Beckham Profile

Date of birth: 02.05.1975
Country : England
Position : Midfield

His Profile

Perhaps the most famous footballer in the world, David Beckham's main attributes are his ability from free-kicks, accurate crossing from the right, and seemingly limitless reserves of energy.

His Club

A lifelong Manchester United FC fan, Beckham was part of United's much-vaunted 1992 FA Youth Cup-winning side. He established himself in the first team in the 1995/96 English double-winning season and his efforts in the treble-winning side of 1998/99 that lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy won him second place in the FIFA World Player of the Year and European Player of the Year polls. Beckham joined Real Madrid CF for €35m in 2003, settling quickly into a new central role. In 2004/05 he was switched back to the right wing and continued to perform impressively; although Madrid finished 2005/06 trophyless for the third consecutive season, Beckham was arguably their best player. However, he was not a regular choice the next season under new coach Fabio Capello and in January announced that he will leave when his contract expires in the summer to join MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy on a five-year deal.

His Caps

Beckham made his England debut against Moldova in September 1996 but made all the wrong headlines in the 1998 FIFA World Cup after being sent off against Argentina. He bounced back at UEFA EURO 2000™ and was made captain in the build-up to the 2002 World Cup, scoring a brilliant added-time free-kick against Greece which earned England a place in Korea/Japan before exorcising his Argentina demons in Sapporo. Inspirational as England qualified for UEFA EURO 2004™, his reputation suffered as he missed penalties against France and Portugal in the finals, while his 2006 World Cup ended in disappointment as he limped off injured against Portugal and England bowed out. He gave up the captaincy and was left out of the squad by new coach Steve McClaren, seemingly ending his international career after 94 caps.

Did you know?
David and Victoria Beckham have three sons, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz. David has all three boys' names tatooed on his body and also has Victoria's name imprinted on his arm in Hindi.

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