89-472: DB7 may refer to: David Beckham (born 1975), English footballer who played for Manchester United and England wearing the number seven shirt The Douglas DB-7 bomber, also known as the A-20 Boston The Aston Martin DB7 motor car [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
178-535: A 20-year career. 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 Cups in 1998 , 2002 and 2006 as well as two UEFA European Championships in 2000 and 2004 . Beckham held the England appearance record for an outfield player until 2016. A global ambassador of football, Beckham
267-509: A UK poll conducted by Channel 4 in 2002, the British public voted the goal No.18 of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments . In a 2016 Sky Sports poll, it was ranked the best opening day goal in Premier League history. During the 1996–97 season, Beckham became an automatic first-choice player at Manchester United, helping them to retain the Premier League title, and was voted PFA Young Player of
356-483: A United player; he scored 16 goals in all competitions, the best of his career. Following an injury early in the 2002–03 season , Beckham was unable to regain his place on the Manchester United team, with Ole Gunnar Solskjær having replaced him on the right side of midfield. His relationship with his manager deteriorated further on 15 February 2003 when, in the changing room following an FA Cup defeat to Arsenal,
445-507: A deal for Beckham's transfer, but instead he joined reigning Spanish champions Real Madrid for €37 million 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
534-522: A draw. Italy and Portugal maintained their perfect records in the quarter-finals, beating Romania and Turkey, respectively, and the Netherlands started a goal-avalanche against FR Yugoslavia, winning 6–1. Spain fell 2–1 to France; Raúl missed a late penalty that ended Spanish hopes. Italy eliminated the Netherlands in the semi-finals, despite going down to ten men and facing two penalty kicks . Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo , who had been drafted into
623-521: A footballer.' And they'd say, 'No, what do you really want to do, for a job?' But that was the only thing I ever wanted to do." Beckham was a late developer and not selected to represent the England Schoolboys' team primarily on account of his small size. He attended one of Bobby Charlton's Soccer Schools in Manchester and won the chance to take part in a training session with Barcelona , as part of
712-514: A free kick from the edge of the 18-yard box against Manchester United's arch rivals Liverpool at Anfield . In the 1998–99 season , he was part of the United team that won the treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League , a unique feat in English football until Manchester City's 2022–23 season . There had been speculation that the criticism that he had received after being sent off in
801-407: A furious Alex Ferguson threw or kicked a boot that struck Beckham over the eye, causing a cut that required stitches. The incident led to a great deal of transfer speculation involving Beckham, with bookmakers offering odds on whether he or Ferguson would be first to leave the club. Although the team had started the season badly, their results improved greatly from December onwards and they won
890-545: 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
979-478: A goalless draw against Leeds United. He played four times for United in the league that season, as they finished second behind Blackburn Rovers , missing out on a third successive Premier League title by a single point. He was not in the squad for the FA Cup final with Everton on 20 May, which United lost 1–0, leaving the club without a major trophy for the first time since 1989. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had
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#17328551771181068-406: A good season for his club, though, and helped United to win the Premier League by a record margin. He was never a problem until he got married. He used to go into work with the academy coaches at night time, he was a fantastic young lad. Getting married into that entertainment scene was a difficult thing – from that moment, his life was never going to be the same. He is such a big celebrity, football
1157-630: A great deal of confidence in the club's young players. Beckham was part of a group of young talents Ferguson brought into United in the 1990s (known as " Fergie's Fledglings "), which included Nicky Butt and Gary and Phil Neville . When experienced players Paul Ince , Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis left the club after the end of the 1994–95 season, his decision to let youth team players replace them instead of buying star players from other clubs (United had been linked with moves for players including Darren Anderton , Marc Overmars and Roberto Baggio , but no major signings were made that summer), drew
