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LONDON: When an 11-year-old boy, David Beckham, entered the office of a local newspaper in East London with his mother in 1986, the trainee journalist summoned to the reception could never have known that he was about to meet a future international icon of soccer and culture.
Barely speaking in a whisper, the blonde-haired boy, motivated by his mother Sandra, said he had won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Schools skills competition and a trip to train with Barcelona, then led by Terry Venables.
A story came out, one of a crowd that for years to come would tell a Roy of the Rovers story that brought a plumber’s son to fame and fortune beyond his wildest dreams.
Six years later, Beckham fulfilled his childhood ambition by making his first-team debut for Manchester United before becoming captain of his country and becoming a Galactico at Real Madrid.
Beckham, one of the so-called “Class of 92”, won six Premier League titles with Alex Ferguson at United alongside youth teammates Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Gary and Phil Neville.
Beckham also won two FA Cups and, memorably, the Champions League in 1999. He completed his trophy collection with a League winners medal for Real Madrid and added two MLS Cups during an American adventure with the LA Galaxy.
However, that is just beginning to tell the story.
Midfielder Beckham, widely regarded as one of the best football forwards in English football history, was destined for more than just sports pages.
In 1999, he married one of the Spice Girls, a British pop music sensation at the time, becoming half of the country’s new Golden Couple.
Rather than “just” being a key cog in Manchester United’s dominant team of the 1990s and early 2000s, he became a brand, with a name as big off the field as he is.
Top-tier companies fell on themselves to enroll Beckham. On billboards around the world, he modeled from expensive underpants to watches and sunglasses.
Actors Tom Cruise and George Clooney became friends, and even Prince Harry was eager to socialize with football royalty.
“Bend it Like Beckham” became a box office success and Beckham was even credited with winning London’s bid to host the 2012 World Cup, his charm helping to influence the IOC vote.
Even after his game days, Beckham, the father of four, rarely makes the news. He owns the new MLS franchise, Inter Miami, as well as Salford City.
The door to all that, and an estimated net worth of $ 450 million, was opened with soccer gifts.
Venables recalled meeting that boy Beckham at the Nou Camp in Barcelona,
“When we said goodbye, I made sure I didn’t forget his name,” he said.
If his grandfather had gotten away with it, Beckham would have signed for Tottenham Hotspur, then led by Venables. The forms were already printed, but Beckham only had eyes for United.
After helping them win the FA Youth Cup in 1992, Beckham made his first-team debut months later in the League Cup.
He returned from a brief loan period at Preston to ignite his career at Old Trafford, making his Premier League debut in 1994.
ARCHED BROWS
Ferguson’s decision to give his “newbies” their wings at the start of the 1995-96 season initially surprised. Expert Alan Hansen joked, “You will never win anything with children,” after an opening day loss to Aston Villa.
Instead, with Beckham flourishing as a midfielder on United’s right side, they took twice the Premier League and FA Cup.
On the first day of next season, Beckham fired a 60-meter shot from his own half at Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan, and the world sat down and took notice.
Weeks later, Glenn Hoddle gave him his debut in England and won 115 games. From 2000 to 2006 he was captain.
Beckham’s celebrity status infuriated some, straining his relationship with Ferguson so much that the fiery Scotsman threw a boot at him in 2003 and cut his eye.
When he received a red card for kicking Argentine Diego Simeone in the last 16 of the 1998 World Cup, fans and the media criticized Beckham for the loss. An effigy of Beckham hung in front of a London pub, such was the poison directed at him.
However, out of adversity, Beckham grew. He led England to a famous 5-1 victory over Germany in a World Cup qualifier in 2001 and his villain-to-hero metamorphosis was completed when he curved in a characteristic free kick against Greece at Wembley to secure a place in the tournament. from 2002.
Although England’s so-called “Golden Generation” never managed to get a trophy, Beckham surpassed Bobby Moore’s appearance record for a field player in 2009 before the injury ended his hopes of playing in the 2010 World Cup and his international career.
Post-United Beckham never reached the same heights at the club level.
When he joined Real Madrid in 2003, 500 journalists showed up for his presentation at the Bernabéu.
However, it wasn’t until his last season in 2006-07 that Real won the League, when Beckham’s circus was plotting a course for the LA Galaxy and the Hollywood stage that his fairytale career demanded.
(Report by Martyn Herman, Ed Osmond edition)
