Every great player has "a moment", the occasion when they produce something so remarkable that the whole world is forced to sit up and take notice. David Beckham's came on the first day of the 1996 season against Wimbledon. Manchester United were already winning 2-0 when Beckham received the ball just inside his own half. He glanced up for a second and then hit an arching lob over Neil Sullivan's head and into the back of the net. Like so much of Beckham's career it managed to combine both the sublime and the faintly ridiculous.
Being photographed wearing a sarong
While the word 'metrosexual' wasn't solely invented because of him, Beckham is surely the perfect embodiment of the term. In fact to some people he is more famous for his impeccable grooming than for he is for dead-ball delivery. At various points during his career he has starred in adverts for Gillette and Brylcream as well as appearing in numerous magazine spreads, often accompanied by Posh. It's hard to pin-point the exact date Beckham became a cultural phenomenon but it could have had something to do with the furore surrounding his decision to wear a sarong in public.
In his wisdom, Glenn Hoddle decided to drop Beckham for the first two games of the 1998 World Cup, and although England beat Tunisia, they had lost to eventual group winners Romania. Beckham finally made an appearance against Colombia, scoring his first England with a trademark free-kick and ensuring qualification. England faced Argentina in the second-round, and even for an England match it was high on drama. Yet the image that sticks in the memory of most England fans was Beckham's petulant flick out at Diego Simeone and subsequent sending off. The Daily Mirror's headline the next day: "10 Heroic Lions, One Stupid Boy".
1998-99 Premier League season
Beckham became a national scapegoat following his sending off against Argentina in 1998. However, he went some way to answering his critics with his performances during Manchester United's treble winning campaign. He scored goals on both the first and last days of the Premier League season as well as supplying the corners from which Manchester United scored both their late goals against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.
Beckham was often criticised – sometimes rightly so – for the way he captained England, but in the World Cup qualifying match against Greece he proved just why Peter Taylor and then Sven Goran Eriksson trusted him with the job. England needed a point to be sure of making it to Japan and South Korea, but found themselves trailing with only minutes remaining. Beckham, who had harried and cajoled all game covering 16.1km in the process, had a chance to send England through courtesy of a 25 yard free kick. We all remember the outcome.
Injuring his metatarsal
Beckham has a habit of bringing anything that affects him into the national consciousness. As well as the aforementioned sarong, his various hairstyles and tattoos have garnered extensive coverage. However, nothing really compares to the hysteria surrounded his injured metatarsal prior to the 2002 World Cup. Suddenly describing a broken foot, as, well, a broken foot, would no longer suffice.
After his nightmare in St Etienne, fate gave Beckham a chance to atone for past sins in the 2002 World Cup. England were drawn in Group F along with Argentina and in the 44th minute of the game at the Sapporo Dome Beckham got his shot at redemption. Michael Owen had been fouled in the penalty area and from 12 yards out Beckham blasted the ball past the helpless Pablo Cavallero enabling the country to fall in love with him all over again.
Leaving Manchester United 2003
Although Beckham didn't actually leave his beloved Manchester United until July 2003 the writing was on the wall in the February of that year. Manchester United had just lost an FA Cup tie to Arsenal and Sir Alex Ferguson was understandably in a funk; so much so that he kicked a boot in anger, accidentally hitting Beckham just above his left eye. Cue much finger pointing and demanding of apologies. The rift, however, was never healed and Real Madrid eventually agreed to sign him for £25m.
England produced a series of insipid displays at the 2006 World Cup, culminating in defeat against Portugal in the knock-out stages. Beckham was a spectator for a large part of the final act, having picked up an injury just after half time. After the loss, a visibly emotional Beckham announced that he was stepping down as England captain. He stated his desire to continue playing for England as a regular member of the squad, but Steve McClaren had other ideas, declaring that he was, "looking to go in a different direction". The direction he intended still isn't clear, but it probably didn't involve hiding under a brolly while his team capitulated against Croatia.
Decision to move to LA Galaxy
David Beckham's transfer to LA Galaxy seemed like a match made in the heaven; the world's foremost soccer-celebrity moves to the home of Hollywood. Beckham would get a chance to convince the world that Major League Soccer wasn't a joke and would be able to hang out with Tom and Katie as a bonus. Things didn't exactly turn out as planned. Beckham may have drawn some attention to MLS – although his own performances were distinctly mediocre – but all this did was confirm the view that over there he was, as Nicky Campbell described, "a diamond in a dungheap".
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