Can Anyone Stop the Beckham Juggernaut?
You’ve got to give Steve McClaren some credit. The man was a pitiful England manager, but for a brief moment in time he was able to derail one of the most powerful forces in modern football: David Beckham.
When Becks stepped down as England’s captain after the 2006 World Cup, McClaren dropped him entirely from the team. Most people assumed that that marked the end of the line for Mr. Posh Spice. After all, he had clearly hit his peak, he was routinely being exposed as a one-trick pony who couldn’t run and couldn’t tackle, and England were clearly in need of some fresh blood.
But Beckham’s exile from the national team lasted a whole nine months – and here we are, a mere eight months from World Cup 2010, contemplating the strong prospect of Beckham appearing at his fourth World Cup.
How could this possibly be happening? For the past three seasons Beckham has been plying his trade in the Siberia of club football, the MLS. And despite playing against supposedly inferior talent, he hasn’t exactly been lighting up the league. In fact, his team, the LA Galaxy, has consistently underperformed and teammates have been quoted as saying that Beckham has shown a serious lack of commitment.
Nevertheless, AC Milan has just now enthusiastically signed him up for a second end-of-season loan. For Beckham, he needs to play against this kind of top European competition to be considered for upcoming internationals. But the benefits for the Galaxy and Milan are less evident. The Galaxy lose their marquee name for several months, while it’s not as if Milan are in need of another over-the-hill Galactico.
To us, it seems that everyone is helpless to stop Beckham’s march to South Africa. And we are increasingly suspecting that Beckham’s journey is being driven more by the power of his celebrity than the quality of his performances. Consider the fact that in the recent England victory over Belarus, Beckham played all 33 minutes of a game England were winning when he entered the fray – yet still managed to win Man of the Match honours largely because of a single assist.
No matter how much Fabio Cappello grits his teeth, it looks like Becks is here to stay. It’s either a damning critique of the England setup or a tribute to the wonders of the Beckham publicity machine.
Can you blame him for wanting to play in another World Cup?
2 Responses to “Can Anyone Stop the Beckham Juggernaut?”
Leave a Reply
Statistics for both England and Madrid aside (I’ll leave out ManU where there’s been less controversy about Beckham’s contribution), the major flaw in your argument is your depiction of Fabio Capello.
Read up on him a bit. Capello has never picked a player for any other reason than what he has to contribute to the side. He truly has ice in his veins in this regard. I’m assuming you mostly follow the English speaking media, but Capello has left out players that were more “sacred cows” in other countries he’s coached. He picks them when he wants, plays them where he wants and puts them in at whatever point in the game he wants. No questioning…and he gets a lot out of his players through his own sheer will and confidence. Not a man either swayed or interested in anyone’s PR machine.
BTW, Capello laughed and Beckham said he was embarrassed when “Brucie” (old teammate current pundit Steve Bruce) picked him as MOM. Silly choice but his rationale wasn’t as bad as it been for some.
Elison, I completely agree with your assessment of Fabio Capello. He’s a tough, hard-working, disciplinarian who picks players based on merit. And that’s exactly our argument.
If Capello is not influenced by public opinion or ‘the Beckham Juggernaut’ then why is he still picking him in the squad? Surely Becks to AC Milan does not make an old, one-trick pony any good.