France; the
revenge of his winning penalty against Argentina in the following
Having it all
On the face of it
Beckham has it all.
A stellar career, pop
star wife and more
money than most of
us could count thanks
to the commercial
pulling power which
has grown and grown
as his celebrity has
developed beyond the confines of the football community.
And that’s a key difference between Beckham and most other
active sportsmen and women. In a 48-slide photo retrospective
on his career to date, fewer that two thirds featured his work
on the football field. The remainder have him arm in arm with
Hollywood superstars and world leaders in whose company he
appears entirely at home.
It has been an incredible journey for the boy from Leytonstone,
East London, who grew up supporting Manchester United thanks
to his parents, attended a Bobby Charlton soccer school in the
city and was even a mascot for a first team game at Old Trafford.
Beckham was part of a group of hugely talented United
youngsters who won the FA Youth Cup in 1992 and he went on
to become part of the club’s folk-lore as a critical part of the team
which won the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup
treble in the 1989-90 season.
In his first year as a United regular he was named the Young
Player of the Year by England’s Professional Players Association
and the list of honours has continued to expand ever since.
Qatar Sport | Issue 21 | 13