David Beckham

David Beckham

David Beckham
Personal information
Full name	David Robert Joseph Beckham
Height	5'11.5 (182cm)
Position(s)	Right midfield, centre midfield
Team information
Current team	Real Madrid

David Beckham OBE (born 2 May, 1975 in Leytonstone, London) is an English footballer, widely regarded as the most famous player in the sport. He currently plays for Real Madrid and as captain of the English national team. David Beckham is especially noted for the quality of his crossing and the ability to hit free-kicks particularly from long-range and swinging corners. He is also famed for his celebrity lifestyle trappings, media attention and marketing potential.

He signed schoolboy forms for Manchester United F.C. in 1989, became a trainee in 1991 and signed a professional contract with them soon after making his first first-team appearance in 1992.

By 1995, he had established himself as a first-team player at United and won Premier League and FA Cup winners' medals with the club in 1996. He was soon selected to play for England after winning another league medal in 1997. He was sent off in a World Cup match against Argentina for kicking Diego Simeone, earning criticism from British football fans. However, he redeemed himself with his strong play and helped United win the league, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League the following year to complete an unprecedented treble. His relationship with the club's manager Sir Alex Ferguson began to deteriorate, though, and although he won further league championships with United in 2000 and 2001, he left the club to join Real Madrid in 2003.

While his performances for Real Madrid have attracted praise, the team itself has been in turmoil. As of November 2005, Beckham has had 5 different coaches in Real Madrid and failed to win any major trophies with his struggling new team.

Beckham's relationship with and marriage to the former Spice Girl Victoria (née Adams) has contributed towards him becoming a major celebrity away from football, and his name was searched for on Google more than that of any other sporting personality in 2003 and 2004.^[1] The Beckhams have three sons, Brooklyn, born 4 March, 1999, Romeo, born 1 September, 2002, and Cruz, born 20 February, 2005.

Childhood and early career

Beckham was born in Leytonstone, east London, the son of Ted Beckham (a kitchen fitter) and Sandra West (a hairdresser). In his first autobiography My World, which was serialised in OK! Magazine, David was quoted as saying; "I've probably had more contact with Judaism than with any other religion." Beckham is Jewish on his maternal grandfather's side. (Presently, Beckham and his wife have embraced the mystic Jewish offshoot of Kabbalah).

Both have also obtained matching tattoos from the Song of Songs that says, in Hebrew: “I am for my beloved, and my beloved is for me, who grazes sheep in rose-like pastures.”) The Beckhams were fanatical Manchester United supporters, who would regularly travel to Old Trafford by coach and frequently went to away games. David was a strong cross-country runner who regularly finished first in his age group in the Essex cross-country championships, but he had inherited his parents' love of Manchester United and his main passion was football. He attended one of Bobby Charlton's soccer schools in Manchester and won the chance to take part in a training session at FC Barcelona in a talent competition.

He was Manchester United's mascot for a match against West Ham United F.C. in 1986. The young Beckham had trials with Leyton Orient F.C. and attended Tottenham Hotspur F.C.'s school of excellence, but once Manchester United offered him a place there was no doubting which club he would go to.

He signed schoolboy forms at United on his fourteenth birthday in 1989, then signed a Youth Training Scheme contract on 8 July, 1991. He was part of an exceptionally talented group of young players at the club, including the future internationals Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville and Gary Neville.

These players later helped the club to win the FA Youth Cup in May 1992, with Beckham scoring in the second leg of the final against Crystal Palace F.C. He had his first appearance for United's first team that year, as a substitute in a League Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., and signed his first professional contract shortly afterwards. United reached the final of the Youth Cup again the following year, with Beckham playing in their defeat by Leeds United F.C., and he won another medal in 1994 when the club's reserve team won their league.

He went to Preston North End F.C. on loan in the 1994-95 season to get some first team experience, then made his first Premier League appearance for Manchester United on 2 April, 1995, in a goalless draw against Leeds United F.C..

Manchester United

Becoming a first team player (1995-98)

United manager Alex Ferguson had large confidence in the club's young players and when three of his first-team players left the club at the end of the 1994-95 season, he made the decision to let the youth team players replace them instead of buying players from other clubs. The criticism of Ferguson increased when United started the season with a 3–1 defeat at Aston Villa F.C.^[2], with Beckham scoring United's only goal of the game, but many of the doubters were won over when the team won their next five matches.

