David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham Order of the British
Empire|OBE (born May 2, 1975) is an
England|English football (soccer)|footballer born
in Leytonstone, London. He is currently a
midfielder for Real Madrid and captain of the
England national football team|English national
team, noted for the quality of his crossing and
ability to hit free-kicks and corner kick|corners,
particularly long-range free-kicks.

David Beckham is, by most counts and according to
number of hits on the
Googlehttp://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist2003.ht
ml search engine, the most famous sports
personality in the world. He is known for his
celebrity lifestyle and wide international
fan-base. He is married to former Spice
Girls|Spice Girl Victoria Adams and they have
three sons, Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz. He started
his career at Manchester United F.C.|Manchester
United, where he spent over a decade.

==Club career==
===Manchester United 1991-2003===
Beckham first signed a YTS (Youth Training Scheme)
contract (this was similar to an apprenticeship)
with Manchester United in 1991, and made his FA
Premier league|League debut in 1995, aged 19.
According to World Soccer magazine, Beckham was
also loaned out for a season in 1994 to Preston
North End F.C.|Preston North End as Alex Ferguson
wanted Beckham to add steel and bulk to his game,
where the young Beckham apparently was shocked
that he had to watch his own boots! However, as
the controversial Eric Cantona was suspended for
the remainder of the 1994-95 and earlier part of
the 1995-96 seasons due to an assault on a
spectator, Beckham was one of the five fledling
new 'kids' bled out in the first team, alongside
Paul Scholes and best friend, Gary Neville. That
year, Beckham gradually became the focus of the
Manchester United marketing effort and helped the
side to the Premiership and FA Cup trophies and to
their dominance of domestic football.

In August 1996, Beckham's life would never be the
same again after one of the greatest moments in
world football history. When playing against
Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon; having spotted the
opposition goalkeeper, Neil Sullivan, coming
forward off his line, Beckham audaciously lobbed a
chip shot from the halfway line that floated over
half the pitch and into the net. Sky Sports'
commentator Martin Tyler's words: "You'll see that
over and over again" formed the background to what
would go down as the FA Premier League 'Goal of
the Decade' as voted by fans and panels in 2003 to
celebrate the Ten Seasons milestone. Beckham
immediately skyrocketed into wider public notice
and instant fame.

In the 1998-99 season, he was part of the United
team that won the "treble" - Premier League, FA
Cup and UEFA Champions League|Champions League, a
feat unprecedented in English football, which
earned the club's manager, Alex Ferguson, a
knighthood. Beginning with the 2001-02 season the
relationship between Ferguson and Beckham began to
deteriorate though the factors contributing to
this had less to do with Beckham's performance on
the pitch and more to do with the continual
pressures of agents and sponsors and a continuous
series of leaked stories apparently originating
from Victoria Beckham. This conflict reached a
peak during the 2002-03 season with 'The Battle of
the Boot' when, after losing a match to Arsenal
F.C.|Arsenal, an enraged Fergusson reportedly
castigated team members in the dressing room and
then kicked a football boot that struck Beckham
over the eye requiring stitches. After this
episode transfer stories appearing to originate
with Victoria were rife, linking Beckham with
Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea and FC Barcelona|Barcelona.
Beckham's last match for Manchester United was the
final league match against Everton F.C.|Everton at
Goodison Park in which he scored the winner; his
last act as a player was lifting the Barclays
Premiership trophy at the match's conclusion. In
total Beckham scored 86 goals in 397 games for Man
United, a rate of roughly 2 goals every 9 games,
highly commendable for a midfielder.

===Real Madrid 2003-present ===
On June 17, 2003, Beckham signed a four-year
contract with Real Madrid of Spain, potentially
worth up to Euro|€35 million (Pound
Sterling|£25 million, United States dollar|USD 41
million).

