Beckham for Beginners
I wanted to write a comprehensive question and answer piece on David Beckham, for those whose interest is piqued by the fuss of his arrival in the US.
And by fuss I mean of course money. This is America after all.
Anyway I’m not writing the piece now. Because the Guardian have beaten me to it. Word for word.
Things like: Beckham has always been a very good footballer, but never a great. And certainly not fit to lace Ronaldinho’s boots. And: don’t expect him to slalom past four players.
But much more besides.
Beckham plays the Kansas City Wizards on Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 7pm
See More on Soccer:
• Meeting Diego Maradona in Ireland
• Ireland & USA: Little Differences #2 - Watching Soccer
• Where to Watch Soccer on TV in Kansas City
• Irish Lose: O Dear, O-dear O-dear O-dear
Eolaí gan Fhéile:
I had no respect for Beckham until he dragged the English team to the last World Cup by single-handedly beating Greece while carrying ten passengers.
The World Cup before that it was, Bock, 2002 - but yes you’re right - that’s probably his defining English national team performance - and the Guardian piece recognises it.
England were seconds from not qualifying for the World Cup, when Beckham had the guile to go with the guts he alone of his team had displayed during the game, to curl that amazing free into the net.
Over here there is so much focus on the individual glamorous performance that I’m not sure the qualities of Beckham, if they even prevail, will be appreciated. His is not the kind of skill that is very accessible to somebody new to football - no more than great displays by Berti Vogts or Franz Beckenbauer or Paul McGrath.
I have a fondness for Beckham - he alone obsessively made himself into a monster, and then coped with that despite not being the brightest star in the sky. And yet I fear Gascoigne with all his failings would have gone down better in the MLS.
We’ll see.
Of course I meant the second-last World Cup. We Irish have a curious habit of excluding the most recent when we say “last”. We do the same when talking about “next” weekend.
How strange.