Beckham became a regular player in the team and helped them to win the Premiership and FA Cup double that season, scoring the winner in the semi-final against Chelsea F.C. and also supplying the corner kick cross that Eric Cantona scored with a volley from in the FA Cup Final.

In August 1996, Beckham became something of a household name when he scored a spectacular goal in a match against Wimbledon F.C.

With United 2 – 0 ahead, Beckham noticed that Wimbledon's goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was standing a long way out of his goal, and hit a shot from the halfway line that floated over the goalkeeper and into the net. Sky Sports' commentator Martin Tyler's words "You'll see that over and over again" proved prophetic as the goal was voted Premier League Goal of the Decade in 2003.

Beckham's name was frequently mentioned in the press, and he made his first appearance for the England national football team on 1 September, 1996, in a world cup qualifying a match against Moldova.

He became an automatic first-choice player at United that season, scoring a series of blistering goals and sublime free kicks, thus helping them to retain their league championship. He was voted PFA Young Player of the Year by his peers.

In 1998, Beckham started dating the Spice Girl Victoria Adams and was pictured wearing a sarong while they were on holiday together. Their relationship attracted a great deal of media interest. United started the season well, but their results deteriorated when several players became injured and they finished the season in second place.

World Cup 1998

Beckham had played in all of England's qualifying matches for the

and travelled with the England squad to the finals in France, but the team's manager Glenn Hoddle publicly accused him of not concentrating on the tournament,^[3] and he didn't start in either of England's first two matches. He was picked for their third match against Colombia, which England needed to win to ensure their progress in the tournament, and played well, scoring one of his trademark free kicks in a 2–0 victory.

In the second round of that competition, he received a red card in England's match against Argentina, for kicking out at Diego Simeone following a foul challenge by the Argentine. As Beckham lay on the pitch he held out his right leg as Simeone backed into it and fell over. Simeone later admitted to trying to get Beckham sent off by over-reacting to the kick and then, along with other members of his team, waving imaginary red cards at the referee, urging him to send Beckham off.^[4]

The match finished in a draw and England were eliminated in a penalty shootout. Many supporters and journalists blamed Beckham for England's elimination and he became the target of criticism and abuse, including the hanging of an effigy outside a London pub, and the Daily Mirror newspaper printing a dartboard with a picture of him in the middle.^[5] However, several tabloids later apologized for their excessive criticism, which also died down after Simeone confessed that he had tried to bait Beckham into retaliating.

The treble season (1998-99)

In the 1998–99 season, he was part of the United team that won the "treble" — Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, a unique feat in English football. There had been speculation that the criticism that he had received after being sent off in the World Cup would lead to him leaving England, but he decided to stay at Manchester United.

Throughout the season, Beckham was jeered by opposition supporters whenever he touched the ball, but he consistently played well and his crossing provided a significant number of goals for United's forwards Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole. United's supporters had mostly forgiven him for the problems he'd had with England, and were frequently heard to chant "Argentina" in response to the other supporters' taunts. On a more positive note for Beckham, Victoria gave birth to their first child Brooklyn on 4 March, 1999.

United needed to win their final league match of the season at home to Tottenham Hotspur F.C. to ensure they would win the league championship, but Tottenham took an early lead in the match. Beckham scored their equaliser and United went on to win the match and the league.

Beckham played in United's FA Cup final win over Newcastle and played in centre-midfield for the UEFA Champions League final as United's first choice centre-midfielders were suspended for the match.

United were losing the Champions League final 1–0 at the end of normal time, but won the trophy by scoring two goals in stoppage time. Both of the goals came from corners taken by Beckham, and this, combined with his performances over the rest of the season, led to him finishing runner up for 1999's European Footballer of the Year award.

Wedding

He married Victoria, "Posh Spice" from the Spice Girls, at Luttrellstown Castle, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland on 4 July, 1999. The wedding attracted enormous media coverage. Beckham's teammate Gary Neville was the best man, and Brooklyn was the ring bearer.

