Some say he's only gone to America for the money.
Some say he'll never change public perception about soccer in the States.
But although David Beckham has his doubters, there's no man on the planet with a keener knack for turning everything he touches to gold.
There are plenty of more skillful players out there, but there are NONE who manage to grab people's attention like Becks. Wherever he goes, he gets a movie-star reception—and his sheer marketability makes him a dream signing for ANY club in the world.
Beckham has an almost hypnotic quality about him. If you're flicking through a magazine at the doctor's office and notice an article about him, chances are you'll pause to read it!
I'm a huge Manchester United fan, and when we lost Beckham it was like losing a member of the family. His move to Real Madrid was so hyped that it was even rumoured his physical would be covered live on television.
Watching Beckham on a football pitch is almost like watching a mythical figure in live action—fairytale endings seem to follow him wherever he goes. If it hadn't been for ONE stroke of bad fortune last season, he could have been hoisting the MLS Cup with the LA Galaxy.
Before I get too many comments about one man's not making a team, and reminders that Beckham hardly played last season, let me be clear about my point:
When "Goldenballs" laces up his boots, magic happens.
England fans will forever remember that night at Old Trafford when the Three Lions needed a draw to qualify for the World Cup Finals. They were down 2-1 heading into stoppage time, and won a free kick.
Beckham had taken upwards of a dozen free kicks in the match and missed them all. As he placed the ball into position for this one, the commentator set the scene:
"If David Beckham scores this, the roof will come off. This has to be the last chance!"
Becks delivered in trademark fashion, sent the fans crazy, and cemented himself as England's saviour.
The announcer's reaction?
"I don't believe it, David Beckham scores the goal to take England to the World Cup Finals....GIVE THAT MAN A KNIGHTHOOD!"
Beckham had a troubled first year with the Galaxy, but you can bet your bottom dollar that when the new season rolls around, all eyes will be once again on one man.
And I for one certainly wouldn't bet against his being a hero in Los Angeles.
"Beck" to the Future: Betting on David Beckham in Los Angeles
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19 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Sheikh Zakaria about 1 year ago
Yes..that man deserves a knighthood after all he has done for England and United, and also in the final third of his career at Madrid. But ppl are always obsessed wid his hairstuyle and fashion, rather than his footballing finesse
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Dhaval Patel about 1 year ago
The man deserves his 100th cap due to his service for England, also people questioned his fortitude since the world cup but he has shown that there is still some left in his tank.
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Dhaval Patel about 1 year ago
The man deserves his 100th cap due to his service for England, also people questioned his fortitude since the world cup but he has shown that there is still some left in his tank.
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Dhaval Patel about 1 year ago
The man deserves his 100th cap due to his service for England, also people questioned his fortitude since the world cup but he has shown that there is still some left in his tank.
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Dhaval Patel about 1 year ago
The man deserves his 100th cap due to his service for England, also people questioned his fortitude since the world cup but he has shown that there is still some left in his tank.
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David James about 1 year ago
David Beckham is a PR dream that cannot be disputed, he is good looking, well toned and frankly one of the best set piece and crossers/passers in the world.
The idea of Beckham being an out-and-out winger can be disputed - Beckham is well known for not being someone to take on a player. He isn't an Aaron Lennon or David Bentley in terms of running at men. Beckham is known for spreading play from wing to wing, or being passed a ball to cross it in with or without pressure.
But his rise to fame came with his free kicks and the 'curling' free kick will ever be acknowledged as a Beckham trade mark. With Man U having one of the best PR Departments in World Football Beckham was to become a household name, be it at another club he may not have got the status he has now.
Transferring to Madrid was perhaps the best "career" move he ever made, not in terms of his football, but in terms of his "image". Madrid is the biggest club in the world, in terms of Revenue, Size and Fan Base. Beckham became an icon with Real's various trips to Asia and America.
