Beckham's professional career began with Manchester United, where he made his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17. With United, Beckham won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He then played four seasons with Real Madrid, winning the La Liga championship in his final season with the club. In July 2007 Beckham signed a five-year contract with Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy. While a Galaxy player, he spent two loan spells in Italy with Milan in 2009 and 2010. Beckham was the first British footballer to play 100 Champions League games.
In international football, Beckham made his England debut on 1 September 1996, at the age of 21. He was captain for six years during which he played 58 times. He made 115 career appearances in total, appearing at three FIFA World Cup editions (1998, 2002 and 2006) and two UEFA European Championship tournaments (2000 and 2004).
Renowned for his range of passing, crossing ability, and bending free-kicks, he has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year, and in 2004 he was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. Consistently ranked among the sport's highest earners, in 2013 Beckham was listed as the best paid player in the world, earning over $50 million in the previous 12 months.
He has been married to Victoria Beckham since 1999, and they have four children. Beckham's eldest son Brooklyn currently plays football for Arsenal U16. In February 2014, MLS announced Beckham and a group of investors would own an expansion team in Miami, which would begin play in 2016 or 2017.
International
career
Beckham as England captain
Beckham made his first appearance
for the England national football team on 1 September 1996, in a World Cup
qualifying match against Moldova.
Beckham had played in all of
England's qualifying matches for the 1998 World Cup and was part of the England
squad at the World Cup finals in France, but the team's manager Glenn Hoddle
publicly accused him of not concentrating on the tournament, and he did not
start in either of England's first two games. He was picked for the third game
against Colombia and scored with a bending 30-yard free kick in a 2–0 victory,
which was his first goal for England.
In the second round (last 16) of
that competition, he received a red card in England's match against Argentina.Beckham,
after having been fouled by Diego Simeone, kicked Simeone while lying on the
floor, striking him on the calf muscle. Sports Illustrated was critical
of the Argentinians' theatrics in that incident, stating that Simeone first
delivered a "heavy-handed challenge" on Beckham and then "fell
like a ton of bricks" when Beckham retaliated. Simeone later admitted to
trying to get Beckham sent off by over-reacting to the kick and then, along
with other members of his team, urging the referee to send Beckham off. The
match finished in a draw and England were eliminated in a penalty shootout.
Many supporters and journalists blamed him for England's elimination and he
became the target of criticism and abuse, including the hanging of an effigy
outside a London pub, and the Daily Mirror printing a dartboard with a
picture of him centred on the bullseye. Beckham also received death threats
after the World Cup.
The abuse that Beckham was receiving
from English supporters peaked during England's 3–2 defeat by Portugal in Euro
2000, a match where Beckham set up two goals, when a group of England
supporters taunted him throughout the match. Beckham responded by raising his
middle finger and, while the gesture attracted some criticism, many of the
newspapers that had previously encouraged his vilification asked their readers
to stop abusing him.
On 15 November 2000, following Kevin
Keegan's resignation as England manager in October, Beckham was promoted to
team captain by the caretaker manager Peter Taylor, and then kept the role
under new manager Sven-Göran Eriksson.
"We've
played two and a half minutes of stoppage time. England trail by 2 goals to 1.
Beckham could raise the roof here with a goal.... I don't believe it! David
Beckham scores the goal to take England all the way to the World Cup Finals!...
Give that man a Knighthood!"
—Television commentary on Beckham's stoppage time curling
free-kick against Greece in the 2002 World Cup qualifying game in October 2001.
Beckham played a major role in helping
England qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, starring in an impressive 5–1
victory over Germany in Munich. The final step in Beckham's conversion from
villain to national hero happened in England's final qualifying game against Greece
on 6 October 2001. England needed to win or draw the match to qualify outright
for the World Cup, but were losing 2–1 with little time remaining. When Teddy
Sheringham was fouled eight yards outside the Greek penalty area, England were
awarded a free-kick and Beckham ensured England's qualification with a curling
strike of the kind that had become his trademark. Beckham was voted the BBC
Sports Personality of the Year for 2001, and finished runner-up, to Luís Figo
of Portugal, for the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
Beckham was partially fit by the
time of the 2002 World Cup held in Japan and South Korea, and played in the
first match against Sweden. After the events of four years earlier, Beckham
achieved a degree of revenge over Argentina by scoring the winning goal with a
penalty, causing Argentina to fail to qualify for the knockout stage. England
defeated Denmark in the second round with Beckham providing an assist in a 3-0
win. England were knocked out in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Brazil
after Ronaldinho scored the winner
The following month, at the opening
ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Beckham escorted Kirsty
Howard as she presented the Jubilee Baton to the Queen. Beckham played in all
of England's matches at Euro 2004. He had a penalty saved in England's 2–1
defeat to France and missed another in a penalty shootout in the quarter-final
match against Portugal. England lost the shootout thus going out of the
competition.