The media were kept away from the ceremony as the Beckhams had a deal with OK! Magazine giving them exclusive rights for photographs. They were later accused of bad taste after photographs showed that they had sat on thrones for the ceremony. 437 staff were employed for the wedding reception, which was estimated to have cost (UK) £500,000. ^[6] jtyjtjtttttjtjttt

1999-2000 season

Despite Beckham's achievements in the 1998-99 season, he was still unpopular among opposition fans and many journalists, and he was heavily criticised after being sent off for a deliberate foul in Manchester United's World Club Championship match against Necaxa. It was suggested in the press that his wife was a bad influence on him, and that it might be in United's interests to sell him,^[7] but his manager publicly backed him and he stayed at the club.

The relationship between Ferguson and Beckham began to deteriorate, possibly as a result of Beckham's fame and commitments away from football. In 2000, the club gave Beckham permission to miss training to look after his son Brooklyn, who had gastroenteritis, but Ferguson was furious when Victoria Beckham was photographed at a London Fashion Week event on the same night. Fergusion claimed that Beckham would have been able to train if Victoria had looked after Brooklyn that day.

He responded by fining Beckham the maximum amount that was permitted (two weeks' wages – then £50,000) and dropping him for a crucial match against United's rivals Leeds United F.C. He later criticised Beckham in an updated edition of his 1999 autobiography, claiming he hadn't been "fair to his team mates". ^[8]

Beckham had a good season for his club, though, and helped United to win the Premier League by a record margin.

Winning over the England fans

The abuse that Beckham was receiving from English supporters peaked during England's 3–2 defeat by Portugal in Template:Ec2, when a group of England supporters taunted him throughout the match with chants including "we hope your kid dies of cancer".^[9] Beckham responded with a one-fingered gesture and, while the gesture attracted some criticism, many of the newspapers that had previously encouraged his vilification asked their readers to stop abusing him.^[10] According to an article by Stephen Thanabalan for World Soccer magazine, the effective turning point for the media came as a result of a realisation that they had a need to promote a responsibility and positivity in the game in educating the public, as by the end of Template:Ec2, it was becoming clear that the abuse of Beckham was run as a mere vehicle for certain perpetrators to platform hooliganism or hate campaigns in the sport, and it was damaging to not just the England team, but to the reputation of English Football and the FA Premier League in general. Secondly, the media realised then that Beckham was a crucial linchpin the side increasingly looked dependent upon as even though the team was knocked out in the group stages, any criticism of Beckham simply had to be emanating from unprofessional grounds because on the pitch, Beckham was arguably England 's best performer at the tournament. Beckham's crosses assisted in all the side's goals against Portugal (scored by Steve McManaman and Paul Scholes), and against Germany (scored by Alan Shearer). The goal against Germany was extra significant too because it symbolised Beckham's ability to help the Three Lions overcome the ghosts of her recent past- namely, Template:Ec2.

Following Kevin Keegan's resignation as England manager in October 2000, Beckham was promoted to team captain by the caretaker manager Peter Taylor, and then kept the role under new manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. He helped England to qualify for the

Finals, with their performances including an impressive 5–1 victory over Germany in Munich. The final step in Beckham's conversion from villain to hero happened in England's 2 – 2 draw against Greece on 6 October, 2001. England needed to win or draw the match in order to qualify for the World Cup, but were losing 2–1 with little time remaining. With Teddy Sheringham being fouled some eight yards outside the Greek penalty area, England was awarded a free-kick and Beckham ensured England's qualification with a curling strike of the kind which had become his trademark. Shortly afterwards, he was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2001.

Metatarsal injury

On 10 April, 2002, Beckham was injured during a Champions League match against Deportivo La Coruña, breaking the metatarsal bones of his left foot. There was speculation that the injury might have been caused deliberately, as the player who had injured Beckham was Argentinian Aldo Duscher and England and Argentina were due to meet in that year's World Cup ^[11].

Those speculations were unfounded, though, and the accusations were never proved. The injury prevented Beckham from playing for United for the rest of the season, but he signed a three-year contract in May, following months of negotiations with the club, mostly concerning extra payments for his image rights. The income from his new contract and the many endorsement deals he had made him the highest-paid player in the world at the time. ^[12]

World Cup 2002 and final season at United

He was partially fit by the time of the

and played in the first match against Sweden. Beckham scored the winning goal of the match against Argentina, with a penalty, and that caused Argentina to fail to qualify for the playoff stage. England were eventually knocked out of the tournament by Brazil in the Quarter-Finals.

