David Beckham: A Premier League legend who was more than just a pretty-face

The scoreline was 2-0 in favour of the away side as the match entered injury-time. The men in red had already won it. Nonetheless, Efan Ekoku had to try for the home side. Midway into the opponent’s half, the physically-imposing Nigerian tried to go past Ronny Johnsen, but the latter was a tough nut to crack.

Johnsen tackled the ball out of Ekoku’s possession as it found its way to Brian McClair. The Scotsman, then, passed it to a 21-year-old baby-faced blonde who looked more like a member of a boy band that played monotonous-but-catchy music, rather than a footballer.

The youngster, who was wearing the number 10 shirt, let the ball run past him towards the half-way line. He looked up and saw that the opposition goalkeeper was some way off his line. The scoreline was 2-0 in his team’s favour, the match was in its dying seconds.

The goal that began the legend of David Beckham

‘F**k it,’ must have been the words that played through David Beckham’s mind at that moment. Sir Albert Einstein once said, “Time is relative; it’s only worth depends upon what we do as it is passing.”

For David Beckham, everything around him must have had slowed down. And when time seems to slow down, it is the best chance to make it worth by doing something extraordinary.

So, Beckham looked down on the ball, raised his left arm, positioned his left neatly on the left side of the ball and struck it with his right – reminiscing a medieval day catapult, but with infinite finesse.

For us mere mortals, the series of events might have taken place within a few seconds. For that 21-year-old kid, however, that moment was timeless.

The camera deserted Beckham to chase the trajectory of the ball. The next time the camera focused back on him, his arms were raised and he had a smile on his face that oozed childlike innocence.

That was the moment of David Beckham – and he was revelling in it, soaking the glory in while almost everyone was still coming to terms as to what they had just seen.

This is what love feels like. The fans were in awe, mesmerised by what they had just witnessed. Time slowed down for Beckham earlier, now it had slowed down for them.

Neil Sullivan, then-Wimbledon goalkeeper, took the ball out of the net as he was trying to fathom as to how the ball flew over his head so perfectly and went into the goal. He should have been careful, though, as earlier in the game, Cruyff – not the legendary one – tried to do the same, but missed the target.

It was not a vehement drive from the Englishman. Instead, he just caressed the ball into the net from 55 yards out. The delicacy of the boot hitting the ball resembled a vibrant swan made out of porcelain.

That game in 1996 was the beginning of the David Beckham.

The end of Beckham in the Premier League

Beckham and Ferguson - their relationship became frosty as time passed

Sir Alex Ferguson was furious. Manchester United were knocked out of the FA Cup by Arsenal and the Scot was enraged. He entered the dressing room and had a go at David Beckham.

Now, this was not the 21-year-old kid who exuded a sense of wonder that he played for Manchester United since he was never really among the most naturally gifted ones. This was not the kid who trained in the morning and then again at night in order to improve himself. This was not the kid who was committed to the game and the game alone.

This was a man who was a commercial icon, a living and walking brand – and you don’t trifle with someone of that stature.

And so Beckham retaliated. In his own words, he did “something no player, certainly no United player, should ever do to the manager” - he verbally abused his manager which prompted Ferguson to kick the boot that was lying on the floor near him.

The boot flew and hit the former England international’s left-eyebrow, cutting him open instantly.

Beckham, in a fit of rage, "went for the gaffer.” He added, “I don't know if I've ever lost control like that before, suddenly it was like some mad scene out of a gangster movie."

And that was the end of David Beckham in the Premier League as he was sold to Real Madrid 4 months later.

The making of the legend

'The Class Of 92'

In the middle, the journey was nothing less than spectacular. Beckham was never really rated as the best talent from the Class of ’92. That honour went to the likes of Ryan Giggs, the Neville brothers and Nicky Butt.

But Beckham outdid them in hard work. As a mere 15-year-old, he joined training sessions in the morning and afternoon and still not be satisfied as he would go on to join the schoolboys in the evening.

In his youth team days, he played as a central midfielder with a tendency to attempt extravagant passes and be scolded for it by the coaches when they failed. Sir Alex Ferguson slowly brought him to the first team and played him on the right side of the midfield as the centre was occupied by Roy Keane and fellow academy graduate, Nicky Butt.

He was initially a bit-part player, but that goal against Wimbledon sealed his fate – it was the gateway to insurmountable fame that perhaps made him even bigger than the game itself.

“I couldn’t have known it then, but that moment was the start of it all: the attention, the press coverage, the fame,” Beckham wrote about that goal in his autobiography, My Side. “When my foot struck that ball, it kicked open the door to the rest of my life.”