Madrid became a bigger club with Beckham, and Beckham became huge with Madrid. Beckham initially started out as a winger however became a 'quaterback' filling the 'holding' role such like makelele or hargreaves.
Beckham will forever be remembered in Britain for two moments the 'Greek Freekick' and 'The Ferguson Boot' each made him what he is today, a style icon and a role model. Unlike his famous predecessors, the Beckenbauers or the Pele's, he has the marketing value and the friends to boot.
If Beckham can't make soccer big in America, no one can.
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Nick Duckworth about 1 year ago
Great comments again buddy thank you
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
becks is such a great player that without him english team looks so incomplete .though his career is having a ?for others to me he always remains a legend player.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
by divya
may be becks has gone to america toearn money but thats not wrong everyone want to have more n more money . we can not forget the way he has played for england and man u
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Excellent post and splendid comments too, thank u very much to have read a worth-reading column.
I'm one of his biggest forever-fans, till he dies and on.
Long Live Becks!
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Steven Knaggs about 1 year ago
what drivel, beckham is the most overrated footballer in history. He has done sweet f.a for england in the grand scheme of things barring the greece free kick and we would still have gone into a playoff if he'd missed it something that seems to be regularly overlooked. Beckham must have taken 300-500 free kicks for england and scored 3 that i can think of, that hardly quantifies as a trade mark then does it? granted he is a good player but so are half the players in europe they just arent hyped up the same. lampard and gerrard especially are twice as good on a bad day. if you could be knighted for being a thick overrated stupid haired advertising whore then he should def be in with a shout.
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Nick Duckworth about 1 year ago
Ok for someone to name Lampard as better than Beckham is rather laughable. especially naming him in the same sentence as the word "overrated" Lampard is far more overrated than anyone else in the premiership? And if you paid due attention to the article I wasn't saying he was the best player in the world? In fact I actually comment that there were much better players out there but in terms of Marketability and popularity he is light years ahead of anyone else. He didn't only take free kicks for england either. The "Trademark" Beckham free kick has been recognised all over the world, from his playing days at man united where a Beckham free kick was Quote a-la Alan Hansen 'almost as good as having a penalty' so it seems that if professional football pundits and players and managers all recognise how good he is at free kicks, but you say it hardly quantifies as a trademark? oh well I suppose YOU must be right and everyone else in the sport doesn't know what they are talking about. Maybe you should apply for a job on match of the day??
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Steven Knaggs about 1 year ago
Ok to think that beckham is half the player lampard is a joke, to say he is englands favourite son almost vomit inducing. What is it that lampard is so overrated at doing exactly? beckham can pass the ball long and thats it, you mention alan hansen, the same alan hansen that said man utd "would win nothing with kids" so if his opinion is gospel how did he get that one so badly wrong?. opinions are opinions but facts dont lie, as i mentioned beckham scored less than a handfull of freekicks for england even though he took every one when he played 99 times. so lets say if you were to score 3 own goals in 99 games would that be a trademark? if you were booked 3 times in 99 games would that be a trade mark? oh well i suppose you join a long list of people blinded by the hype and unable to see a good but far from world class player for what he really is, one dimensional.
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Nick Duckworth about 1 year ago
you keep going back to the fact that somewhere I'm supposed to have said he's a world class player??? I never did? not once? And I also never even said he was one of the best? in fact I never commented on his playing ability at all apart from the free kick thing? And EVERYBODY in the game associates David Beckham with excellent dead ball skills and great long range passing. Yes they are probably the only 2 things he is good at, but those things make the difference in games sometimes. Cristiano Ronaldo is often commented about his "Trademark" stepovers?? Roy Keane is synonomous with his "Trademark" tough tackling. And you are constantly referring to Beck's appearances for England? if that's the route you want to go down then all I'll say is David Beckham is TEN times the player Lampard is when he pulls on an England shirt. The other players look to Beckham as their leader, and are always encouraged to do better when he plays. Take the England Croatia game when England were recently knocked out of the Euro's. England looked decidedly screwed in that game...Until David Beckham came on. He set up Crouch's goal and was involved in the equaliser. Obviously England screwed up anyway but the point I am making is they seemed to play much better as a team, with Beckham there. I don't think the same could be said about Lampard. he's a much better player for Chelsea than he ever was for England and personally I don't even think he's all that for Chelsea but then.....that's just my opinion, everyone's entitled to one just like you are entitled to your opinion of becks.