Following an injury early in the 2002-03 season, Beckham was unable to regain his place in the team, with Ole Gunnar Solskjær having replaced him on the right side of midfield. His relationship with his manager deteriorated further on 15 February, 2003 when, in the changing room following a defeat to Arsenal F.C., Alex Ferguson kicked a football boot which struck Beckham over the eye, causing a cut which required stitches.

The incident led to a great deal of transfer speculation involving Beckham, with bookmakers offering odds on whether he or Ferguson would be first to leave the club.^[13] Although the team had started the season badly, their results improved greatly from December onwards and they won the league. In the second leg of the Champions League quarter final tie against Real Madrid, Manchester United were trailing 3-1 from the first leg at the Bernabéu Stadium.

In the return leg at Old Trafford on 23 April, 2003, Beckham was controversially left on the bench for the start of the match. It got even worse for United when Real Madrid went 1-0 up inside the opening 10 minutes through Ronaldo. At half time it was 1 all with Ruud van Nistelrooy levelling matters just before the break. Ronaldo scored two more goals after the break in the space of eight minutes to seal his hat-trick, with Iván Helguera scoring an own goal for United in between Ronaldo's two goals. In the 63rd minute, with United trailing 3-2 on the night and 6-3 on aggregate, Ferguson elected to bring on Beckham at the expense of Juan Sebastián Verón.

Six minutes after coming off the bench Beckham had a free kick which he dispatched into the net with great power and accuracy, with the ball coming off the underside of the crossbar. In the 84th minute Beckham managed to reach the ball in a goalmouth scramble before Helguera to poke the ball over the line to score his second of the night. United won on the night thanks to Beckham's heroics, but lost 6-5 on aggregate, needing only two goals to progress due to the away goal ruling. Beckham also scored the winning goal in their final match of the season against Everton F.C.

He was still a first-choice player for England, however, and he was awarded an OBE for services to football on 13 June.^[14]

Real Madrid

Beckham for Real Madrid.
Image © soccer-europe.com.

On 17 June, 2003, Beckham signed a four-year contract with Real Madrid of Spain, potentially worth up to €35 million (UK£ 25,000,000, USD $41,000,000). The transfer was completed on 1 July, 2003, and made him the third Englishman to ever play for the club after Laurie Cunningham in the 1980s, and Steve McManaman in the late 1990s to early 2000s.

It was speculated that Real's desire to sign him came from the merchandising opportunities he would bring as well as from his football ability. For example, Real Madrid shirts bearing his name and number sold out in Madrid on the day his transfer was completed and the club were expected to receive €624,000 for the sale of the shirts.

At the time the transfer was announced, Beckham and his wife were on a week-long tour of Asia promoting beauty products, chocolate, motor oil, and mobile phones. It was reported that this tour would earn more money for the Beckhams than the first year of David's Real Madrid contract.

Although Beckham had worn the number seven shirt for Manchester United and England, he was unable to wear it at Madrid as Raúl González had the right to wear it written into his contract. He chose to wear 23 instead. At the time, some speculated that this was a tribute to Michael Jordan who had worn that number for the Chicago Bulls; however, he has since stated that he was unaware of this link when selecting his squad number.

2003-04 season

Alleged affair with Rebecca Loos

Beckham immediately became a favourite with the Real Madrid supporters, scoring five times in his first 16 matches, but the team, whose club president expected them to win either the Spanish league or the Champions League each season, were not performing well.

Beckham had further problems in April 2004, when 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, the Malaysian-born Australian model Sarah Marbeck claimed that she had slept with Beckham on two occasions. Beckham dismissed both accusations as "ludicrous".^[15]

Near the end of the 2003 - 2004 season, The Daily Telegraph 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 The Daily 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.

Real Madrid finished the season in a diasppointing fourth place like min, and were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League at the quarter-final stage.

File:Beckham Euro2004.jpg

David Beckham on international duty
Image © http://soccer-europe.com

Disappointment at Euro 2004

Beckham played in all of England's matches at Template:Ec2, but the tournament was a disappointment for him. He had a penalty saved in England's 2-1 defeat to France and missed another in a penalty shootout in the quarter final against Portugal. England lost the shootout and went out of the competition.

