Beckham, David

David Beckham

1975-

British soccer player

David Beckham is more than one of England's best soccer player. He is a celebrity, treated as near-royalty, hounded by the press who dwell on his every move. During his career as a member of the Manchester United, and also playing for the England in the World Cup, Beckham has been both villain and hero. Lauded, vilified, bemoaned, worshipped, and ridiculed–few professional players of any sport have undergone the constant barrage of attention on and off the field as Beckham. Handsome, with a quick eye to where the cameras are placed, he has both benefited and suffered from a life lived in the public arena.

Joins Manchester United

David Beckham was born in Leytonstone, London, on May 2, 1975 to Ted, a repair man, and Sandra Beckham. He started dreaming about playing soccer professionally when he was eight years old as he watched the sport on television. Beckham played youth soccer, and when he was eleven he won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills Competition, which judged ball control skills. The win earned Beckham a trip to Barcelona, where he drew the attention of a Manchester United soccer talent scout. His parents insisted that Beckham finish his schooling at Chingford High before he could join a professional team.

At the age of sixteen, Beckham signed on as an apprentice for Manchester United and the team won the Football Association (FA) Youth Cup in 1992. On April 2, 1995, Beckham made his Premier League debut at home in a match against Leeds United. During the following season, 1995-96, he began making an impact on his team from the midfield position. He was slowly growing a reputation for his ability to execute free kicks and score goals, often times in sensational fashion or at critical moments of the game. His performance during the season caught the attention of England's national team manager, who capped Beckham (named him to the national team). He made his national debut on September 1, 1996, against Moldova.

Manchester United won the Premier League championship both in 1996 and 1997. In 1997 Beckham was

voted the Young Player of the Year and finished second in voting for the overall Player of the Year award. Despite failing to retain the Premiere League title in 1998, Beckham was named to England's World Cup squad, and he signed a five-year, $12.5 million contract with Manchester United.

1998 World Cup Fiasco

Beckham's 1998 World Cup experience became a turning point in his career. In the match against Columbia Beckham scored a spectacular game-winning free kick. However, he went from national hero to national villain in a heartbeat when, in the next match against Argentina, he was given a red card (which means expulsion from the game) for kicking Argentina's Diego Simeone just minutes into the second half with the score tied 2-2. Argentina went on to win on penalty kicks, eliminating England in the second round. Simeone had flattened Beckham from behind and, in response, Beckham flung his leg out, grazing Simeone who fell dramatically hard. Simeone's infraction merited a yellow card (a warning), but Beckham, given the first red card of his career, was booted from the match.

In the aftermath of England's loss, Beckham was vilified. The Daily Mirror's headline read "10 Heroic Lions, One Stupid Boy," and the Daily Star's banner read "What an Idiot." Beckham was hung in effigy outside a London pub, and a Baptist church message board read "God Forgives Even David Beckham." He received death threats and was continually booed the following season each time he touched the ball. Beckham was not immune to the constant criticism, and publicly apologized, saying, according to Sports Illustrated, "I will always regret my actions. I want every fan to know how deeply sorry I am."

Celebrity Status

Beckham, known as Beck by his fans, was quickly becoming more than a soccer player; he was a national celebrity. He is also the pretty boy, the national and international heart throb, and as much was written about his hairstyle and his choice of clothes as his soccer abilities. When Beckham began dating Victoria Adams, also known as Posh Spice from the pop group Spice Girls, in 1997, he and Adams became daily fodder for the tabloid press. Much of the media's attention was initially encouraged by the couple, who tossed tidbits of personal information to the tabloids and could be seen out and about wearing matching designer outfits. In 1998 the couple announced that Adams was pregnant, which once again added fuel to the media fire. Tabloid reporting intermixed true stories with false to further hype the couple. Much like Princess Diana before them, Beckham and Adams are reviled in the press as much as they are praised. Yet the more the press deems them uninteresting, tac! ky, and glamour hounds, the more obsessed England becomes in following their every move.

The media was in a frenzy in July 1999 when Beckham and Adams married in Luttrellstown Castle, eight miles west of Dublin. The daylong gala reportedly cost $800,000. Adams wore a diamond-encrusted crown, and Beckham wore an ivory suit. After the nuptials, the newlyweds sat in gilded, red-velvet thrones, with their young son Brooklyn between them, watching their guests mingle under live potted apple trees and fluttering doves. The night, which the National Post noted would be long remembered "for its monumental tackiness," included an 18-piece orchestra playing old Spice Girl tunes, footmen, fireworks, and a cake topped with an edible, nearly nude figure of Beckham and Adams embracing. Beckham and Adams appeared at the end of the affair in matching purple outfits. The couple sold the pictures of their wedding to OK! magazine for $2.2 million.

On-field Redemption

Beckham started the 1998-99 soccer season on a mission to redeem himself for his grave error at the World Cup. Despite playing under constant pressure and ongoing booing from the crowd, Beckham had an excellent year and lead Manchester United to an unprecedented triple crown, winning the Premier League championship, the FA Cup, and the European Cup. Beckham had another good year during the 1999-2000 season, winning his fourth Premier League championship. He was runner-up in the voting for both best player in Europe and the best player in the world, and was second in voting for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year (which was won by Lennox Lewis ). Although he scored his fiftieth goal during the season, more press was given to his new mohawk haircut.