1246-442: A great deal of criticism. The criticism increased when United started the season with a 3–1 defeat at Aston Villa , with Beckham scoring United's only goal of the game. However, United recovered from this early-season defeat and the young players performed well. Beckham swiftly established himself as United's right-sided midfielder (rather than a right-winger in the style of his predecessor Andrei Kanchelskis) and helped them to win
1335-423: A great footballer and a very dedicated professional. His team spirit is unsurpassed and he is one of the best English players of all-time and if only because of that he is with us." —Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez during Beckham's unveiling. 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
1424-421: A household name when he scored a spectacular goal in a match against Wimbledon . With United leading 2–0, Beckham noticed that Wimbledon's goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was standing a long way out of his goal, and hit a shot from the halfway line – 57 yards out – that floated over the goalkeeper and into the net. His goal celebration saw him raise his arms and walk away smiling rather than run as he often would. In
1513-491: A luxury box at the Santiago Bernabéu , it was only Beckham's second piece of silverware since he joined the famous club. Towards the end of the season, as Beckham was getting back into Capello's good books after successfully fighting his way back into the first team, Real Madrid announced they would try to untie his transfer to LA Galaxy, but were ultimately unsuccessful. Several weeks before Beckham's scheduled arrival in
1602-558: A match. During a two-year period in which Beckham played for Brimsdown Rovers ' youth team, he was named Under-15 Player of the Year in 1990. Beckham attended Chingford County High School in Nevin Drive, Chingford . He also attended Bradenton Preparatory Academy, but signed schoolboy forms at Manchester United on his 14th birthday, and subsequently signed a Youth Training Scheme contract on 8 July 1991. Having signed for Manchester United as
1691-474: A new record for the worst team performance in the group stages of a Euros. Group C was memorable for the match between FR Yugoslavia and Spain. Spain needed a win to ensure progression, but found themselves trailing 3–2 after Slobodan Komljenović scored in the 75th minute. The Spanish side rescued their tournament by scoring twice in injury time to record a 4–3 victory. FR Yugoslavia managed to go through as well, despite losing because Norway and Slovenia played to
1780-487: A pivotal role in all three Madrid goals in the home game, with Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn describing his performance as "world class". On 17 June 2007, the last day of the La Liga season, Beckham started in his final match for the club, a 3–1 win over Mallorca which saw them clinch the title from Barcelona. With Real down 0–1, Beckham limped off the field and was replaced by José Antonio Reyes, who scored two goals, leading
1869-404: A specific position (for the purposes of determining the match schedules in each group). The draw resulted in the following groups: Capacity figures are those for matches at UEFA Euro 2000 and are not necessarily the total capacity that the stadium is capable of holding. The 16 national teams each stayed in their own "team base camp" during the tournament. Each national team had to submit
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#17328551771181958-513: A squad of 22 players, three of whom had to be goalkeepers. On 15 February 2000, UEFA appointed 12 referees, 16 assistant referees and four fourth officials for the competition, including a referee and an assistant referee from the Confederation of African Football . The event saw assistant referees being allowed to intervene an ongoing game, in particular to help the match official apply the 10-metre rule when deciding free-kicks – as well as warn
2047-433: A swerving shot from the edge of the penalty area in their final home game against Tottenham Hotspur. By the early-2000s, the relationship between Ferguson and Beckham had begun to deteriorate, possibly as a result of Beckham's fame and commitments away from football. In 2000, Beckham was given permission to miss training to look after his son Brooklyn, who had gastroenteritis , but Ferguson was furious when Victoria Beckham
2136-407: A talent competition. He played for a local youth team called Ridgeway Rovers, which was coached by his father, Stuart Underwood, and Steve Kirby. Beckham was a Manchester United mascot for a match against West Ham United in 1986. Young Beckham had trials with his local club Leyton Orient , Norwich City and attended Tottenham Hotspur 's school of excellence, though never represented the club in
2225-507: A trainee on 8 July 1991, Beckham was part of a group of young players, including Ryan Giggs , Gary Neville , Phil Neville , Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes , who were coached by Eric Harrison , and helped the club win the FA Youth Cup in May 1992 . Beckham scored Manchester United's second goal in the 30th minute of their 3–1 first-leg win of the final against Crystal Palace on 14 April 1992. In