2004-05 season

In July 2004, while David was in pre-season training in Spain, an intruder scaled a wall at the Beckhams' home while carrying a can of petrol. Victoria and their children were in the house at the time, but security guards apprehended the man before he reached the house.^[16]

Deliberate booking

Beckham made more headlines on 9 October when he admitted he had intentionally fouled Ben Thatcher in an England match against Wales in order to get himself booked. Beckham was due to receive a one-match suspension for his next caution, and picked up an injury which he knew would keep him out of England's next match, so he deliberately fouled Thatcher in order to serve his suspension in a match that he would have had to miss anyway.

The British Football Association asked Beckham for an explanation of his actions and he admitted that he had "made a mistake" and apologised.^[17]

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. The following month, the announcement of plans for the christening of the Beckhams' two children, including the construction of a fake Gothic chapel for £120,000 on the grounds of their Berkshire estate, were received with some ridicule, especially as neither is particularly religious.

Beckham became a UNICEF goodwill amabassador in January 2005, having supported the charity for a number of years.^[18]

Real Madrid had another disappointing season, finishing second in the league to FC Barcelona and only reaching the last sixteen in the Champions League.

2005-06 season: three sendings off

In October 2005, while playing in the World Cup Qualifying match against Austria, Beckham became the first England captain to be sent off, and the first player to be sent off twice while playing for England. Nonetheless, England held on to win the match 1-0 and later qualified for the 2006 tournament due to results elsewhere.

Four days later they beat Poland 2-1 to top the qualifying group. Shortly afterwards, Beckham was sent off while playing in a league match for Real Madrid against Valencia CF. Having received a yellow card, he appeared to sarcastically applaud the referee and was given a second yellow card, causing an automatic dismissal, athough the dismissal was cancelled on appeal two days later.

On 3 December, 2005, in the Real Madrid v Getafe match in the Spanish league, Beckham was again sent off in the 58th minute for a rash tackle.

Beckham established two football academies bearing his name, one in Los Angeles and one in east London. He owns a company called Footwork Productions Ltd. The turnover of the company equates to David Beckham earning almost £47,500 every day, before expenses.

In January, Beckham was named a judge for the 2006 British Book Awards.

Milestones

Beckham made his 85th appearance for England in 2005 and is expected to captain the team at the

in Germany. If so, he would become only the sixth England player to represent his country at three World Cup competitions (although Sol Campbell and Michael Owen are expected to achieve this feat at the same time), and the fourth (after Billy Wright, Bobby Moore and Bryan Robson) to captain the team at more than one World Cup. Beckham is also a reasonable candidate to record 100 appearances for his country.

He captained his country for a landmark 50th time in the friendly international against Argentina in November 2005. Beckham is one of only four players to have appeared 100 times in the Champions League.^[19]

Miscellaneous

Early on in his career Beckham secured a number of lucrative sponsorship deals including Brylcreem, Adidas, Vodafone (which ended in July 2005) and Diesel.

Despite the USA's uneven acceptance of soccer, Beckham's recognition in the USA is strong enough to enable him to appear in print and television advertising for various sponsors, including Gillette razors.

Following his move to Real Madrid and the disappointment of Euro 2004, British media interest in the Beckham's has faded despite an alleged affair with Rebecca Loos, his former personal assistant. For the first time, the Beckham "brand" had been tainted.

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.

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

Beckham is viewed by some as the most famous example of metrosexuality, a type of personality which combines feminine and masculine characteristics.

He has bought a multi-million dollar home in The Palm, Jumeirah, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Some regarded Beckham as instrumental in the success of the Olympic bid for London 2012.

At the opening ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Beckham escorted the then six-year-old Kirsty Howard as she presented the Jubilee Baton to the Queen. Howard's public notability first arose after having held Beckham’s hand as he led England onto the pitch for their crucial 2002 World Cup qualifier against Greece (October 06, 2001; Old Trafford, 2-2). The pair have continued to enjoy a long-standing association.

Quotations

"10 heroic lions, one stupid boy" — Daily Mirror headline after Beckham's sending off against Argentina.

"David Beckham is Britain's finest striker of a football not because of God-given talent but because he practises with a relentless application that the vast majority of less gifted players wouldn't contemplate" — Sir Alex Ferguson (1999) ^[20]

"He cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle, and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that he's alright." — George Best

"Without being too harsh on David Beckham, he cost us the match." - Ian Wright, former England striker

"David Beckham must never go near a penalty kick again!" — The Sun

"We may be a small country but we're a great one, too. The country of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter. David Beckham's right foot. David Beckham's left foot" (from the film Love Actually, said by Hugh Grant, playing Britain's Prime Minister.

