David Beckham Biography
Beckham was born in Leytonstone, east London, the son of Edward "Ted" Beckham (a kitchen fitter) and Sandra West (a hairdresser). Beckham is Jewish on his maternal grandfather's side (presently, Beckham and his wife have embraced the mystic Jewish offshoot of Kabbalah, and both have also obtained matching tattoos from the Song of Songs that says, in Hebrew: “I am for my beloved, and my beloved is for me, who grazes sheep in rose-like pastures").
The Beckhams were fanatical Manchester United supporters, who would regularly travel to Old Trafford by coach and frequently went to away games. David was a strong cross-country runner who regularly finished first in his age group in the Essex cross-country championships, but he had inherited his parents' love of Manchester United and his main passion was football. He attended one of Bobby Charlton's soccer schools in Manchester and won the chance to take part in a training session at FC Barcelona in a talent competition.He was Manchester United's mascot for a match against West Ham United F.C. in 1986. The young Beckham had trials with Leyton Orient F.C. and attended Tottenham Hotspur F.C.'s school of excellence, but once Manchester United offered him a place there was no doubting which club he would go to.
He signed schoolboy forms at United on his fourteenth birthday in 1989, then signed a Youth Training Scheme contract on 8 July 1991. He was part of an exceptionally talented group of young players at the club, including the future internationals Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville and Gary Neville.
These players later helped the club to win the FA Youth Cup in May 1992, with Beckham scoring in the second leg of the final against Crystal Palace F.C. He had his first appearance for United's first team that year, as a substitute in a League Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., and signed his first professional contract shortly afterwards. United reached the final of the Youth Cup again the following year, with Beckham playing in their defeat by Leeds United F.C., and he won another medal in 1994 when the club's reserve team won their league.
He went to Preston North End F.C. on loan in the 1994-95 season to get some first team experience, then made his first Premier League appearance for Manchester United on 2 April 1995, in a goalless draw against Leeds United F.C..
Manchester United
United manager Alex Ferguson had large confidence in the club's young players and when three of his first-team players left the club at the end of the 1994-95 season, he made the decision to let the youth team players replace them instead of buying players from other clubs. The criticism of Ferguson increased when United started the season with a 3–1 defeat at Aston Villa F.C., with Beckham scoring United's only goal of the game. However, many of the doubters were won over when the team won their next five matches.
Beckham became a regular player in the team and helped them to win the Premiership and FA Cup double that season, scoring the winner in the semi-final against Chelsea F.C. and also supplying the corner kick cross that Eric Cantona scored with a volley from in the FA Cup Final.
In August 1996, Beckham became something of a household name when he scored a spectacular goal in a match against Wimbledon F.C. With United 2 – 0 ahead, Beckham noticed that Wimbledon's goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was standing a long way out of his goal, and hit a shot from the halfway line that floated over the goalkeeper and into the net. Sky Sports' commentator Martin Tyler's words "You'll see that over and over again" proved prophetic as the goal was voted Premier League Goal of the Decade in 2003.
He became an automatic first-choice player at United that season, scoring a series of blistering goals and sublime free kicks, thus helping them to retain their league championship. He was voted PFA Young Player of the Year by his peers.
In 1998, Beckham started dating the Spice Girl Victoria Adams and was pictured wearing a sarong while they were on holiday together. Their relationship attracted a great deal of media interest. United started the season well, but their results deteriorated when several players became injured and they finished the season in second place.
World Cup 1998
Beckham had played in all of England's qualifying matches for the 1998 World Cup and travelled with the England squad to the finals in France, but the team's manager Glenn Hoddle publicly accused him of not concentrating on the tournament,[3] and he didn't start in either of England's first two matches. He was picked for their third match against Colombia, which England needed to win to ensure their progress in the tournament, and played well, scoring one of his trademark free kicks in a 2–0 victory.
In the second round of that competition, he received a red card in England's match against Argentina, for kicking out at Diego Simeone following a foul challenge by the Argentine. As Beckham lay on the pitch he held out his right leg as Simeone backed into it and fell over. 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, waving imaginary red cards at the referee, urging him to send Beckham off.[4]
The match finished in a draw and England were eliminated in a penalty shootout. Many supporters and journalists blamed Beckham 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 newspaper printing a dartboard with a picture of him in the middle.[5] However, several tabloids later apologized for their excessive criticism, which also died down after Simeone confessed that he had tried to bait Beckham into retaliating.