2314-474: A younger sister, Joanne Louise. Beckham's maternal grandfather's maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Lazarus Llewellyn, was Jewish . Beckham has referred to himself as " half Jewish " and wrote in his autobiography "I've probably had more contact with Judaism than with any other religion". In his book Both Feet on the Ground , Beckham states that growing up he attended church every week with his parents, because that
2403-437: Is an English former professional footballer , the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City . Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, crossing ability and free-kick taking, Beckham has been hailed as one of the greatest and most recognisable midfielders of his generation, as well as one of the best free-kick takers of all time. He won 19 major trophies in his career, and
2492-456: Is considered a British cultural icon. He has been in a well publicised marriage to Victoria Beckham since 1999 and was consistently ranked among the highest earners in football, in 2013 being listed as the highest-paid player in the world having earned over $ 50 million in the previous twelve months. Beckham was runner-up in the Ballon d'Or in 1999 , twice runner-up for FIFA World Player of
2581-440: Is only a small part. – Alex Ferguson speaking about Beckham's marriage in 2007. He was a key player in United's third successive league title in 2000–01 , only the fourth time that any club had achieved three league titles in a row. He scored nine Premier League goals, and had the most assists in the league with 12. On 10 April 2002, Beckham was injured during a Champions League match against Deportivo de La Coruña , breaking
2670-779: Is the first English player to win league titles in four different countries: England, Spain, the United States and France. Beckham's professional club career began with Manchester United , where he made his first-team debut in 1992 at age 17. With United, he won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, the FA Charity Shield twice, the Intercontinental Cup and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He then played four seasons with Real Madrid , winning
2759-456: The 1985 European Cup final and the Heysel Stadium disaster , with the opening game being played in the rebuilt stadium. A high-scoring championship with many exciting matches and an elite standard of play, Euro 2000 is often labelled by football writers as one of the greatest international tournaments of all time. Belgium and the Netherlands were selected as co-hosts on 14 July 1995 by
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2848-448: The 1994–95 season , to get some first-team experience. I arrived thinking that Manchester United didn't want me anymore. You had to perform because, if not, you're going to get let go. So you're constantly thinking you're not safe. – Beckham in 2023. He scored two goals in five appearances, notably directly from a corner kick . Beckham returned to Manchester and made his Premier League debut for Manchester United on 2 April 1995 in
2937-516: The Champions League by Bayer Leverkusen ), but he signed a three-year contract in May, following months of negotiations with the club, mostly concerning extra payments for his image rights. The income from his new contract, and his many endorsement deals, made him the highest-paid player in the world at the time. Despite the season being curtailed with injury, 2001–02 was one of Beckham's best seasons as
3026-511: 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 AC Milan in 2009 and 2010. He became the first British footballer to play 100 UEFA Champions League games. Following a four-month stint at Paris Saint-Germain , he retired in May 2013 after
3115-553: 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
3204-480: The Tynesiders at the top of the league by mid March and they remained top until the end of the season. Despite playing regularly and to a consistently high standard for Manchester United, Beckham did not break into the England squad before Euro 1996 . "It changed my life. The ball seemed to be in the air for hours and it all went quiet. Then the ball went in and it just erupted. I was on cloud nine." —Beckham on
3293-454: The final of the FA Youth Cup , where they faced Leeds United . The first leg was played on 10 May 1993, where Beckham started in Manchester United's 2–0 home loss but was replaced by substitute Robbie Savage . In the second leg on 13 May 1993, Beckham played the full 90 minutes of Manchester United's 2–1 defeat, which gave Leeds United a 4–1 aggregate score. Beckham also received honours with
3382-407: The 1998–99 season, he was still unpopular among some opposition fans and journalists, and he was criticised after being sent off for a deliberate foul in Manchester United's World Club Championship match against Necaxa . It was suggested in the press that his wife was a bad influence on him, and that it might be in United's interests to sell him, but his manager publicly backed him, and he stayed at