Beckham's play on the soccer field went a long way to redeem his image after the World Cup fiasco. Despite a slump early in 2001 that had critics grumbling about his true value, Beckham remained focused and returned to form. By the end of the 2000-01 season, having been named the team's captain, he was receiving high praise for his new-found leadership, maturity, and wisdom. Often knocked as a footballer with exceptional skills that did not necessarily come through in the clutch, Beckham quieted his critics by proving himself on the field.

Chronology

1975	Born in Leytonstone, London, England
1991	Joins Manchester United as a trainee
1995	Makes debut in Premier League match
1996	Becomes starting midfielder
1998	Gets ejected from World Cup game against Argentina; vilified in England; signs five-year, $12.5 million with Manchester United
1999	Marries Victoria Adams, also known as Posh Spice
2000	Publishes autobiography
2001	Named team captain
2002	Scores free kick goal in the World Cup against Argentina

History of the Manchester United Soccer Team

Manchester United came into existence in 1878, under the name Newton Health. In 1909 the team began playing in the newly built arena, Old Trafford, where the team continues to play today. The team had moments of glory and dismal failure during its first decades. League play was suspended during World War II, and Old Trafford suffered damage from bombings, but the team quickly rebuilt it when play resumed in 1946. During the next twelve years Manchester United built a successful program, but a plane crash in 1958 that claimed the lives of eight players severely affected the team.

The Reds, as the team is known, careened through the 1960s and 1970s, matching great winning streaks with equally impressive slumps. In 1986 the team hired Sir Alex Ferguson, a seasoned and successful manager, to rebuild the Reds into a top-ranked organization. Between 1992 and 2001, the team claimed seven FA Premiere League titles.

Manchester United is a popular team in England, with the biggest payroll and the most media exposure. The team grossed nearly $140 million in 2000, more than any other team in the world. Comparable to the one-time stature of the Dallas Cowboys or the New York Yankees, fans tended to either love them or hate them. For his part, Beckham is the highest paid player on the United team, earning some $13 million a year from salary and endorsements, and he, like his team, tends to inspire a strong reaction among fans who defend or distain him.

Beckham's moment of supreme redemption came during the World Cup in 2002, when England once again faced Argentina. Stalled at 0-0, England was awarded a penalty kick. Although he was coming off a broken foot and was not one-hundred percent healthy, Beckham lined up to take the shot. With the Argentinean players doing their best to distract him, Beckham, the master of the penalty kick, put the ball in the back of the net. England defended its 1-0 lead to advance in the World Cup. He was once again the hero.

The Beckham Phenomenon

Beckham's life on and off the field have inspired so much curiosity in England that Staffordshire University began offering a twelve-week course on Beckham and the sociological implication of his career. The course is founded on the presupposition that Beckham's 1998 World Cup mishap defined an era in England similar to the way the assassination of John F. Kennedy did in the United States. Beckham's undeniable talent to score on free kicks drew a team of international researchers to study how he literally bends the plane of the ball over defenders and into the goal. A great footballer with an even greater public persona, Beckham continues to fuel the frenzy through his rich-and-famous lifestyle and his exceptional play on the field.

Awards and Accomplishments

1992	Wins Football Association (FA) Youth Cup
1996-97, 2000-01	Wins Premier League championship
1997	Voted Young Player of the Year
1998, 2002	Plays in World Cup
1999	Wins European Cup, Premier League, and FA Cup championships

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Manchester United Football, Sir Matt Busby Way, Manchester, M16 ORA, England.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

The Complete Marquis Who's Who. New York: Marquis Who's Who, 2001.

Periodicals

Barnes, Simon. "Banishment of Beckham." The Spectator, (February 26, 2000): 63.

Barnes, Simon. "Football's Osric." The Spectator, (September 8, 2001): 63.

Barnes, Simon. "Sublime and Ridiculous." The Spectator, (October 9, 1999): 79.

Barnes, Simon. "Triumph and Disaster." The Spectator, (June 5, 1999): 71.

Blonska, Joanna, and Jeffrey Klinke. "How Posh?" People Weekly, (July 19, 1999): 58-59.

Brownell, Ginanne. "The New Royal Couple." Newsweek, (October 16, 2000): 64.

Lawton, James. "Beckham has Only Himself to Blame—and Posh." Daily Express, (January 1, 2000): B4.

"Posh 'N Becks." National Post, (October 28, 2000): W6.

Thomsen, Ian. "Scourge of a Nation: England is Still Lambasting David Beckham." Sports Illustrated, (September 7, 1998): 10.

Other

"Beckham's Biography." Magnificent7: The Online David Beckham Magazine. http://www.beckhammagazine.com (January 8, 2003).

"Beck's Dad Slams MP over Call to Ban Star from Road." Manchester Online, February 10, 2001. http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk (January 8, 2003).

"David Beckham: Bio." Manchester United. http://www.manutd.co.uk (January 8, 2003).

"England Fans Salute New Captain Marvel." Manchester Online, September 9, 2001. http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk (January 8, 2003).

"Giles: Beckham a Parody of a Great Player." Manchester Online, December 4, 2001. http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk (January 8, 2003).

"More Millions for Beckham: In His Own Words." Manchester Online, August 22, 2002. http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk (January 8, 2003).

"Profile: World Cup Euphoria in England Surrounding Star David Beckham." National Public Radio, June 2, 2002. http://npr.org (January 22, 2003).

Sketch by Kari Bethel