D.O.B = 02-05-75

Position = Midfielder Right/Centre

Height = 1.83m

Weight = 75kg

David Beckham plays for the most illustrious club side in the world: Real Madrid. He joined Real after a £25 million transfer was concluded between Real Madrid and his former club, Manchester United. He frequently tours the Far-East where he is mobbed by thousands of fans and he is most famous footballer in the world. He is the richest British sportsman today, his image is used to advertise various products and he is revered throughout many countries for his footballing talent. However life has not always been so easy for Mr Beckham, following his sending off in the 1998 World Cup he was probably the most despised footballer in England. The news showed effigies of him being burnt down and some even wondered if he would play for England again. Many critized for marrying a Spice Girl - Victoria Beckham and there was a lot of talk about whether he could concentrate on football, with all his advertising and touring. These criticisms again emerged after a weak Euro 2004 campaign where he infamously blazed a penalty over the bar against Portugal in the penalty shootout that England subsequently lost.

The opinion of the English public changed dramatically since 1998. He is now the captain of the national team, his work-rate is phenomenal, he gets back and defends, he is determined to win, he is a play-maker, he can deliver pin-point passes in the same way Juan Sebastien Veron can and without doubt he is the best crosser of the ball in world football.

He scored the goal which led to England qualifying for the World Cup, in the last minute of time no less, along the way winning the 2001 sports personality of the year proving the publics' affection for him

Incidentally he broke his foot (2nd metarasal) a few weeks before the World Cup finals, this led to uproar in public and front page news. The nation's chief conversation topic was whether he would be fit for the finals, daily updates about his foot were reported and there was general national hysteria. He made it through to the World Cup and despite being not 100% fit led the England team to the best of his abilties before they were beaten by the eventual winners Brazil. His Euro 2004 campaign was one of his poorest in recent years and again many pointed to a lack of fitness for his poor play. However a few performances after Euro 2004 and it seems that Beckham is back on form.

He also scored the greatest goal I have ever seen, I was lucky enough to have been at the match, it was the opening game of the season against my beloved Wimbledon. The goal was amazing, from a few yards in side his own half he noticed the keeper off his line and with great audacity he struck the ball and it flew beautifully into the back of the net.

Beckham is at the moment the epitomy of English football along side Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Sol Campbell. He is the backbone of the English side and personally I don't give a damn about his personal life, his I.Q, his taste in fashion (although the tattoo on the back of his neck is kind of grim), nor for that matter the way he speaks; he is a footballer his job is to play football.

It's official. David Beckham is God.

The beautiful thing about footballsport in general - is that there’s always the chance of redemption. David Beckham was publicly vilified – effigies of him were burnt on Guy Fawkes Night, for God’s sake –following one stupid mistake (when he kicked out at Diego Simeone after being fouled in a knock-out match four years ago and got sent off, effectively wrecking England’s chances – we eventually lost in a penalty shootout), and nearly left the country as a result of it. Lesser men would have crumbled. But not Beckham. Blessed with a truly sublime talent and the drive and responsibility to use it, his career has turned full circle.

I am writing, of course, in the aftermath of the England-Argentina match at World Cup 2002, in which Beckham scored the winning goal. He didn’t play particularly well – Rio Ferdinand and Nicky Butt were the heroes that day – but the point is what he symbolized. He had the chance, with one kick of the ball (from a penalty) to either redeem himself or make England’s world cave in. He had the guts to go for it and he bloody scored. It wasn’t even a very good penalty. That’s not the point. He bloody scored it, and in that one moment you could see years of guilt lift from his shoulders. It was a truly magical moment.

It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, either. I won’t stand for people taking the piss out of him: it’s true he’s a bear of relatively little brain, but so what? Did we laugh at Albert Einstein for being shit at football? Of course we didn’t. Much better to truly excel at one thing than be mediocre in many: all those pathetic snide columnists who have laughed at him for years are far less brainy than he is good at football. And he’s good-natured and great with fans and an obviously loving husband and dad and he truly understands the meaning of responsibility: a rare thing.

The other thing I love about him and Posh Spice is their total lack of self-consciousness. They’ve made it and they don’t give a shit what people think of them. They want to have enormous silly thrones at their wedding: they have them. They want to rename their Hertfordshire mansion Beckingham Palace: they do it. They’ve succeeded and they won’t pussyfoot around being half-hearted about it. Who could blame them?

He’s the closest thing our age will produce to a hero. His performance against Greece, when he more or less single-handedly earned England a place in the World Cup Finals, was a monument of desire and passion and skill and sheer bloody-minded refusal to give up. He’s the man, and he should be Prime Minister. (Well, maybe not.)

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