The treble season (1998-99)
In the 1998–99 season, he was part of the United team that won the "treble" — Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, a unique feat in English football. There had been speculation that the criticism that he had received after being sent off in the World Cup would lead to him leaving England, but he decided to stay at Manchester United.
Throughout the season, Beckham was jeered by opposition supporters whenever he touched the ball, but he consistently played well and his crossing provided a significant number of goals for United's forwards Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole. United's supporters had mostly forgiven him for the problems he'd had with England, and were frequently heard to chant "Argentina" in response to the other supporters' taunts. On a more positive note for Beckham, Victoria gave birth to their first child Brooklyn on 4 March 1999.
United needed to win their final league match of the season at home to Tottenham Hotspur F.C. to ensure they would win the league championship, but Tottenham took an early lead in the match. Beckham scored their equaliser and United went on to win the match and the league.
Beckham played in United's FA Cup final win over Newcastle and played in centre-midfield for the UEFA Champions League final as United's first choice centre-midfielders were suspended for the match.
United were losing the Champions League final 1–0 at the end of normal time, but won the trophy by scoring two goals in stoppage time. Both of the goals came from corners taken by Beckham, and this, combined with his performances over the rest of the season, led to him finishing runner up for 1999's European Footballer of the Year award.
1999-2000 season
Despite Beckham's achievements in the 1998-99 season, he was still unpopular among opposition fans and many journalists, and he was heavily criticised after being sent off for a deliberate foul in Manchester United's World Club Championship match against Necaxa. It was suggested in the press that his wife was a bad influence on him, and that it might be in United's interests to sell him,[7] but his manager publicly backed him and he stayed at the club.
The relationship between Ferguson and Beckham began to deteriorate, possibly as a result of Beckham's fame and commitments away from football. In 2000, the club gave Beckham permission to miss training to look after his son Brooklyn, who had gastroenteritis, but Ferguson was furious when Victoria Beckham was photographed at a London Fashion Week event on the same night. Fergusion claimed that Beckham would have been able to train if Victoria had looked after Brooklyn that day.
He responded by fining Beckham the maximum amount that was permitted (two weeks' wages – then £50,000) and dropping him for a crucial match against United's rivals Leeds United F.C. He later criticised Beckham in an updated edition of his 1999 autobiography, claiming he hadn't been "fair to his team mates".
Beckham had a good season for his club, though, and helped United to win the Premier League by a record margin.
Metatarsal injury On 10 April 2002, Beckham was injured during a Champions League match against Deportivo La Coruña, breaking the metatarsal bones of his left foot. There was speculation that the injury might have been caused deliberately, as the player who had injured Beckham was Argentinian Aldo Duscher and England and Argentina were due to meet in that year's World Cup.
Those speculations were unfounded, though, and the accusations were never proved. The injury prevented Beckham from playing for United for the rest of the season, but he signed a three-year contract in May, following months of negotiations with the club, mostly concerning extra payments for his image rights. The income from his new contract and the many endorsement deals he had made him the highest-paid player in the world at the time.
He was partially fit by the time of the 2002 World Cup and played in the first match against Sweden. Beckham scored the winning goal of the match against Argentina, with a penalty, and that caused Argentina to fail to qualify for the playoff stage. England were eventually knocked out of the tournament by Brazil in the Quarter-Finals.
Following an injury early in the 2002-03 season, Beckham was unable to regain his place in the team, with Ole Gunnar Solskjær having replaced him on the right side of midfield. His relationship with his manager deteriorated further on 15 February 2003 when, in the changing room following a defeat to Arsenal F.C., Alex Ferguson kicked a football boot which struck Beckham over the eye, causing a cut which required stitches.
The incident led to a great deal of transfer speculation involving Beckham, with bookmakers offering odds on whether he or Ferguson would be first to leave the club. Although the team had started the season badly, their results improved greatly from December onwards and they won the league. In the second leg of the Champions League quarter final tie against Real Madrid, Manchester United were trailing 3-1 from the first leg at the Bernabéu Stadium.
In the return leg at Old Trafford on 23 April 2003, Beckham was controversially left on the bench for the start of the match. It got even worse for United when Real Madrid went 1-0 up inside the opening 10 minutes through Ronaldo. At half time it was 1 all with Ruud van Nistelrooy levelling matters just before the break. Ronaldo scored two more goals after the break in the space of eight minutes to seal his hat-trick, with Iván Helguera scoring an own goal for United in between Ronaldo's two goals. In the 63rd minute, with United trailing 3-2 on the night and 6-3 on aggregate, Ferguson elected to bring on Beckham at the expense of Juan Sebastián Verón.
