Beckham David
David Robert Joseph Beckham is an English former professional footballer. He played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, Milan, LA Galaxy, Paris Saint-Germain, and the England national team for which he held the appearance record for an outfield player until 2016 when Wayne Rooney surpassed his total. He is the first English player to win league titles in four countries: England, Spain, the United States and France. He announced his retirement in May 2013 after a 20-year career, during which he won 19 major trophies. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending free-kicks as a right winger, Beckham was runner up in the Ballon d’Or, twice runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year and in 2004 he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2008. A global ambassador for the sport, Beckham is regarded as a British cultural icon. Beckham’s professional club career began with Manchester United, where he made his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17. With United, he won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He then played four seasons with Real Madrid, winning the La Liga championship in his final season with the club. In July 2007 Beckham signed a five-year contract with Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy. While a Galaxy player, he spent two loan spells in Italy with Milan in 2009 and 2010. He was the first British footballer to play 100 UEFA Champions League games. In international football, Beckham made his England debut on 1 September 1996 at the age of 21. He was captain for six years, earning 58 caps during his tenure. He made 115 career appearances in total, appearing at three FIFA World Cup tournaments, in 1998, 2002 and 2006, and two UEFA European Championship tournaments, in 2000 and 2004.
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David Beckham became the target of criticism and abuse after the World Cup 1998, including the hanging of an effigy outside a London pub, and the Daily Mirror printing a dartboard with a picture of him centered on the bullseye. Beckham also received death threats after the World Cup. The abuse that Beckham was receiving from English supporters peaked during England’s 3–2 defeat by Portugal in Euro 2000, a match where Beckham set up two goals, when a group of England supporters taunted him throughout the match. Beckham responded by raising his middle finger and, while the gesture attracted some criticism, many of the newspapers that had previously encouraged his vilification asked their readers to stop abusing him.
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As of 2016, Beckham had more than 40 tattoos. There are names of his sons Romeo, Cruz and Brooklyn, and of his wife Victoria. His wife’s name, tattooed on his left forearm, is in Hindi script because Beckham thought it would be “tacky” to have it in English. Unfortunately, this was misspelt as the equivalent of “Vihctoria”. In his autobiography David Beckham: My Side, he said that the idea of having tattoos came to him in 1999 after his son Brooklyn was born, following a conversation on the subject of tattoos with Mel B and her then-husband, Jimmy Gulzar. Beckham said: “I ended up going to this Dutch guy who’d done all of Jimmy’s. I’d finally realised what I wanted a tattoo to represent. Mine are all about the people in my life, my wife and sons, who I want with me always. When you see me, you see the tattoos. You see an expression of how I feel about Victoria and the boys. They’re part of me.”
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Beckham played against Sweden, during the Fifa World Cup 2002, his 50th Cap with England National Team. To celebrate this event a special shirt was worn by the player with “50th Cap”on the bottom of the shirt. This shirt was given after the match to a Sweden Team’s member and that’s where it comes from.
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Beckham played a major role in helping England qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, starring in an impressive 5–1 victory over Germany in Munich. The final step in Beckham’s conversion from villain to national hero happened in England’s final qualifying game against Greece on 6 October 2001. England needed to win or draw the match to qualify outright for the World Cup, but were losing 2–1 with little time remaining. When Teddy Sheringham was fouled eight yards outside the Greek penalty area, England were awarded a free-kick and Beckham ensured England’s qualification with a curling strike of the kind that had become his trademark. Beckham was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2001, and finished runner-up, to Luís Figo of Portugal, for the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Beckham was partially fit by the time of the 2002 World Cup held in Japan and South Korea, and played in the first match against Sweden. After the events of four years earlier, Beckham achieved a degree of revenge over Argentina by scoring the winning goal with a penalty, causing Argentina to fail to qualify for the knockout stage. England defeated Denmark in the second round with Beckham providing an assist in a 3–0 win. England were knocked out in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Brazil after Ronaldinho scored the winner.
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Beckham captained England 59 times, the fourth highest after Bobby Moore and Billy Wright both with 90, and Bryan Robson with 65. With his free kick goal against Ecuador in the second round of the 2006 World Cup, Beckham gained membership into two of football’s exclusive clubs: he became the only English player – and the 21st player in the world – to score in three World Cups; Real Madrid teammate Raúl also achieved this feat a few days earlier. It also made him only the fifth player in World Cup history to score twice from a direct free kick; the other four were Pelé, Roberto Rivelino, Teófilo Cubillas, and Bernard Genghini (Beckham had previously scored this way against Colombia in the first round of the 1998 World Cup). All three goals were against South American teams (Colombia, Argentina and Ecuador) and from set pieces (the two aforementioned free kicks and a penalty against Argentina).
