Qatar Sport 21_COVER_FINAL.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee

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SUPERSTAR PROFILE He has been European Club player of the year, featured in the Premier League team of the year four times, the UEFA team in 2001 and 2003, was Real Madrid’s player of the season in 2005-06 and was in the Major League soccer team of 2011. There are those who believe that if he had stood for election as head of the United Nations during this period he would have succeeded in that as well. But for all his individual awards, it is what he has achieved for the teams he has represented which have been Beckham’s key contribution. His drive, vision, goals and countless assists took United to six Premier League titles as well as to FA Cup wins, the Champions League and FIFA’s Intercontinental Cup. The Real deal At Real Madrid he was part of the team which clawed La Liga title back from Barcelona in 2006-7 while in his transformational period at LA Galaxy the team won the MLS Cup twice. They are impressive statistics by any standards but when a club signs Beckham they get rather more than the sum of the goals, tackles, runs passes and assists. The Beckham factor ensures the biggest media circus in football and creates a buzz which resonates around the world. When Real Madrid signed Beckham for some $35 million for the 2003-04 season he was the biggest prize in town. The president of bitter rivals, Barcelona, had already pledged that he would deliver Becks for the Catalan fans but there was tangible triumphalism in the air when the Englishman was eventually paraded in front of packed grandstands at the Madrid club’s training ground. Yet from the beginning there were whispers that Madrid had not brought Beckham the footballer but Beckham the marketing machine, a player capable of selling more shirts (he chose number 23 at Madrid) than any other player. Equally, Beckham was already an international brand in his own right. At a time when United was generally top of the Deloitte list of the world’s richest football clubs, Madrid certainly had eyes on his brand “Beckham’s ability to connect has been used to good effect.” building potential, particularly in those Asian markets which had embraced him as a United player. And while Beckham’s undoubted commercial appeal must have influenced the sale price, the fact was that he certainly delivered on the field. Across four years at the Santiago Bernabeau Stadium he played 155 games, scored 20 goals and as always, created many, many more. A different Galaxy Over the years Beckham has also gained the knack of doing the unexpected and his move to Major League Soccer was in keeping with his ability to keep them guessing. Certainly few predicted that even before his Madrid contract was up he would announce he was moving from one of the world’s biggest clubs and biggest leagues to Los Angeles Galaxy. The move was accompanied by headlines trumpeting the $250 million he ‘could’ earn over the five year contract, although his salary as one of the Galaxy’s cap-busting designated players was nowhere near that level. “I am looking forward to the new challenge of growing the world’s most popular game in a country that is as passionate about sport as my own,” he told reporters when the signing was announced and the later disclosure of a clause in his contract permitting him to buy an ownership share in an MLS franchise at preferential rates underscored the idea that he really was on an evangelical mission to promote soccer in the US. Despite initial suggestions that Beckham’s presence was a disruptive influence in the Galaxy dressing room – where many of the players earned as little in a year as he did in a day or so –his contribution to the team was invaluable. In all, he played 118 games for the LA team, scoring 20 goals in the process. Perhaps more importantly for the league itself, in Beckham they suddenly had a player whose celebrity matched their own ambitions. Beckham sold tickets, appeared on chat shows and quietly gave MLS a leg-up in the world’s most competitive sports market. Paris Match After five years, it was time for Brand Beckham to move on and it came as little surprise that he chose to join European football’s
next major project, the re-birth of Paris St Germain. Since its acquisition by Qatari owners, PSG has been a hotbed of transfer activity which has transformed the under-performing team into genuine contenders for the next Champions League title. For Beckham it was a move to another successful team in another world-class city, the thread which runs throughout his career. It also provided him with an opportunity to further strengthen his personal popularity by announcing that he was to donate his salary to a local children’s charity, a move which immediately counter-balanced media hostility over his choice of accommodation - an exclusive suite at one of the city’s finest hotels. But that’s the thing about David Beckham….he’s smart. In his early days he may have been portrayed in the British media as a one dimensional buffoon but the reality is very different. His career has been managed with the precision of a guided missile, programmed to hit the target every time. His personal net worth is now estimated at anything up to $200 million, making him one of the wealthiest athletes on the planet, as his football earnings are dwarfed by massive endorsement deals with a bunch of big name brands around the world. And he is worth it because his personal brand resonates way beyond football itself. He was recently appointed as a global ambassador for football in China which is trying to stage a recovery from repeated corruption scandals. Beckham welcomed the opportunity, explained that he was not a politician and that he would focus on encouraging kids into the game. According to one high level member of the team from international sports marketing company IMG which put the deal together, his first visit to China was a revelation. “It is difficult to explain the impact he has. There were crowds everywhere he went and in one city Beckham’s appearance at the local football stadium attracted a 50 per cent bigger crowd that the average home attendance for the team.” Brand Beckham Beckham’s extraordinary ability to connect has been used to good effect beyond the world of brand promotion. As an East Londoner “His appeal is based on dedication, style and an old-fashioned sense of respect.” he was an essential member of the team which won its bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games in London and, less successfully, a part of England’s FIFA 2018 World Cup bid. Beckham may never have been the sort of footballer who would be an automatic choice for a World Select XI but his career and achievements stand scrutiny against the best. Perhaps he was a little unfortunate that the England team which he represented a record (for an outfield player) 115 times scoring 17 goals, never quite lived up to its potential but he has won national titles in three different countries with a fourth at PSG very much on the cards, scored in the final stages of three different World Cup tournaments and has the leading assist record for the English Premier League. This rock solid record is the foundation on which his Brand Beckham is based, that and the fact that in a world of top level sport which is often self-centred and slightly shady, he appears to be a genuinely good bloke. Andy Milligan, author of the book Brand It Like Beckham summed up his appeal in a BBC interview: “His appeal is based on dedication, style and an almost old-fashioned sense of respect. It is hard to think of a country or group of people to whom those do not appeal. “He has earned recognition on the biggest global stages, be it top flight football, international fashion or the A-list celebrity scene, “He has also made very shrewd choices that have created a coherent story and has moved from being captain of his country’s football team to cheerleader for its sporting ambitions. “On top of that he endures because he is authentic.” For a footballer, David Beckham is getting on a bit now. His appearances from the bench are more common than starts for Paris St Germain and his time as an active player at the highest level is inevitably winding down. The question is what he will choose to do when he finally hangs up his boots? Having publically said he is not interested in becoming a manager, the world remains at his feet and he will not be short of choices. Perhaps only one thing is certain. Wherever he decides his future lies, he will succeed and Brand Beckham will continue to grow. Qatar Sport | Issue 21 | 15
Page 1: TIGER WOODS Returning to the top of
Page 4 and 5: Welcome The sixth edition of our in
Page 6 and 7: IN FOCUS 3 SLIP AND SLIDE Canada’
Page 8 and 9: update GREAT EXPECTATIONS The new A
Page 10: update GOAL-LINE GO AHEAD World foo
Page 16 and 17: COMING UP MAY-JULY 2013 Giro d’It
Page 18 and 19: going home to gym the The multi-bil
Page 20 and 21: Home gymS the multi-billion dollar
Page 22 and 23: ingoodcompany... Businesses, large
Page 24: FIT FOR LIFE GET FIT WITH TRIATHLON
Page 27 and 28: How do we get people off the couch?
Page 29 and 30: promotion MOG Wear jacket made from
Page 31 and 32: The Schools Olympic Programme is cr
Page 34 and 35: FOR THE RECORD: WHO’S MAKING HEAD
Page 36: trends ELECTRIC DREAMS ON THE START

Qatar Sport 21_COVER_FINAL.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee

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