Apart from benefiting from his football ability,
this transfer gives the Spanish club an
opportunity to profit from merchandising,
especially in the Far East, where Beckham is
enormously popular, and Manchester United have
until now had the lion's share of interest. It is
probably no coincidence that Beckham was
transferred just before Real started a far-eastern
tour, but it would be very unfair to say that his
marketing potential alone was the only reason for
his transfer. At the time of the announcement of
his transfer to Real Madrid, Beckham and his wife
(Victoria Beckham|Victoria) were on a week-long
tour of Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand
promoting beauty products, chocolate, motor oil,
and mobile phones, which it was reported would
earn them more than the entire first year of his
Real Madrid contract.

He successfully completed the transfer on July 1
and was presented with the squad number of 23 on
July 2. He is believed to have chosen the number
as a tribute to his idol, Michael Jordan, who made
number 23 famous with the Chicago Bulls. Real
Madrid shirts bearing his name and number were
sold out in Madrid on the day his transfer was
completed and Real Madrid were expected to receive
€624,000 for the sale of the shirts.

His transfer to Real Madrid has proven very
fruitful for both Beckham and the club. Beckham
scored five times in his first 16 matches
(including Real's 600th goal in the European
Cup/Champions League, against Olympique Marseille
on 26 November 2003), a higher scoring rate than
his last year at Manchester United (11 goals in 52
games). He has become a favourite of the
notoriously fickle Real Madrid crowd, and
established an excellent playing relationship with
Ronaldo.

During the summer of 2004, Real also signed
Englishmen Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate.

Currently, his tattoo artist is suing him over the
copyright to his tattoos.
(http://www.thisspaceforrent.org/archives/000512.h
tml external ref)

==England career==
By 1998, Beckham was a regular international, and
travelled with the England squad to the Football
World Cup 1998|World Cup. In the second round of
that competition, he received a red card for
retaliation, following a foul challenge by the
Argentina|Argentine Diego Simeone. This act
arguably cost England the game (which they lost on
penalties) and the chance of advancing in the
tournament. On returning home, Beckham became the
target of criticism, sometimes justified (the
accusation of petulance, for example), and his
performance was negatively contrasted with that of
Michael Owen, but much merely gratuitous including
being burnt in effigy. Piers Morgan, the then
editor of the Daily Mirror later apologised for
some of the harsher criticism. Most commentators
were mollified when it became public that the then
England Manager Glen Hoddle supported a number of
new age beliefs and practices that had created
some conflict in the England team camp. He
received a similar vilification following his
dismissal for a dangerous challenge in the FIFA
Club World Championship the next year.

Following England's poor performance in Ec2|2000
(from which Beckham was one of the few players to
emerge with credit) and later poor performances,
the departure of Kevin Keegan as manager saw
Beckham promoted to captain, initially under
caretaker manager Peter John Taylor|Peter Taylor
and maintained by Sven-Göran Eriksson. His
leadership, mainly by example due to his fitness
and workrate helped England to qualify for the
Wc|2002 Finals and the 1-5 defeat of Germany
national football team|Germany in Munich during a
qualifier (a pivotal event for English football
fans). The final step in Beckham's conversion from
villain to hero happened in England's 2-2 draw
against Greece national football team|Greece.
Needing only one point from the match in order to
qualify for the World Cup, Beckham dragged an
otherwise poor England side to qualification with
sheer determination and a perfectly executed,
last-minute free kick. Meanwhile, taking the role
of captain seems to have helped mature him, in
both skill and temperament.

Two months before the start of the 2002 World Cup
Finals, Beckham was injured during a Champions
League match breaking the metatarsal bones of his
left foot. It was a cause of some controversy as
the player that caused the injury was Argentinian
(Aldo Duscher of Deportivo La Coruna) and as
England had already been drawn against them in the
group stage the British Press speculated the
injury was deliberate to 'hobble' England's star
player. After the miracle of the win in Munich
expectations for the England squad were high but
even though Beckham was declared match fit for the
first match against Sweden he had only had limited
training. Despite a good first half and taking the
lead, England faded in the second half and Beckham
was substituted with England drawing 1-1 with
Sweden. The stage was then set for the showdown
with Argentina. During the charged first half Owen
won a penalty and when Beckham stepped forward to
take it he was approached by Simeone but who was
ignored. Beckham struck a clean penalty and then
England hung on to win the match and then went on
to draw 0-0 with Nigeria. The second round match
against Denmark saw Beckham contribute to two
goals from set pieces against a lacklustre side.
The quarter final against Brazil again saw England
start strongly with Michael Owen's brilliant
individual effort but then faded after conceding a
goal due to a clear error by the keeper David
Seaman. During the second half Beckham pulled out
of a crucial challenge that led directly to
Ronaldinho's goal that sent England out of the
competition.