Six minutes after coming off the bench Beckham had a free kick which he dispatched into the net with great power and accuracy, with the ball coming off the underside of the crossbar. In the 84th minute Beckham managed to reach the ball in a goalmouth scramble before Helguera to poke the ball over the line to score his second of the night. United won on the night thanks to Beckham's heroics, but lost 6-5 on aggregate, needing only two goals to progress due to the away goal ruling. Beckham also scored the winning goal in their final match of the season against Everton F.C.
He was still a first-choice player for England, however, and he was awarded an OBE for services to football on 13 June.
Real Madrid
On 17 June 2003, Beckham signed a four-year contract with Real Madrid of Spain, potentially worth up to €35 million (UK£ 25,000,000, USD $41,000,000). The transfer was completed on 1 July 2003, and made him the third Englishman to ever play for the club after Laurie Cunningham in the 1980s, and Steve McManaman in the late 1990s to early 2000s.
It was speculated that Real's desire to sign him came from the merchandising opportunities he would bring as well as from his football ability. For example, Real Madrid shirts bearing his name and number sold out in Madrid on the day his transfer was completed and the club were expected to receive €624,000 for the sale of the shirts.
At the time the transfer was announced, Beckham and his wife were on a week-long tour of Asia promoting beauty products, chocolate, motor oil, and mobile phones. It was reported that this tour would earn more money for the Beckhams than the first year of David's Real Madrid contract.
Although Beckham had worn the number seven shirt for Manchester United and England, he was unable to wear it at Madrid as Raúl González had the right to wear it written into his contract. He chose to wear 23 instead. At the time, some speculated that this was a tribute to Michael Jordan who had worn that number for the Chicago Bulls; however, he has since stated that he was unaware of this link when selecting his squad number.
2003-04 season
Near the end of the 2003 - 2004 season, The Daily Telegraph reported that Beckham's major sponsors were trying to arrange for him to return to England for the 2004-05 season. Sources within the family told the The Daily Telegraph that Beckham would almost certainly be back in London. Real Madrid denied rumours that they were interested in selling Beckham, and banned British reporters from access to the team. Real Madrid finished the season in a disappointing fourth place, and were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League at the quarter-final stage.
Disappointment at Euro 2004 Beckham played in all of England's matches at Euro 2004, but the tournament was a disappointment for him. He had a penalty saved in England's 2-1 defeat to France and missed another in a penalty shootout in the quarter final against Portugal. England lost the shootout and went out of the competition.
2004-05 season
In July 2004, while David was in pre-season training in Spain, an intruder scaled a wall at the Beckhams' home while carrying a can of petrol. Victoria and their children were in the house at the time, but security guards apprehended the man before he reached the house.
In November 2004 it was reported that Real Madrid intended to offer Beckham a two-year extension to his contract, which would effectively keep him in Madrid for the remainder of his playing career. The following month, the announcement of plans for the christening of the Beckhams' two children, including the construction of a fake Gothic chapel for £120,000 on the grounds of their Berkshire estate, were received with some ridicule, especially as neither is particularly religious.
Beckham became a UNICEF goodwill amabassador in January 2005, having supported the charity for a number of years.
Real Madrid had another disappointing season, finishing second in the league to FC Barcelona and only reaching the last sixteen in the Champions League.
2005-06 season: three sendings off
In October 2005, while playing in the World Cup Qualifying match against Austria, Beckham became the first England captain to be sent off, and the first player to be sent off twice while playing for England. Nonetheless, England held on to win the match 1-0 and later qualified for the 2006 tournament due to results elsewhere.
Four days later they beat Poland 2-1 to top the qualifying group. Shortly afterwards, Beckham was sent off while playing in a league match for Real Madrid against Valencia CF. Having received a yellow card, he appeared to sarcastically applaud the referee and was given a second yellow card, causing an automatic dismissal, athough the dismissal was cancelled on appeal two days later.
On 3 December 2005, in the Real Madrid v Getafe match in the Spanish league, Beckham was again sent off in the 58th minute for a rash tackle.
Beckham established two football academies bearing his name, one in Los Angeles and one in east London. He owns a company called Footwork Productions Ltd. The turnover of the company equates to David Beckham earning almost £47,500 every day, before expenses.