"It's the time for Manchester United with BECKHAM! That's absolutely brilliant! Take a bow David Beckham. A goal you'll see over and over again. From his half, certainly it was on the half way line. And that is truly outstanding!-Martin Tyler commentating on 17 August, 1996, Manchester United F.C. vs. Wimbledon F.C.

References

Books

• Beckham, David (2002). David Beckham: My Side. HarperCollinsWillow. (ISBN 0007157320).
• Beckham, David (2001). Beckham: My World. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. (ISBN 0340792701). {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Beckham, David (2003). Beckham: Both Feet on the Ground. HarperCollins. (ISBN 0060570938). {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Crick, Michael (2003). The Boss — The Many Sides of Alex Ferguson. Pocket Books. (ISBN 0-7434-2991-5).
• Ferguson, Alex (1999). Managing My Life — My Autobiography. Hodder & Stoughton. (ISBN 0-340-72855-8). {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

Online

• "Biography on manutd.com". Retrieved October 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Biography on fifa.com". Retrieved October 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• BBC News
• Dispatch Online
• ESPN Soccernet
• Manchester Online
• New Statesman

Notes

1. ^ "2003 Year-End Google Zeitgeist". Google.com. Retrieved 9 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help), "2004 Year-End Google Zeitgeist". Google.com. Retrieved 9 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
2. ^ The most famous comment was Alan Hansen's "You can't win anything with kids.", quoted in The Boss 405. Beckham scored United's goal from a distance of around 30 metres.
3. ^ "Beckham Blasts Hoddle". Dispatch Online, 29 June, 1998. Retrieved 5 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
4. ^ "Simeone admits trying to get Beckham sent off". Rediff Sports, 19 May, 2002. Retrieved 26 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
5. ^ "Beckham's Darkest Hour". Article on official UEFA website. Retrieved 6 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
6. ^ "Wedded spice". BBC News, 5 July, 1999. Retrieved 2 December. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
7. ^ "Man Utd's flawed genius?". BBC News, 7 January, 2000. Retrieved 6 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
8. ^ Quoted in The Boss 468.
9. ^ A reference to Brooklyn. "Leader — Play games behind closed doors". New Statesman, 26 June, 2000. Retrieved 4 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
10. ^ "Media sympathy for Beckham's gesture". BBC News, 14 June, 2000. Retrieved 4 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
11. ^ "Did "hatchet man" target Beckham?". ESPN Socernet, 2 April, 2002. Retrieved 7 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
12. ^ "Beckham signs new contract". BBC News, May 2002. Retrieved 7 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
13. ^ "Will Becks give Man Utd the boot?". BBC News, 18 February, 2003. Retrieved 6 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
14. ^ "Beckham's pride at OBE". BBC News, 13 June, 2003. Retrieved 6 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
15. ^ "Beckham to stay in Spain". BBC News, 20 May 2004. Retrieved 7 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
16. ^ "Intruder alert for Victoria Beckham". Manchester Online, 20 July, 2004. Retrieved 9 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
17. ^ "FA wants explanation from Beckham". BBC News, 14 October, 2004. Retrieved 6 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
18. ^ "David Beckham, Goodwill Ambassador". UNICEF official website. Retrieved 9 October. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
19. ^ As of December 2005. The others are Paolo Maldini, Gary Neville and Raúl González.
20. ^ Managing My Life 137.

External links

Football career profiles

• FootballDatabase provides David Beckham's profile and stats
• David Beckham biography from thefa.com
• David Beckham profile from realmadrid.com
• Biography on the Internet Movie Database
• Biography on the AceShowBiz Database
• David Beckham profile — AskMen.com
• Beckham Trail in Waltham forest where David was born and raised
• The David Beckham Academy — opening in London summer 2005 and in Los Angeles in late 2005.

Fan sites and fanzines

• David Beckham — unofficial fan website.
• David Beckham Fan Website
• David Beckham Gallery
• Old Trafford Legends: David Beckham
• Beckham Magazine — fanzine with a lot of information and pictures and a very active forum (and a lot of pop-ups).

Official commercial websites

• http://www.coty.com/WebContent.asp?CO=1150&Sec=2&Sub=15&F=David_and_Victoria_Beckham&Item=2
• http://www.19.co.uk/ar.asp?AID=18
• David Beckham at IMDb