Beckham became a UNICEF Goodwill
Ambassador in January 2005 and was involved in promoting London's successful
bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. In October 2005, Beckham's sending off against Austria
made him the first England captain to be sent off and the first player to be
sent off twice while playing for England. He captained England for the 50th
time in a friendly international against Argentina the following month.
In England's opening game at the 2006
World Cup, against Paraguay on 10 June 2006, Beckham's free kick led to an own-goal
by Carlos Gamarra as England won 1–0. In England's next match, played against Trinidad
and Tobago on 15 June 2006, Beckham's cross in the 83rd minute led to a Peter
Crouch goal, which put England into the lead 1–0. Beckham gave another assist
to Steven Gerrard. In the end they won 2–0. He was named Man of the Match by
tournament sponsor Budweiser.
During England's second round match
against Ecuador, Beckham scored from a free kick in the 59th minute, becoming
the first English player to score in three separate World Cups, and giving
England a 1–0 victory and a place in the quarter-finals. He was sick before the
game and vomited several times as a result of dehydration and illness that he
got after having scored the winning goal for England. In the quarter-final
against Portugal, Beckham was substituted following an injury shortly after
half time and the England team went on to lose the match on penalties (3–1),
the score having been 0–0 after extra time. After his substitution, Beckham was
visibly shaken and emotional for not being able to play, being in tears at one
point.
A day after England were knocked out
of the World Cup, an emotional Beckham made a statement in a news conference
that he had stepped down as England captain, stating, "It has been an
honour and privilege to captain my country but, having been captain for 58 of
my 95 games, I feel the time is right to pass on the armband as we
enter a new era under Steve McClaren." (Beckham had won 94 caps up to that
point.) He was succeeded by Chelsea captain John Terry.
Having stepped down as captain after
the World Cup, Beckham was dropped completely from the England national team
selected by new coach Steve McClaren on 11 August 2006. McClaren claimed that
he was "looking to go in a different direction" with the team, and
that Beckham "wasn't included within that." McClaren said Beckham
could be recalled in future. Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kieran Richardson, and the
World Cup alternative to Beckham, Aaron Lennon, were all included, although
McClaren eventually opted to employ Steven Gerrard in that role.
Beckham takes the free kick against Brazil
from which John Terry scored
On 26 May 2007, McClaren announced
that Beckham would be recalled to the England squad for the first time since
stepping down as their captain. Beckham started against Brazil in England's
first match at the new Wembley Stadium and put in a positive performance. In
the second half, he set up England's goal converted by captain John Terry. It
looked as though England would claim victory over Brazil, but newcomer Diego
equalised in the dying seconds. In England's next match, a Euro 2008 qualifier
against Estonia, Beckham sent two trademark assists for Michael Owen and Peter
Crouch, helping England to prevail 3–0. Beckham had assisted in three of
England's four total goals in those two games, and he stated his desire to
continue to play for England after his move to Major League Soccer.
On 22 August 2007, Beckham played in
a friendly for England against Germany, becoming the first to play for England
while with a non-European club team. On 21 November 2007, Beckham earned his
99th cap against Croatia, setting up a goal for Peter Crouch to tie the game at
2–2. Following the 2–3 loss, England failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 Finals.
Despite this, Beckham said that he has no plans to retire from international
football and wanted to continue playing for the national team. After being
passed over by new England coach and Beckham's former manager at Real Madrid, Fabio
Capello, for a friendly against Switzerland which would have given him his
hundredth cap; Beckham admitted that he was not in shape at the time, as he had
not played a competitive match in three months.
On 20 March 2008, Beckham was
recalled to the England squad by Capello for the friendly against France in
Paris on 26 March. Beckham became only the fifth Englishman to win 100 caps.
Capello had hinted on 25 March 2008 that Beckham had a long term future in his
side ahead of crucial qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup.On 11 May 2008, Capello
included an in-form Beckham in his 31-man England squad to face the United
States at Wembley Stadium on 28 May before the away fixture with Trinidad and
Tobago on 1 June. Beckham was honoured before the match by receiving an
honorary gold cap representing his 100th cap from Bobby Charlton, and was given
a standing ovation from the crowd. He played well and assisted John Terry on
the match-winning goal. When substituted at half-time for David Bentley, the
pro-Beckham crowd booed the decision. In a surprise move, Capello handed Beckham
the captaincy for England's friendly against Trinidad and Tobago on 1 June
2008. The match was the first time since the 2006 World Cup that Beckham had
skippered England and marked a dramatic turnaround for Beckham. In two years,
he had gone from being dropped completely from the England squad to being
reinstated (though temporarily) as England captain.
