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| | David Beckham, Beckham, Becks |  |
Perhaps not quite a player who can claim to have achieved legendary status at AC Milan just yet David Beckham is nevertheless a top quality player who should add another dimension to Milan’s play next season. We all know what a maestro he is from a dead ball situation and he is probably one of the best in the world at delivering crosses and long range passes.
As a product of the Manchester United youth system Beckham is one of the few individuals who have left Old Trafford and done well for himself away from Manchester. He enjoyed an excellent start to his career in the Premier League and scored one of the most memorable goals in the history of English football when he lifted the ball over Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan with a ridiculous shot from the half way line.
It was in his time at Manchester United where he won most of his silverware, six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League in 1999 – the only time Becks has ever won it. Beckham’s marriage to Victoria Beckham caused him to fall out with United boss Sir Alex Ferguson with Ferguson claiming football was now just a small part in his celebrity life.
In retrospect I’m not so sure Ferguson would stand by this statement now. One of the things that makes me respect Beckham so much is his love and passion for the game. He always plays with maximum effort, especially for the England team, even when his team-mates seem to be playing at half pace, again especially for the England team. Indeed, one of the things that has endeared him to the Rossoneri faithful is his work rate and effort.
After he left Manchester United Beckham completed a £25million move to Real Madrid, even though United wanted to sell him to Barcelona. Again it didn’t take Becks long to endear himself to the Bernabeu crowd and was a massive favourite in Madrid. He was a part of the ‘Galacticos’ era that included Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo. It didn’t all go according to plan at Real though and in his final season he fell out with manager Fabio Capello, who is now England manager, and was ousted from the Madrid side by José Antonio Reyes. Beckham did fight his way back into the side though and, in my opinion anyway, was the driving force behind Real’s La Liga success in 2007, the only title he won in his time at the Bernabeu.
However, after being dropped by Capello and the then boss of England – the bumbling and frankly ridiculous Steve McLaren - Beckham signed a deal with MLS side LA Galaxy. Despite Madrid’s best efforts to ‘untie’ Becks from his contract with the American side he departed for the States and it looked as if Beckham’s days as a top-level footballer were finished.
It transpired though that Capello and Beckham would cross paths again. McLaren had gone back on his decision to drop Beckham and recalled him to the national side and when Capello took over after McLaren’s sacking he continued to pick Beckham for England. His form at international level prompted the move to AC Milan and a move to the San Siro once this, slightly weird, ‘timeshare’ deal kicks in at the end of the MLS season will probably see Beckham included in England’s World Cup squad for 2010. When he arrives in Milan in November it probably won’t take him long to get back into the rhythm of top-level football. He may have been dismissed as a ‘Spice Boy’ by some but by all accounts Beckham is a dedicated professional who trains harder and longer than most. He could even stay at Milan for longer than the end of next season as he was apparently told by medical staff at the club he had a decent chance of playing until he was 38.
As a player Beckham is well suited to the Serie A and AC Milan might well be his ideal club. He has never been a player with any notable pace and at 34-years-old he still has essentially the same qualities he had as a younger player. His key attribute is his passing ability and he is the kind of player who really needs quality around him to be effective. At Milan with other top-quality players around him he will shine and even if he only plays as a bit part player he will give boss Leonardo other options as an impact substitute. Once Beckham rejoins the Rossoneri after the close of he MLS season in November he will unquestionably put his all into his spell in Milan.
Profile written by Gareth Freeman on June 18th 2009. Some of the content might be outdated and it might lack events that followed the date it was written on. Contact us if you'd like to update this profile. | |
