5) FRANCE 98 (THE BIRTH OF THE FREE KICK KING)
David Beckham's career was building a lot of momentum in the Summer of 1998. Having been United's undisputed starting Right Winger for the previous 2 years, he had gained a reputation for finding the back of the net as well as finding his teammates with his inch perfect crosses. At just 23 years of age, the 1998 World Cup in France was Beckham's first International tournament. However Glenn Hoddle (England's manager at the time) didn't feel Beckham was up to the task early on in the competition, and he missed England's opening game against Tunisia because of this. Hoddle would later remark he left Beckham out of the opening game because he felt "Beckham's head wasn't in the competition". Having impressed in England's second match against Romania (a match England would lose), the task for England's final match was to win against Colombia. England did this with an emphatic 2-0 victory, a game which saw Beckham net his first goal for England from a trademark Free Kick. Not only was this crucial for England, but it was a crucial goal for Beckham at that point in his career. And it was the beginning of many a trademark free kicks which would be the hallmark of David Beckham's 20 year career.
4) A MOMENT OF MADNESS (THE NIGHT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING)
Four days later, and England were pitted against arch rivals Argentina in the Round of 16 knockout match. England v Argentina will always deliver when it comes to a great game of Soccer, it is one of the most famous and revered rivalries in World Football, and one only has to look at the World Cups in 1966 and 1986 to see what I mean. 1998 was no different as this knockout match had all the makings of a great match. In the first half it was end to end stuff, with not a dull moment. All of England's and Argentina's goals were scored in the first half. A Penalty from Gabriel Batistuta, a Penalty for Alan Shearer, a Wonder goal from Michael Owen and a Clever set piece Free kick which was finished by Javier Zanetti. Less than three minutes had passed in the second half before England were a man down, and the man who was given his marching orders was Beckham. After being fouled late by Argentine Midfielder Diego Simeone, David Beckham (possibly in a moment of madness) lashed out and kicked Simeone right in front of Danish referee Kim Milton Nielsen. Without a moment's hesitation, Nielsen reached for his back pocket and gave Beckham his marching orders. Beckham was not the only one to see Red that day, nearly the entire nation (England) were livid that Beckham would do something so careless as to reduce England to 10 men. Nevertheless England hung on for the next 74 minutes and took Argentina to Penalty shootouts. If you know anything about Football History, you'll know that England and Penalty Shootouts are a recipe for disaster. This game was no exception as Argentina walked away victorious from a memorable and enthralling match of Football. Dark days were to follow for Beckham though, as this incident caused him to become public enemy number one among British football fans and the British public in general. Negative Newspaper articles and Burning effigies were just some of the things Beckham had to endure in the aftermath of that World Cup in France. While those acts were disgraceful, it was no doubt a learning curve for Beckham, and it ultimately shaped him to be the player and man that he is today.
3) THAT FREE KICK
On October 6 2001, England played there final World Cup Qualifying match against Greece at Old Trafford. This game was crucial as the result would determine whether or not England would gain automatic qualification to the 2002 World Cup. After a tough 90 minutes of play, England were trailing the Greeks 2 goals to 1 before Teddy Sheringham was fouled 28 yards out from goal. After a bit of a discussion, Beckham dutifully assumed the task of taking the all important Free Kick. If it went in, England would draw the game 2-2 and possibly secure a First Place finish in there qualifying group, if they lost, they would have to go to a Play off match in November. After a few seconds of deliberation, Beckham strode up to the ball and slotted it in to the back of the net (with a little help from the crossbar on the way in). Old Trafford went wild and Beckham had scored another memorable Free Kick to add to his stunning collection. The goal also meant England qualified top of there group ahead of arch European rivals Germany.
2) ONE NIGHT IN MUNICH
May 26, 1999 is a day almost every Football fan will remember. It's a historic date where you ask people where they were for that fateful game. And I know where I was, I was watching this historic match unfold live on SBS TV at 5:30am in the morning. In one of the Greatest comebacks or Great Escapes of World Football, Manchester United turned a 1 nil deficit around, which they had been enduring for 83 minutes, to secure the UEFA Champions League trophy and Treble of 1999. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham scored those famouls goals in the dying minutes of the match to gift United a famous treble, though David Beckham had a hand in both goals. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's equalizer came from an inch perfect Beckham corner and ,almost 2 minutes later, Beckham was involved in another goal as his corner found Ryan Giggs, whose shot found Teddy Sheringham which found the back of the net. A Historic day of Football was complete as United walked away from Barcelona that night with the most coveted prize in European Club Football. This was truly Man United's year, and if you ever want to catch a glimpse of David Beckham in his prime, this is the match to watch.
1) A 45 YARD STUNNER
On the opening day of the 1996/97 Premier League season Manchester United played Wimbledon in a game which ended 3 nil to United. But the moment which captured headlines that day was a 45 yard stunner goal from a then 21 year old David Beckham. Having received a pass from the halfway line, Beckham glanced up only to notice Scottish Goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was way off his line. In a moment of brilliance (or perhaps spontaneity) Beckham launched the ball skyward towards goal as Sullivan scrambled back to his goal in vain. The ball went over his head and in to the back of the net and the rest they say is history. The 21 year old youngster from Leytonstone had arrived on the big stage and from that day forth, no one could forget the name David Beckham.
Written by Alex Stilianos.
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