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During his playing career (which ended in May 2013), Beckham generated an estimated £1 billion in shirt and boot sales. In 2006, Lloyd’s of London insured his legs for £100m, at the time he was playing for Real Madrid. In March 2015 Beckham had the third highest social media rank in the world among sportspeople, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, with over 52 million Facebook fans. He had a 10-year collaboration with Pepsi Co. that expired in 2009 and he shot for them some of the funniest football-themed advertisings ever.
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This shirt was worn by David Beckham during the Uefa Champions League game between Real Madrid and Monaco which took place in Madrid, “Santiago Bernabeu” Stadium, on March 24th 2004. Real Madrid defeated Monaco 4-2 and at the end of the game Beckham swapped his shirt with a Monaco player whom we got it from. Beckham also hand dedicated and signed the shirt to the player with a black marker which is something exceptional since Beckham was not usual to sign game used items that belonged to him. As the summer 2003 transfer window approached, Manchester United appeared keen to sell Beckham to Barcelona and the two clubs even announced that they reached a deal for Beckham’s transfer, but instead he joined reigning Spanish champions Real Madrid for €37M on a four-year contract. Beckham was the latest signing in the Galácticos era of global stars signed by club president Florentino Pérez every summer. The news came as a bitter blow to the newly elected Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who based much of his presidential campaign on signing Beckham. The transfer to Real Madrid was announced in mid-June and formally completed on 1 July 2003, making Beckham the third Englishman to play for the club, after Laurie Cunningham and Steve McManaman, the latter of whom he succeeded in his position. Following a successful medical on 2 July, Beckham was unveiled in front of 500 accredited journalists from 25 countries at the club’s basketball facility, where he was handed the famous white shirt by former Real Madrid player Alfredo Di Stéfano. Although Beckham had worn the number seven shirt for Manchester United and England, he was unable to wear it at Madrid as it was assigned to club captain Raúl. Beckham decided to wear number 23 instead, citing his admiration of basketball player Michael Jordan, who also wore number 23. On sales of Beckham-related merchandise following his arrival at Real, an Adidas spokesman stated: “Put Beckham’s name on any product and Real Madrid didn’t stop selling”. In the week before Beckham’s presentation, Real named Carlos Queiroz as their new head coach; Queiroz had spent the previous season as Ferguson’s assistant at Manchester United. In late-July 2003, the club went on a tour of the Far East as part of pre-season training, but also to cash in on Beckham’s huge marketing appeal in Asia, where he enjoyed tremendous following. Comparing his reception upon arriving at Kunming Airport in south China to Beatlemania, Marca ran the headline, “Beckham-mania in China”. After the opening game in Beijing the tour featured games in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Bangkok. Real’s brand recognition in that part of the globe was already well established as the club made financially successful trips to Asia during previous off-seasons. The presence of Beckham, however, made this tour particularly financially lucrative for Real. Shortly after his transfer to Real, Beckham ended his relationship with agent Tony Stephens of SFX Europe, who had guided him through his career until that point, including helping to engineer Beckham’s move from Manchester to Madrid. Beckham signed on with Simon Fuller and his company 19 Entertainment, which already managed the career of Victoria. Beckham appointed close friend Terry Byrne to be his personal manager. In late-August 2003, Real Madrid won the Spanish Super Cup over two legs versus Mallorca, with Beckham scoring the final goal in a 3–0 return leg win at home, thus setting the stage for the start of the league season. Playing in a star-laden team which included three former FIFA World Player of the Year recipients, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Luís Figo, in addition to Roberto Carlos, Raúl and Iker Casillas, Beckham did not require much time to settle in, scoring five times in his first 16 matches (including a goal less than three minutes into his La Liga debut). Queiroz mostly favoured the adaptable 5–3–2 formation, with two fullbacks Míchel Salgado and Roberto Carlos, often joining the attack down the wings, while Beckham played on the right of the three-man midfield, alongside Zidane and Figo. Real Madrid were runners-up in the Copa del Rey, were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League at the quarter-final stage and finished the league season in fourth place, meaning the team, whose president Pérez expected them to win either the Spanish league or the Champions League each season, did not match expectations. In July 2004, while Beckham was in pre-season training in Spain, an intruder scaled a wall at the Beckham home while carrying a can of petrol. Victoria and their children were home at the time, but security guards apprehended the man before he reached the house.