3471-666: The Euro 2000 final. One of the most infamous incidents was the Battle of Beverwijk in 1997. Although the violence is normally associated with domestic clubs, there were concerns that it could attach to the Dutch national team. Violence did eventually occur during the Euro 2000 finals, albeit not involving the Dutch team. On 17 June 174 England fans were arrested in Brussels, Belgium, following violence with Germans ahead of an England v Germany match. One of
3560-491: The Premier League title and FA Cup double that season, scoring the winner in the semi-final against Chelsea and also providing the corner from which Eric Cantona scored in the FA Cup Final. Beckham's first title medal had, for a while, looked like it would not be coming that season, as United were still 10 points adrift of leaders Newcastle United at the turn of the new year, but Beckham and his teammates had overhauled
3649-576: The UEFA Executive Committee at a meeting in Geneva , Switzerland. Football hooliganism was a significant problem in the Netherlands in the 1990s, especially the fierce rivalry between Ajax and Feyenoord . There were concerns that hooliganism would overshadow the finals. Many instances of violence occurred, including several football riots in Rotterdam between 1995 and 1999 , which would host
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3738-506: The United States, Real's management contacted LA Galaxy's ownership group about reacquiring the player, but were quickly turned down. A month after the conclusion of Beckham's Real career, Forbes magazine reported that he had been the party primarily responsible for the team's huge increase in merchandise sales, a total reported to top US$ 600 million during Beckham's four years at the club. UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship , also known as Euro 2000 ,
3827-473: The World Cup would lead to him leaving England, but Beckham decided to stay at Manchester United. To ensure they would win the Premier League title, United needed to win their final league match of the season, at home to Tottenham. There were reports suggesting that the opposition would allow themselves to be beaten to prevent their local rivals Arsenal from retaining the title, but Tottenham took an early lead in
3916-662: The Year ( 1999 and 2001 ) and in 2004 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, and the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021. He has been a UNICEF ambassador since 2005, and in 2015 he launched 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund . In 2014, MLS announced that Beckham and a group of investors would own Inter Miami, which began playing in 2020. David Robert Joseph Beckham
4005-423: The Year by his peers. Prior to the 1997–98 season , Beckham inherited the number 7 shirt , a number previously worn by such United greats as George Best and Eric Cantona . Manchester United started the season well but erratic performances in the second half of the season saw United finish second behind Arsenal . Beckham had the most assists in the league with 13, while his nine Premier League goals included
4094-399: The beginning of the season, as the speedier José Antonio Reyes was normally preferred on the right wing. Of the first nine matches Beckham started, Real lost seven. On 10 January 2007, after prolonged contractual negotiations, Real Madrid's sporting director Predrag Mijatović announced that Beckham would not remain at Real Madrid after the end of the season. However, he later claimed that he
4183-406: The biggest surprises of the tournament was Portugal, winning Group A with three wins, including a 3–0 win against Germany, with Sérgio Conceição scoring a hat-trick, and a 3–2 win over England, in which they came back from 2–0 down. Romania was the other qualifier from the group, beating England with a late penalty in their last group game. Belgium had a surprise exit in the group stage, winning
4272-477: The career of Victoria. Beckham appointed close friend Terry Byrne to be his personal manager. "We knew before he was a good player, but we did not expect him to be such an influential player, to show such commitment to the team spirit. The way he runs for everything, the way he tries his best. He has everyone's respect." — Ronaldo speaking about Beckham in October 2003. In late-August 2003, Real Madrid won
4361-514: The club's reserve team when the squad won the league in 1994. In September 1994, Beckham made his first full appearance in the club's first team against Port Vale in a League Cup fixture. On 7 December 1994, Beckham made his UEFA Champions League debut, scoring a goal in a 4–0 victory at home to Galatasaray in the final game of the group stage. Despite the victory, however, they finished third out of four in their group, behind Barcelona. Beckham then went to Preston North End , on loan for part of
4450-417: The club. During the 1999–2000 season, there was a talk of a transfer to Juventus in Italy, but this never happened. Beckham helped United retain the Premier League title in 1999–2000 by an 18-point margin, after being pushed by Arsenal and Leeds United for much of the season. United won their final 11 league games of the season, with Beckham scoring five goals during this run, with his last goal coming from