It was not a fluke, though, as Gary Neville recalls: “He practised that in training every single day.”

David Beckham and Moreno Torricelli

By the end of 1996-97 season, he had established himself as one of the best players in England as he won the PFA Young Player of the Year award and came second to Alan Shearer in the PFA Player of the Year award.

He also won the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award at United – his only ever for the club – but his goal lost out to Trevor Sinclair’s unreal overhead kick against Barnsley as the goal of the season.

With time, his fame grew. The following year, he signed a new contract that saw his wages rise from £2000-per-week to £25000-per-week while also signing commercial deals with Adidas, Brylcreem and the likes.

Oh, and he also met a certain Victoria Adams – his future wife.

The following season was his best at Manchester United as he was the star player in their treble-winning campaign, which saw Beckham end up runners-up for the Ballon d'Or in 1999. For much of that season, Beckham played in central midfield and gave the impression that he would eventually make it his own.

His tireless running, crisp passing, astute float-balls and the knack of scoring screamers made him a valid candidate to pull the reins from midfield, but Ferguson always preferred him on the right since he defended the full-back well and that there weren’t many players in the history of the game that could put crosses as accurate as Beckham did.

Falling-out with Fergie

Things weren't as rosy as it seemed

It was at this time when his relationship with the manager began to deteriorate. He once took a training leave to take care of his son, Brooklyn, as he had gastroenteritis. However, when Fergie found out that Victoria – who was now Beckham’s wife – attended a London Fashion Week event, he was absolutely livid and fined the footballer £50000.

The reason for Ferguson’s fury was that had Victoria stayed back and looked after Brooklyn, Beckham wouldn’t have had to skip training. Imagine if the Scot did that in this feminist-driven time obsessed with being sensitive over the silliest of issues.

To be fair, however, Sir Alex’s fury might have been over-the-top, but the point remains intact: he despised their marriage and Beckham’s desire to become a global face.

“David was the only player I managed who chose to be famous, who made it his mission to be known outside the game,” Ferguson quipped.

He also admitted that Beckham’s marriage and newfound stardom had changed him to the point where he might have sacrificed the possibility of being an elite-level top-class highest-of-the-high calibre player.

"He was never a problem until he got married. He used to go into work with the academy coaches at night time, he was a fantastic young lad. Getting married into that entertainment scene was a difficult thing – from that moment, his life was never going to be the same. He is such a big celebrity, football is only a small part." - Sir Alex Ferguson on Beckham

Then came the flamboyant hairstyles that didn’t go down well with the authoritarian nature of the legendary Man United boss. At that point, it became clear that Ferguson had lost the plot with the player that was once as obedient as a loyal dog.

There could be only one of the two – and it was always going to be Ferguson. And so Beckham was sold to Real Madrid in 2003 after winning 6 Premier League titles and one Champions League with the Red Devils.

Beckham was more than just a commercial icon

David Beckham signs for Real Madrid in 2003

The commercial aspect that David Beckham brings with him sometimes makes us underrate his abilities as a footballer. He was more than just a pretty-face tattooed-up commercial brand that attracted money.

Ask any Madrid fan as to who played the most significant role in the club’s miraculous turnaround to win La Liga in 2007, almost all of them will be united in their answer: David Beckham.

He was ostracised by then-Madrid manager Fabio Capello and was subsequently left out for most of the first-half of that season – the last year of his contract. As a result, Beckham signed a pre-contract in January with the LA Galaxy as it was clear that he had no future at the club.

Madrid were 4th in La Liga when Capello decided to feature him in his plans as he played him on February 10th, 2007, when the Blancos took on Real Sociedad. Beckham went on to score a 27-yard-free-kick to help the club secure a 2-1 win. It was the beginning of the immortal comeback led by the Englishman.

By the end of the season, Beckham’s influential performances helped the Whites cut the gap to 0 points. They tied with Barcelona as they went on to win the league based on a better head-to-head record against the Catalans.

Beckham’s rejuvenation forced Madrid to make an attempt to cancel his impending move to the USA, but they failed. That was really the beginning of the end of the footballer Beckham, but his brand value kept getting better as he made a name for himself in the land of opportunities.

While it might be true that the former Paris-Saint Germain star could have had a much more glittering career had he focused solely on football, one can hardly argue with the claim that he is a legend. That bloody good-looking face adorned with equally fabulous hairstyle and splendid tattoos make us forget that he had a mystical right-foot, which was the beginning of everything.