Beckham played in all England's matches at
Ec2|2004, but failed to shine. He had his penalty
saved by former Manchester United F.C.|Manchester
United team-mate Fabien Barthez in his side's 2-1
defeat to France national football team|France in
their opening group game. Then, when England's
Quarter-Final against hosts Portugal national
football team|Portugal went to a kicks from the
penalty mark|penalty shootout, he was the first
England player to attempt a shot. Beckham fired
his shot far over the crossbar and England went on
to lose the shoot-out 6-5 after Englishman Darius
Vassell also missed. Beckham later blamed the miss
on the poor state of the pitch, the British press
blamed referee Urs Meier for the loss (he had
earlier disallowed a contentious goal by Sol
Campbell) even publishing his phone number and
postal address. As with his performance in 1998
Beckham was negatively compared with the rising
stars of the England 2004 team Wayne Rooney and
Frank Lampard and in some sectors it was
speculated that the revelations about his private
life earlier that year contributed to a poor
performance.

The Spanish spectator who caught Beckham's miss
put the ball up for auction on eBay España. eBay
soon determined that virtually all of the bids,
including one for €10million, were fake. When
bidding closed on 22 July, the winning bid of
€28,050 was made by the Canadian internet
casino GoldenPalace.com, which announced that it
plans to exhibit the ball around the world for
charitable purposes.

Beckham again found himself the centre of
self-inflicted controversy following the match
against Wales national football team|Wales as part
of the Football World Cup 2006 - European
Qualification Groups|2006 World Cup Qualifying
Round. After scoring a brilliant goal from open
play to give England a 2 - 0 lead Beckham then
received a yellow card for a body checking foul on
a Wales defender that saw the other player
stretchered off and Beckham being substituted with
a fractured rib. As this was the second yellow
card he had received in the qualifying competition
he was banned from the next match. Beckham later
admitted that the foul had been intentional to
ensure he would not carry forward a yellow card to
the later qualifying stage even though he would
miss the next England match. While some praised
Beckham for his honesty others questioned his
judgment considering his status as a role model
for younger players.

For all the incidents and controversies which have
littered Beckham's international career, he won a
highly commendable 80th cap in 2005 and, fitness
and Eriksson's loyalty to him permitting, is set
to skipper England at the Football World Cup
2006|2006 World Cup in Germany. If so, he will
become only the sixth (expectedly along with
defender Sol Campbell, a likely squad member in
2006) England player to represent his country at
three World Cup competitions, and only the third
(after Bobby Moore and Bryan Robson) to captain
England at more than one World Cup. Beckham is
also a reasonable candidate to achieve 100
appearances for his country.

== Beckham's celebrity lifestyle ==
Beckham's highly publicised marriage to Spice
Girls|Spice Girl and media celebrity Victoria
Adams, otherwise known as Posh Spice, has made
them both popular targets for the tabloid press,
which has dubbed the couple "Posh and Becks". They
have three sons, Brooklyn, born March 4, 1999,
Romeo, born September 1, 2002, and Cruz, born
February 20, 2005. Beckham is well-known for his
frequent hairstyle changes and, despite being
criticised for influencing teenagers' hairstyles,
still regularly appears sporting a radically new
look.

Early on in his career Beckham secured a number of
lucrative sponsorship deals including Adidas,
Vodafone and Diesel (clothing company)|Diesel.

In 1998 Beckham was pictured wearing a Sarong
while on holiday with Victoria that resulted in
much British media comment and created a
characterisation of David Beckham as a well
meaning and likable innocent often embarrassed by
Victoria's interest in her own celebrity. This
image was fixed early on in the pair's
relationship when Victoria admitted she had little
interest in football. The British comedians
Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona have fashioned a
popular impersonation of the couple that
reinforces this characterisation.