4539-487: The end of 1999, with the exception of pot 1 automatically top seeding Germany as holders along with co-hosts Belgium and Netherlands. Prior to the draw, the seeded teams in Pot 1 were assigned positions: Germany (defending champion) to A1, Belgium (co-host) to B1, Spain (highest coefficient) to C1, and the Netherlands (co-host) to D1. Teams were drawn consecutively from Pots 2 to 4 into a group, with each team then being assigned
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#17328551771184628-401: The end of the season. The summer 2006 off-season marked a turbulent time as the club's presidential elections were held. Ramón Calderón became the new Real president. As expected, none of the club officials who served under the previous president was kept, including head coach López Caro. Initially out of favour with newly arrived head coach Fabio Capello , Beckham started only a few games at
4717-456: The goal from the half-way line against Wimbledon in August 1996 that made him a household name. It was ranked number 18 on Channel 4's poll of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments . At the beginning of the 1996–97 season , Beckham was given the number 10 shirt that had most recently been worn by Mark Hughes. On 17 August 1996 (the first day of the Premier League season), Beckham became something of
4806-911: 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 a global marketing icon such as Beckham, however, made this particular tour a financial smash for los Merengues . 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
4895-621: 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
4984-566: The league, with Beckham managing a total of eleven goals. He was still a first-choice player for England, however, and in the Queen's Birthday Honours List he was appointed an OBE for services to football on 13 June 2003. Beckham had made 265 Premier league appearances for United and scored 61 goals. He also made 81 Champions league appearances, scoring 15 goals. Beckham won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, two FA Charity Shields, one European Cup , one Intercontinental Cup and one FA Youth Cup in
5073-470: The losers. Any game that was undecided by the end of the regular 90 minutes, was followed by up to thirty minutes of extra time . For the second time the golden goal system was applied, whereby the first team to score during the extra time would become the winner. If no goal was scored there would be a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. For the second time the final was won by a golden goal. As with every tournament since UEFA Euro 1984 , there
5162-550: The man before he reached the house. The league season began with new head coach José Antonio Camacho at the helm, but he ended up lasting only three matches, handing in his resignation as Real dropped to eighth spot in the La Liga standings. Camacho's assistant Mariano García Remón took over on temporary basis as Real's leadership scrambled to find a permanent replacement. Beckham made more headlines on 9 October 2004 when he admitted intentionally fouling Ben Thatcher in an England match against Wales to get himself booked. Beckham
5251-469: The match. Beckham scored the equaliser with a curling strike from twelve yards out, after receiving the ball on the right side of the penalty area, placing the ball into the top left corner of the goal; United went on to win the match 2–1 and the league. Beckham played in central midfield in United's win over Bayern Munich in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final , as United's first-choice centre-midfielders Paul Scholes and Roy Keane were suspended for
5340-436: The match. United were losing the match 1–0 at the end of normal time, but won the trophy by scoring two goals in injury time. Both of the goals came from corners taken by Beckham. Those crucial assists, coupled with great performances over the rest of the season, led to him finishing runner up to Rivaldo for 1999's European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. Despite Beckham's achievements in
5429-426: The new head coach. However, the well-travelled Brazilian failed to inspire the team to the title as Real again finished the season in second position. On 3 December 2005, Beckham was sent off for the third time that season in a league match against Getafe . A day later Luxemburgo was sacked and was replaced by Juan Ramón López Caro . By the end of that season, Beckham was third in La Liga in number of assists. During
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#17328551771185518-489: 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
5607-422: The referee instantly if he had booked or ejected the wrong player, something that was not possible in previous tournaments. Also, fourth officials were given a larger role in assisting to take command of the match if any decisions are gone unnoticed by the referee or an assistant referee. The German referee Markus Merk was selected to referee the opening game between Belgium and Sweden. The teams finishing in
