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David Beckham is one of the most stylish men to have played football. The Former England captain is regarded as one of the best dead-ball specialists the world has ever seen. He has played all over Europe, getting his breakthrough with Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson.
David Beckham snubbed Tottenham Hotspur to join Manchester United when they offered him a youth contract. He went to Preston North End on loan to get a taste of regular football.
He played for big teams like Real Madrid, AC Milan and Paris-Saint Germain. David Beckham had an illustrious career, today we look at some of the biggest moments he had in his glittering career.
#3 The half-way line goal against Wimbledon
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It only takes a moment for anyone to get famous all over the world and this goal was that moment of magic for David Beckham. A 20 year old playing for Manchester United started the match against Wimbledon.
The young English midfielder got the ball in his own half, Beckham saw Wimbledon's goalkeeper Neil Sullivan off his line, floated the ball over the keeper's head and just below the bar to score a goal from the halfway line. He wasn't aware at that time, but this strike transformed his life.
In his autobiography My Side, he wrote;
“I couldn’t have known it then, but that moment was the start of it all: the attention, the press coverage, the fame. When my foot struck that ball, it kicked open the door to the rest of my life.”
That was the moment when David Beckham stepped into the world of super stardom.
“From the moment he first laid boot on the ball,” wrote Sir Alex Ferguson in My Autobiography, “David Beckham displayed an unbreakable urge to make the best of himself and his talent.”
When asked about his favourite goal; "My favourite goal has to be the one against Wimbledon, you know, everybody talks about it, and everybody talks about the history of it."
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#2 Red card against Argentina
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho, Raul, Kaka and David Beckham. One thing common in all these legendary players is that they all had high's and low's in their career.
England managed by Glenn Hoddle was facing Argentina in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. After half-time, Diego Simeone clattered into David Beckham from behind.
When he was down on the ground, Simeone gave him a tug which attracted an instinctive reaction from the Englishman. Beckham flicked his legs up towards him.
The referee, Kim Nielsen, saw this incident clearly and showed the red card to the Englishman. England lost that match 4-3 via penalties and crashed out of the World Cup.
The media and the fans found David Beckham the culprit for the loss after the then England manager said that they would have won the game if David Beckham wasn't sent to the dressing room.
In that moment of his reaction, he went from hero to villain. Many placed the blame solely on Beck’s shoulders and asked the FA to not to play him again for the country.
“Ten heroic lions, one stupid boy” Was the headline in one newspaper.
#1 Free-kick against Greece
David Beckham was the captain of England in World Cup 2002. Four year's back he was thrown under the bus by the media and English fans, but all of that was bound to change this time.
England was due to face Greece but needed only a single point to confirm their spot for the World cup. England's morale was on a high after they defeated Germany 5–1, abetted by a hat-trick from striker Michael Owen.
England was trailing 2-1 in injury time. In the last minute on injury time, the three lions got a free kick five yards outside the Greek penalty area.
David Beckham took a few deep breaths, ran up to take the shot and after few seconds, Old Trafford erupted in celebration. David Beckham scored "The goal" which helped England qualify for the World Cup.
It was one of the most joyous moments English fans had ever experienced and it marked his transformation from World Cup villain to a hero.