During the 2010 World Cup Qualifier
against Belarus in which England won 3–1 in Minsk, Beckham came off the bench
in the 87th minute to earn his 107th cap making him England's third-most-capped
player in history, overtaking Bobby Charlton in the process. On 11 February
2009, Beckham drew level with Bobby Moore's record of 108 caps for an English
outfield player, coming on as a substitute for Stewart Downing in a friendly
match against Spain. On 28 March 2009, Beckham surpassed Moore to hold the
record outright when he came on as a substitute in a friendly against Slovakia,
providing the assist for a goal from Wayne Rooney in the process. In all,
Beckham had made 16 appearances out of a possible 20 for England under Capello
until his ruptured Achilles tendon of March 2010 ruled him out of selection for
the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. His last game for England before
injury had been on 14 October 2009 as a substitute in England's last World Cup
qualifying game, which ended England 3 – 0 Belarus.
After a poor performance from
England at the World Cup Capello remained as manager, but was under pressure to
revamp the England squad for the imminent UEFA Euro 2012 qualification campaign.
He unveiled a new team at the next England match, a home friendly game against
Hungary on 11 August 2010, with Beckham still unavailable for selection but
aiming for a return to playing in MLS by the following month. In the post-match
interview, Capello said of the prospect of the now 35-year-old Beckham playing
any future competitive matches for England, that "I need to change it.
David is a fantastic player but I think we need new players for the
future", referring to the new players that play in Beckham's right
midfield position, including Theo Walcott and Adam Johnson, adding "This
is the future of the team under Fabio Capello or another manager." He said
that Beckham may be selected for one last friendly game, stating, "If he
is fit, I hope we will play one more game here at Wembley so the fans can say
goodbye." In response to the comments, Beckham's agent released a
statement reiterating Beckham's position that he had no desire to retire from
international football, and would always make himself available for selection
for England if fit and if needed. He remains 10 caps short of the record number
of 125 caps by goalkeeper Peter Shilton, for a player of any position.
Beckham was named in the provisional
squad to represent the Great Britain Olympic football team at the 2012
Olympics. He was not included in the final selection by manager Stuart Pearce.
Personal
life
David and his wife Victoria Beckham
at the 2007 British Grand Prix at Silverstone
In 1997, Beckham started dating Victoria
Adams, after she attended a Manchester United match. She was famously known as
"Posh Spice" of the pop music group Spice Girls, one of the world's
top pop groups at the time, and his team was also enjoying a great run of
success. Therefore, their relationship instantly attracted a great deal of
media attention. The couple were dubbed "Posh and Becks" by the
media. He proposed to her on 24 January 1998 in a restaurant in Cheshunt,
England.
On 4 July 1999, David and Victoria
married at Luttrellstown Castle in Ireland. The wedding attracted tremendous
media coverage. Beckham's teammate Gary Neville was the best man, and the
couple's infant son, Brooklyn, was the ring bearer. The media were kept away
from the ceremony, as the Beckhams had an exclusive deal with OK! Magazine,
but newspapers were still able to obtain photographs showing them sitting on
golden thrones.437 staff were employed for the wedding reception, which was
estimated to have cost £500,000.
In 1999, the Beckhams purchased
their most famous home in Hertfordshire, unofficially dubbed Beckingham Palace,
estimated to be worth £7.5 million. David and Victoria Beckham have four
children: sons Brooklyn Joseph (born 1999 in London), Romeo James (born 2002 in
London), and Cruz David (born 2005 in Madrid; the word "cruz"
is Spanish for "cross"); and daughter Harper Seven (born 2011, in Los
Angeles). Elton John is godfather to Brooklyn and Romeo Beckham; their
godmother is Elizabeth Hurley. Beckham's three sons all play football in the Arsenal
Academy.
Beckham suffers from obsessive
compulsive disorder (OCD), which he says makes him "have everything in a
straight line or everything has to be in pairs." Victoria Beckham claims,
"If you open our fridge, it's all co-ordinated down either side. We've got
three fridges – food in one, salad in another and drinks in the third. In the
drinks one, everything is symmetrical. If there's three cans, he'll throw one
away because it has to be an even number."
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