Following his move to Real Madrid and the
disappointment of Euro 2004, British media
interest in the Beckham's has faded despite the
alleged affair with Loos. In December 2004 the
announcement of plans for the christening of their
two children, including the construction of a fake
Gothic architecture|Gothic chapel for £120,000 on
the grounds of their Berkshire estate, were
received with some ridicule, especially as neither
are held to be strongly religious. Despite their
sometimes 'gauche' lifestyle Beckham is well
regarded for being a good father and supporting a
number of charitable causes.

However, he has become more well known in North
America since the success of the British film Bend
It Like Beckham. It is about a British Sikh girl
who idolises David Beckham and harbours ambitions
of being a football player.

In 2001, Beckham became the BBC Sports Personality
of the Year. In the summer of 2003, Beckham was
made an Officer of the Order of the British
Empire|OBE in Elizabeth II of the United
Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II's honours list.

In May of 2003 Manchester United manager Sir Alex
Ferguson ordered David Beckham not to wear his
hair band during matches. It has been speculated
that he believed it to be too effeminate.

In 2003 his fame was evident when Staffordshire
University provided a university course about the
star.

In April 2004, the British tabloid News of the
World carried claims by his former personal
assistant Rebecca Loos that he and Loos had had an
extramarital affair. A week later, a second woman,
Malaysian-born Australian model Sarah Marbeck,
claimed that she had slept with Beckham on two
occasions. Beckham has denied both allegations,
describing them as "ludicrous".

In July of 2004, an intruder was arrested at David
Beckham's home for scaling a wall with a can of
gasoline. The Sun newspaper reported that the man
appeared angry with Beckham and intended to burn
down the house.

He is a List of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors|UNICEF
Goodwill International ambassador.

In July of 2005, some regard Beckham as
instrumental in the success of the Olympic bid for
London 2012.

== Transfer rumours ==
Near the end of the 2003-04 season, The Daily
Telegraph of London reported that Beckham's major
sponsors were trying to arrange for him to return
to England for the 2004-05 season. Sources within
the family told the Telegraph that Beckham would
almost certainly be back in London. Real Madrid
denied rumours that they were interested in
selling Beckham, and banned British reporters from
access to the team.

Because of the extremely high fee that Real Madrid
could command for a Beckham deal, and the fact
that the other teams that could afford the fee,
had financial constraints (Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal,
Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool) or personality issues
(Manchester United F.C.|Man United) that would
have made a deal unlikely, speculation immediately
focused on Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea, with its List of
US-dollar billionaires|billionaire owner Roman
Abramovich. Adding fuel to the rumours, Chelsea's
manager at that time, Claudio Ranieri, told an
Italian newspaper that the club was pursuing both
Beckham and Ronaldo, and Evening Standard|The
Evening Standard of London reported that Chelsea
was prepared to pay £40 million for Beckham.

However, on 20 May, Beckham, in a statement issued
through his agent, quashed the transfer rumours,
stating that he would see out the remaining three
years of his contract in Madrid. He added that his
wife and sons, who had yet to move to Spain, would
join him there. In November 2004 it was reported
that Real Madrid intended to offer Beckham a
two-year extension to his contract, which would
effectively keep him in Madrid for the remainder
of his playing career.

In 2005, Beckham started dropping hints that he
may yet leave Madrid, expressing frustration with
paparazzi harassing his family. Perhaps inspired
by these hints, and as an April 1, 2005|April
Fool's joke, Bayern Munich announced on its
official Web site that it was set to sign Beckham
to a three-year deal, effective with the 2005-06
season. Spokespeople for Bayern freely admitted
that the report was a hoax.

==References==
* Beckham: Both Feet on the Ground; by David
Beckham & Tom Watt (ISBN 0060570938) + 
* Beckham: My World; by David Beckham & Dean
Freeman (ISBN 0340792701) + 
* David Beckham: My Side; by David Beckham +