From The Times Goldenballs What a terrible disappointment it must be to be David Beckham Published at 12:01AM, October 23 2013 Of all the surprises in Sir Alex Ferguson’s autobiography, maybe the greatest is his verdict on David Beckham. “I was starting to despair of him,” the former Manchester United manager writes of his one-time protégé. “At some point in his life, he may feel the urge to say ‘I made a mistake’.” Sir Alex speaks with sorrow rather than anger. He says that the decline of Beckham began when he was 22 or 23, even before his marriage to the Spice Girl (as she then was) Victoria Adams made him half of one of the most famous couples in the world. It was then, says the disappointed Scotsman, “he started to make decisions that rendered it hard for him to develop into a really great footballer”. Today, Beckham is 38, and shares a joint wealth of at least £200 million. He has 115 caps for England, 58 of them as captain. Only three men have captained England more often. He is the first British footballer to play 100 Champions League matches, and has lifted the FA Cup twice. He has played in teams that have won the Spanish La Liga and the Uefa Champions League and, six times, the Premier League. A fashion icon with his own brand of fragrance, he was for a time, the most searched person on the internet. In 2002 he was the inspiration for the film that made a star out of Keira Knightley. Awarded the OBE in 2003, he has helped to found an anti-malaria charity and is a Goodwill Ambassador for Unicef. Last year he piloted a speedboat down the Thames and, watched by an estimated 900 million people around the world, delivered a flaming torch to kickstart the greatest Olympic Games of a lifetime. From British streets to Brazilian slums, his name is a byword for sporting excellence. What a shame he couldn’t have listened to Sir Alex and made something of himself.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 15:15:54 +0000
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