This man defined a generation. The shirt, the boots, the book, the haircut, I had it all. Whether it was at school or at home, there was only one footballer I ever wanted to be. An icon. A hero. A national-treasure. David Beckham.
Growing up in the 90’s, choosing to support Manchester United was to be expected, they were everywhere. Although that United team had plenty of stars, everything came from the right foot of David Beckham. Whilst I admired the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Andy Cole, Roy Keane and Gary Neville, what Beckham could do was magical.
As a Manchester United supporter himself, there was always the sense that Beckham was just any other boy living out his dream. As a fan, it’s that passion and enthusiasm which really draws you in. The desire to lead by example, chase every ball, win every tackle and lift every trophy is evident in the way Beckham played football. He may not have been the best footballer in the world, but his work-rate and hunger was second to none.
Part of ‘the class of 92’ Beckham first became a household name after that infamous goal against Wimbledon in August 1996. Receiving the ball just inside his own area, he noticed that Wimbledon goalkeeper was off his line and hit a delicious long-range shot which floated over the scrambling keeper and hit the back of the net.
Three years later, Beckham played a pivotal role in United’s treble success of 1999. 1-0 down at home to Tottenham, United needed a win to snatch the title away from rivals Arsenal and secure the first of three trophies. Beckham curled a delightful shot into the top corner from a tight angle and inspired an amazing comeback to win the game 2-1 and secure the title. Two weeks later, again losing this time in the Champions League final, United scored twice in added time to win the game. Both goals came from a David Beckham’s crosses.
However, with the highs came the lows. The desperation of injury followed by a falling out with Ferguson, shaped the later days of his career at Old Trafford. However, Beckham had the last laugh. In April 2003, Real Madrid visited Manchester on a night that will be remembered for Ronaldo’s stunning hat trick. 3-2 down, Beckham was used as a 63rd minute replacement for Juan Sebastian Veron. 22 minutes later, what Beckham would describe as his greatest free kick in a United shirt would level the game before a tenacious toe poke won the game. Who else but David Beckham would Roberto Carlos, Guti and Zinedine Zidane approach to swap shirts at full-time with, before the final whistle had even been blown?
As a young footballer, donning his champagne coloured Adidas Predators and a bleached blond Mohican, I would try to replicate the performance of Beckham from the previous week. Although, I never came close to perfecting it, time and time again I would try to reproduce a trademark Beckham free kick. I was even told by my coach, if you lose the ball, to chase to win it back ‘like David Beckham does’.
He may not have been the most loyal player, or the greatest but he was my childhood hero nevertheless because after all, there’s only one David Beckham.
