Best of Beckham
As if David Beckham isn’t in the news enough his potentially career threatening injury that has scuppered his World Cup dreams has sent the media circus around him into overdrive.
The injury is serious enough if you are in your 20s, but at 34 you have to wonder whether he will play again.
His international career is almost certainly at an end, bringing the curtain down on a 14 year spell as an England International, taking in three World Cups, two European Championships and 115 eventful caps.
Here is a look at some of Beckham’s most famous England moments and the kits he was wearing.
World Cup 98
Arguably the tournament that defined his career, Beckham was a national hero after scoring a magnificent free-kick against Columbia to propel England through the group stages. Lying in wait was Argentina and with the match deadlocked at 2-2 after a fantastic opening half Beckham kicked out at Diego Simone while lying on the ground early in the second period. Referee Kim Milton-Nielsen saw the incident and showed Beckham the red card. England later lost the game on penalties and Beckham was vilified by the press and many England supporters who blamed him for the defeat – some even burnt effigies of him.
The kit he wore on that infamous day was made by Umbro but was quite a radical design as opposed to the plainer England kits of the time. Red and blue stripes were incorporated into the white kit on the collar and sleeves, and it also had larger red and blue panelling down the sides. The England badge and Umbro insignia remained in the middle of the kit, like it had done with the previous England home shirt.
Beckham’s redemption – World Cup qualifying 2002
Beckham went back to his club after France 98 and found support from both his boss Alex Ferguson and the Manchester United fans. It would be the start of one United’s most famous season’s, ending in a glorious treble. Beckham was part of that, showing a new found maturity that added to his undoubted skill. He still had some work to do to convince fans of other clubs though, and that moment came at his beloved Old Trafford in October 2002.
Trailing 2-1 to Greece and needing a point to qualify for the World Cup and knock Germany into the play-offs Beckham scored a wonderful curling 25-yard free-kick that sent the crowd and the nation into raptures. For Beckham, all had been forgiven.
The blue red and blue panelling on the kit Beckham wore that day had gone, replaced by a single red stripe down the left hand side of the strip, with the England badge sewn over the top. Blue pinstripes on the sleeves and shoulder were the only additions on what was a much plainer England strip than earlier efforts.
Tearful goodbye – 2006
Many had predicted that captain Beckham would lead the golden generation of England footballers to World Cup glory in 2006. But despite being full of confidence England toiled in Germany, eventually losing on penalties to Portugal in the quarter-finals. A tearful Beckham left the field injured during the second half of that game and was in tears again 24 hours later when he announced his resignation as captain. Many thought that would be the last we saw of Beckham in an England shirt.
The kit he wore that day was noted for the red St George’s cross incorporated into the right shoulder, while a flash of red on the other sleeve and a pinstripe on the collar the only other colour of the traditional white strip.
Beckham was sensationally recalled by Steve McLaren in 2007 and was widely tipped to travel to South Africa this year, albeit as a substitute. But sadly injury, a footballer’s worst nightmare, has struck at the worst time, almost certainly bringing the curtain down on the career one of England’s most talented footballers of all time. Fortunately for England fans, the injury is unlikely to have an adverse impact on England’s 2010 FIFA World Cup odds.
Meanwhile, in horse racing news the Gold Cup is fast approaching and now is the time to make use of any Cheltenham free bet you might have.
Posted by: tomtom
