Never Be Beck

David Robert Joseph Beckham has just landed in The City of Angels to embark on a new (and possibly last) stage of his career as a footballer. He may not be the best footballer around, but he has a face that ranks amongst the most recognisable in the world. Evidence of his marketability is obvious in the fact that Real Madrid made more than £300million during his four years at the club, which I think is simply amazing. The combination of good looks, having a specialised football skill, excellent work ethic and his wife all played a part in his career path. Let's discuss each individual points and their relevance.

Beck Then
First things first, I am not going to attempt in providing a wordy article on his career history. For those who are really interested u can Wiki it. I will however pick up from his time at his first professional club, Manchester United. He made his Premiership debut in the 94/95 season against Aston Villa alongside the other members of Fergie's Fledglings. They lost the game 3-1 with Becks scoring. This was the start of a highly successful time at United. Despite his Mickey Mouse voice, his good looks and floppy-hair made him the poster boy plastered all over the rooms of pimply teenage girls.

What transpired from his time at United was his work ethic, professionalism and penchant for perfection, which we will see time and time again. He spent extra time in training perfecting his dead ball accuracy, and this will be his selling point on and off the field. These qualities led him to be the choice skipper for England even though he did not possess any prominent leadership qualities. Much of those qualities grew on him as he took to the field in his new role. Many have said that his captaincy was as much a marketing decision as it was a footballing one.

Ham & Spice and All Things Nice
Then the first turning point arrived. He met Victoria Caroline Adams aka Posh Spice in November 1996. What followed was a two-year whirlwind courtship that resulted in one child, then one marriage in 1999, an appearance on the Ali G show, a zillion pictures, quite a few tattoos, two more children, about 16 hairstyles, an OBE and quite a few red carpets.

The most important thing however is Posh herself. She is his link to the entertainment industry, and she is someone with shrewd marketing and business acumen. My guess is that it was her who suggested a move to glamourous Madrid for the sake of his pride and his brand, and her preference; it was not just because of a flying boot to his head. It is very likely too that his move to LA Galaxy was sanctioned by her as well. We will come to that later. Becks certainly wears the panties in this relationship.

The Real Deal
Moving to Real Madrid in 2003 sparked many to comment that having the skills he had, he would not be able to adapt to the flowing style of Spanish football, which involve moving around with the ball rather than launching long balls forward, as is done in the Premiership. Evidently, he struggled and had more yellow cards than assists.

This downward spiral continued as England was knocked out in the Quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup, Sven left and McClaren took over. He was stripped of his international captaincy and dropped from the squad. To be honest, even I felt this was the right decision on the part of McClaren as I thought he was not good enough. Capello also dropped him from the first-eleven at Madrid and everything looked grey and gloomy for Becks.

This was when he came out and proved everyone wrong. Winning back his place in both teams as a result of sterling performances when given the chance, he was back at it again. The only pity was, he had already signed for LA Galaxy by then, which I consider a step down.

Morphing Abilities
Becks proved his professionalism and work ethic time and time again and none was more obvious, or more admirable than the fact that he manage to change and alter his game to make himself a better player despite his limitations skill-wise. When he was at United, he was a typical winger WITHOUT the ball skills and pace. He needed to receive the ball on the wing open and unchallenged so that he could cross the ball well. At Real he was used in the middle and on the flanks and initially both were unsuccessful. However he changed the way he played - running into space earlier as an option to pass, not holding on to the ball long, receiving the ball with his back facing goal more often rather than wanting to turn and push the ball forward, and maintaining the accuracy of his crosses and free kicks. By adding more intelligence to his play, he has turned out to be a holding midfielder with unique abilities, and far cry from who he was as a winger with no pace or ball-skills.

His presence on the field meant opposition would be wary to give away free kicks, this meant that skilful players on his team will have more space on the ball and could create more havoc as a result. Having refined his playing style to be able to compete with the best in the world, he moves to US-and-A to play a game called soccer.

Beck to the West Coast

Why soccer? These are the plausible reasons I can think of…

1. Hollywood for Posh for obvious reasons.

2. Education for his kids. First choice was UK but after Manchester he will never play for another Premiership team again. US-and-A will be the next best choice.

3. Mad amounts of money to be earned.

4. The decision was made at a point in time when people thought he was not able to compete at a highly competitive and intensive level; hence he could play soccer but not football.

Personal Notes

I used to think he was a useless player with good looks, and I believe many people thought so. He has certainly proved me wrong, and I am a converted fan. It is sad that he is now going to play soccer instead of football. We shall now see if he is able to maintain his place in the England team and if soccer will do him any good.

Adieu, adieu, remember him...He may never be Beck.