It wasn’t so long ago that David Beckham was portrayed as a loose cannon, not the sharpest knife in the draw, a figure who was vilified by football fans in stadia across England.
Many laid the blame for England’s exit from France 98 solely at the Manchester United stars feet, or foot, after he rashly and petulantly kicked out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone, the latter of whom writhed around as if he’d been struck by a sledgehammer.
However, nobody seemed to recognise that the South American had indeed attributed greatly to his dismissal, and instead, Beckham became a national figure of hate.
Fast forward 12 years, and the contrasts couldn’t be greater. Far from being seen as something of a clown, not the sharpest knife in the draw so to speak, the LA Galaxy star is being quizzed about a potential future in management, and has even had to talk himself out of one day becoming England manager.
Beckam's infamous tangle with Simeone
How the times have changed – and great credit to Beckham, he hasn’t mumbled out the mundane standard response that seems to have come from every other quarter of the Three Lions camp following the disastrous ‘campaign’ in South Africa.
“The players are to blame. When the players step on that field is up to them to perform. Speaking to the lads, and knowing them as well as I do, they know they didn't play and perform well enough. That is why we didn't go any further in the competition.”
Couldn’t have put it any better. Ok, so it could be argued that the pressure to keep some kind of omerta that is seemingly present between the players, isn’t directly on Beckham, but it is refreshing to hear an individual who was directly involved in the set up not mincing his words.
Maybe Beckham has a sense of loyalty towards Fabio Capello having won his only La Liga title under the Italian, but it was widely publicised at the time that the pair clashed, resulting in Capello declaring that his number 23 no longer had a future at the club, and wouldn’t feature for the remainder of the campaign.
Of course the hostilities subsided, and Beckham played a pivotal role in securing the title for Real Madrid.
Beckham could still have a lot to offer at International level
Despite ridiculously rising a place in the FIFA World Rankings, England find themselves at perhaps their lowest ebb since the debacle of Kevin Keegan’s reign, and require something drastic to overhaul the grim outlook, at least from a supporters perspective anyhow.
Capello is indeed the man to take England forward, and will undoubtedly ensure qualification for Euro 2012, most likely in the manner that the last was achieved.
Beckham doesn’t feel that an overhaul is required to achieve this, and has made himself available for selection once he has fully recovered from the injury sustained at AC Milan which cruelly ruled him out of the squad in South Africa, and who knows, Capello may well consider him an asset.
Perhaps Capello would be foolish to overlook such an experienced individual, one who could still have so much to offer. There are very few players in the footballing world who are so deadly from set pieces, and not many who can pick a 40 yard plus ball with such accuracy. Age is just a number. From experience at your 5-a-side soccer or 6-a-side football Leisure Leagues, you may be aware of older players who are still a vital asset, and what they lack in the engine room is more than made up by sheer talent and ability.
The Italian is at least safe in the knowledge that Beckham doesn’t appear a disruptive influence, unlike a number of other experienced players, whose outbursts played a major part in de-railing any potential World Cup aspirations.
Maybe David Beckham isn’t cut out for management, but there is no denying that he can still play an integral part in restoring some pride in a depleted and disillusioned nation.
Alex Z