5696-652: The referee. France won the tournament, defeating Italy 2–1 in the final with a golden goal by David Trezeguet after equalising with a last-minute goal, and became the first team to win the European championship while being world champion. In Britain, Match of the Day named Stefano Fiore 's goal against Belgium the Goal of the Tournament, ahead of Patrick Kluivert 's against France and Zinedine Zidane's against Spain. Qualification for
5785-589: The same title formed as a letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=DB7&oldid=874353700 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham ( / ˈ b ɛ k əm / BEK -əm ; born 2 May 1975)
5874-546: The season, Beckham established football academies in Los Angeles and east London and was named a judge for the 2006 British Book Awards. Real Madrid finished second to Barcelona in the 2005–06 La Liga, albeit with a large twelve-point gap, and only reached the last 16 in the Champions League after losing to Arsenal. Pérez resigned his post as president in January 2006, with Vicente Boluda named as replacement on an interim basis until
5963-451: The second metatarsal bone in his left foot. There was speculation in the British media that the injury might have been caused deliberately, as the player who had injured Beckham was Argentine Aldo Duscher , and England and Argentina were due to meet in that year's World Cup. The injury prevented Beckham from playing for United for the rest of the season and they missed out on the Premier League title to Arsenal (also being knocked out of
6052-418: The second leg on 15 May, Beckham played a full 90-minutes of the fixture which ended 3–2 in favour of Manchester United and 6–3 on aggregate. Beckham's impact led to a first-team debut on 23 September 1992, as a substitute for Andrei Kanchelskis in a League Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion . Shortly afterwards, Beckham signed as a professional on 23 January 1993. Manchester United again reached
6141-412: The space of twelve years. By this stage, he was their joint second longest serving player behind Ryan Giggs (having joined them at the same time as Nicky Butt , Gary Neville and Paul Scholes ). "He is a great player who is going to become part of the club's great history. He is a man of our times and a symbol of modern-day stardom and what is certain is Real Madrid have signed Beckham because he's
6230-507: The starting XI as Gianluigi Buffon missed the tournament through injury, made two saves in the penalty shootout (in addition to his penalty save in normal time) to carry the Italians to the final. In the other semi-final, Portugal lost in extra time to France after Zinedine Zidane converted a controversial penalty kick. Several Portuguese players challenged the awarding of the penalty for a handball and were given lengthy suspensions for shoving
6319-463: The students at Villanueva University Center in Madrid, Calderón said that Beckham is "going to Hollywood to be half a film star", adding "our technical staff were right not to extend his contract, which has been proved by the fact that no other technical staff in the world wanted him except Los Angeles". About a month later, however, Capello backtracked on his earlier statement, allowing Beckham to rejoin
6408-437: The team for the match against Real Sociedad on 10 February 2007. The player immediately repaid his head coach's trust by scoring the equalising goal from a 27-yard free kick, as Real Madrid eventually recorded a 2–1 victory. In his final UEFA Champions League appearance for the club, Real Madrid were knocked out of the competition by Bayern Munich at the round-of-16 stage (on the away goals rule) on 7 March 2007. Beckham played
6497-419: The team to that season's La Liga title , their first since Beckham had signed with them and 30th overall in the club's history . Although Real and Barçelona both finished level on points, Madrid took the title because of their superior head-to-head record, capping a remarkable six-month turnaround for Beckham. With his wife and children, along with celebrity friends Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes , watching from
6586-437: The top two positions in each of the four groups progress to the quarter-finals, while the bottom two teams in each group were eliminated. All times are local, CEST ( UTC+2 ). If two or more teams finished level on points after completion of the group matches, the following tie-breakers were used to determine the final ranking: The knockout stage was a single-elimination tournament with each round eliminating
6675-600: The tournament as co-hosts. As of 2024 , this was the only time Norway qualified for the European Championship finals, as well as the last time that Croatia failed to qualify. The finals draw took place 15:00 CET on 12 December 1999, at the Brussels Expo in Belgium; and was streamed live on UEFA's official website. The composition of pots 1 to 4 was based on the teams' UEFA national team coefficient ranking at