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In November 2009, after the end of 2009 MLS season, it was confirmed that Beckham would return to Milan for a second loan period beginning in January 2010. On 6 January 2010, Beckham made a winning return in a Milan shirt, playing 75 minutes of a 5–2 victory over Genoa. On 16 February 2010, Beckham played against Manchester United for the first time since he left the club in 2003On 16 February 2010, Beckham played against Manchester United for the first time since he left the club in 2003.
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Beckham’s many endorsement deals make him one of the most recognizable athletes throughout the world. Having worn Adidas football boots from the start of his career (notably Adidas Predator), in 2003 he signed a $160 million lifetime contract with Adidas, earning nearly half the money upfront, and will continue to earn percentages of profits on all of his branded Adidas products. In 2017 Beckham and adidas team up to relaunch Predator Manias. The launch coincides with the player’s 42nd birthday. Recreating the iconic adverts of the late 1990s, former Manchester United star David Beckham posed with the new Predator Manias to celebrate the re-launch of a classic. In 2019 Adidas announced a limited edition Predator re-release for David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane. Marking a monumental year with royal recognition, Adidas unveiled the ’25 Years of Predator’ pack with a little help from two of the brand’s most legendary players.
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On 11 September 2010, after recovering from his Achilles tendon injury, Beckham returned to the game as a substitute in the 70th minute in the Galaxy’s 3–1 win over Columbus Crew. On 4 October, Beckham scored a trademark free kick in a 2–1 win over Chivas USA to mark his first goal in 2010. On 24 October, Beckham scored his second goal of the season in the Galaxy’s 2–1 win over FC Dallas which secured them their second successive Western Conference title and first MLS Supporters’ Shield since 2002. During January and February 2011, ahead of the 2011 MLS season, Beckham trained with Tottenham Hotspur. Rumours in the media claimed that the club were in talks with the Galaxy to sign the player on loan, but, according to Spurs manager Harry Redknapp, the move was blocked by Galaxy, who wanted a full final season from their number 23. As a result, he ended up only training with the club as he had done with Arsenal three years earlier. With Beckham playing in the centre of midfield, the Galaxy won the 2011 MLS cup. On 15 May, Beckham scored his first goal of the season for the Galaxy from a 30-yard free kick, in a 4–1 victory over Sporting Kansas City. On 9 July, Beckham scored directly from a corner in a 2–1 win over Chicago Fire, repeating a feat he also achieved while playing for Preston North End. After having his best season with the Galaxy to date and finishing second in the league in assists, Beckham finished his fifth MLS season on a high. On 20 November 2011, he joined an elite group of players to have won three league titles in three different countries, when Los Angeles won their third MLS Cup against the Houston Dynamo, winning 1–0 on a goal by captain Landon Donovan, with assists from Beckham and fellow designated player Robbie Keane.
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Beckham while he returned from the achilles tendon injury had to play with a soft inside heel’s cushion as you can see from the picture beside. While the injury occured doctors were not sure that he could get back to play as he used to since tendon injury isn’t always an easy injury.
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Beckham chose the number 32 shirt, previously worn by Christian Vieri, as both the number 7 and 23 shirts, numbers he wore at Manchester United and Real Madrid and Los Angeles Galaxy, were already used by Alexandre Pato and club vice captain Massimo Ambrosini, respectively. In the game against Chievo Beckham suffered a torn left Achilles tendon, causing him to miss the World Cup as well as the MLS season due to the injury, which took him out of action for the next five months. Doctor Sakari Orava performed surgery on Beckham’s tendon in Turku, Finland, on 15 March 2010. After the operation, Orava affirmed that, “it went quite fine. The prognosis is he needs a rehabilitation for the next few months, and the plaster cast is the next six to eight weeks. I would say that [it will be] maybe four months before he’s running, but six months before he’s jumping and kicking.”
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On 5 February 2014, MLS announced that Beckham had exercised his option to buy a MLS expansion team for $25 million, which he had received as part of the contract he signed with the LA Galaxy in 2007. The ownership group, led by Beckham, originally hoped the Miami-based team would begin play in 2016 or 2017. After delays getting a stadium deal completed, MLS announced in January 2018 that the team had been approved and would likely begin play in 2020.