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Steven Knaggs about 1 year ago
so according to you a trademark seems to be something that happens in low frequency but with great effect?, roy keane used to crunch people every week, ronaldo does tricks every week, that is why they qualify as trademarks. as i have had to mention 3 times wth no response beckham scored very few free-kicks so HOW IS THAT A TRADEMARK? you also negated to respond to alan hansens full proof opinion after i rubbished it. if you are basing this on a personally formed opinion why do you keep referring to other people's views? , his long range passing is a trademark as he regularly plays spectacular 50 yard passes, as is his workrate. Lampard has been better for england overall fact, and as for chelsea you obviously are better informed to comment on lampards contribution than ranieri who bought him for 10m,and mourinho who played him week in week out so perhaps you should apply for the chelsea job?
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Nick Duckworth about 1 year ago
Beckham scored plenty of free kicks for Man United, which is the whole reason why people named it his trademark. Even watching the italian league or spanish league, commentators have been known to say "wow, that free kick was almost Beckham like!"
and just to note, It's not exactly the success rate of his free kicks that got him the trademark tag...it's the way in which he could bend the ball, or put it perfectly on target better than most. In the 1999 season he was ranked 2nd place in the world footballer of the year ratings....I'm pretty sure this wasn't just because he's a good passer.
Ranieri and mourinho obviously value Lampard much higher than I do....And they are allowed to have their opinion, as is everybody else....which is the be all and end all of this debate?! Many people think Lampard is the best thing since sliced bread, many think he's a fat waste of space. you are obviously not a beckham fan whereas I am, so I think what's best in this argument is to agree to disagree otherwise we'll be here forever.
David Beckham is without a shadow of a doubt the most talked about and marketable player on the planet and before all this debating began, this was the main point of the article. I'm sorry you dont agree but I dont see how you can dispute the original points i made in the article?? I'm not saying he's the best player in history, neither is he ONE of the best players in history but there are not many players who can achieve the same sort of public interest he can. In 50 years time I'm still sure people will know who David Beckham was....I'm not sure you'll be able to say the same about frank lampard...
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Nick Duckworth about 1 year ago
Oh, and just out of interest....in his time at MAN UTD ALONE, he scored 6 free kicks for England.
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Steven Knaggs about 1 year ago
commentators? you are still avoiding the points i have brought up and instead trying to avoid answering them, you would mak a great politician i think. again you use other people's opinions to form your own, since when have commentators been an authority on the game?. in 99 he was a different player as i myself have commented elsewhere in this website,and that was 9 years ago!!!. it seems that you are inclined to listen to "pundits" and "experts" whereas mourinho and ranieri's expertise regarding lampard cannot be put into the same light, so in a sense yes that is the be all and end all until you manage to formulate a view which is not based on other poeople's opinion. the comments i made regarding his staure as a player were more of a general response to the comments made subsequent to the article and something which i did not say anything about in my last comment yet you crack on about it and still avoid all the points i have made. i would very much like to see a link to which i can read about beckhams 6 free-kicks as only the columbia,greece,and ecuador goals spring to mind. i never disputed his marketability, only the lack of substance as a player main point being the free-kicks.n.b lampard has scored 14 times in 60 for england and beckham 17 in 99 yet he takes all the set pieces including crucially penalties, so maybe lampard hasn't done so bad for england then?
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Nick Duckworth about 1 year ago
probably because he's better at dead ball situations than lampard is...anyway never mind...well done
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