6764-436: The tournament took place throughout 1998 and 1999. Forty-nine teams were divided into nine groups and each played the others in their group, on a home-and-away basis. The winner of each group and the best runner-up qualified automatically for the final tournament. The eight other runners-up played an additional set of play-off matches to determine the last four qualifiers. Belgium and the Netherlands automatically qualified for
6853-525: The tournament's first game against Sweden, but losing to Turkey and Italy. They finished third in Group B, behind Italy and Turkey. The other co-host and favourite, the Netherlands , progressed as expected from Group D, along with World Cup winners France. The Netherlands won the group, by beating France in their last group match. Also in Group D, Denmark's three losses with eight goals conceded and none scored set
6942-465: The tournament, received a total prize money of CHF14.4 million. Below is a complete list of the allocations: Extra payment based on teams performances: On 9 July 2000, UEFA refused to hand FR Yugoslavia their prize money of CHF7.8 million, because of alleged ties between the Football Association of FR Yugoslavia and Slobodan Milošević 's government. However, no connections were found and
7031-573: 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
7120-496: 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
7209-533: Was born on 2 May 1975 at Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone , London, England. He is the son of Sandra Georgina ( née West), a hairdresser, and David Edward Alan "Ted" Beckham, a kitchen fitter; the couple married in 1969 in the London Borough of Hackney . He was given the middle name Robert in honour of Bobby Charlton , his father's favourite footballer. He has an older sister, Lynne Georgina, and
7298-526: Was contested by 16 nations; with the exception of the hosts, Belgium and the Netherlands , the finalists had to go through a qualifying tournament to reach the final stage. France won the tournament by defeating Italy 2–1 in the final , via a golden goal . The finals saw the first major UEFA competition contested in the King Baudouin Stadium (formerly the Heysel Stadium) since the events of
7387-400: Was due to receive a one-match suspension for his next caution , and had picked up an injury which he knew would keep him out of England's next match, so he deliberately fouled Thatcher to serve his suspension in a match that he would have had to miss anyway. The Football Association asked Beckham for an explanation of his actions and he admitted that he had "made a mistake" and apologised. He
7476-450: Was mistranslated and that he actually said that Beckham's contract had not yet been renewed. On 11 January 2007, Beckham announced that he had signed a five-year deal to play for the LA Galaxy , beginning 1 July 2007. On 13 January 2007, Fabio Capello said that Beckham had played his last game for Real Madrid, although he continued to train with the team. A few days later, while speaking to
7565-412: Was no third place play-off . All times are local, CEST ( UTC+2 ). There were 85 goals scored in 31 matches, for an average of 2.74 goals per match. 5 goals 4 goals 3 goals 2 goals 1 goal 1 own goal Source: UEFA Golden Boot UEFA Player of the Tournament A sum of CHF 120 million was awarded to the 16 qualified teams in the competition. France, the winners of
7654-465: Was photographed at a London Fashion Week event on the same night, claiming that Beckham would have been able to train if Victoria had looked after Brooklyn that day. He responded by fining Beckham the maximum amount that was permitted (two weeks' wages – then £50,000) and dropping him for a crucial match against United's rivals Leeds United. He later criticised Beckham for this in his autobiography, claiming he had not been "fair to his teammates" Beckham had
7743-441: Was sent off shortly afterwards, this time in a league match for Real Madrid against Valencia . Having received a yellow card, he was judged to have sarcastically applauded the referee and was given a second yellow card, causing an automatic dismissal, although the suspension was cancelled on appeal. By Christmas 2004, with the team sitting in second position in the league, García Remón was dismissed, and Vanderlei Luxemburgo became
7832-453: Was the 11th UEFA European Championship , a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA , the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was played between 10 June and 2 July 2000, and co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands, the first time the tournament had been held in more than one nation. Spain and Austria also bid to host the event. The finals tournament
7921-478: Was the only way he could play football for their team. His parents were fanatical Manchester United supporters who frequently travelled 200 miles (320 km) to Old Trafford from London to attend the team's home matches. David inherited his parents' love of Manchester United, and his main sporting passion was football. In a 2007 interview, Beckham said that, "At school whenever the teachers asked, 'What do you want to do when you're older?' I'd say, 'I want to be
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