Germany 2006. An injured captain in tears on the sidelines with one leg wrapped in ice. Hardly a fitting world cup send off for one of England’s most revered international captains. But as the 2010 World Cup gets closer, a Beckham-less England looks more and more likely.
Fabio Capello has claimed several times that Beckham’s appearances in his England team are based purely on current merit. This seemed a touch doubtful as Beckham made numerous substitute cameos to overtake Bobby Moore’s 108 international caps, but even with the steely Italian in charge, there is always room for a touch of sentimentality in football. But, for the first time in years, competition in the England squad is genuinely fierce, particularly in midfield. A plane ticket to South Africa for David Beckham would leave a lot of fans pleased, just as many sceptical, and some good premiership midfielders spending the summer at home.
It is a common assertion that any successful squad requires the mix of youth and experience. Beckham’s knowledge and experience would be very useful to the younger players in the squad, but his own world cup record is far from flattering. A now infamous sending off against Argentina in 1998, carrying an injury against the much slicker 10-man Brazil in 2002, and struggling in the heat of Germany in 2006, it’s clear Beckham’s best moments at World Cups have been in qualifying. The almost one-man show against Greece in 2002 will always be used as the example of Beckham’s determination and will to win. And rightly so, it was a memorable performance. But by the end of the 2006 tournament, Beckham’s international career seemed over. Owen Hargreaves’ performance against Portugal showed that perhaps Beckham was no longer required. Hargreaves took it on himself to carry the 10-man England team through 120 minutes against Portugal with a display of real leadership. It is arguable that this is what makes Beckham such a hero to many England fans, there have always been technically better players than Beckham, but for many years, he was England’s most important player and the heartbeat of the team.
For the large number of Beckham-cynics however, identifying Beckham the footballer has become increasingly tricky. The move to Los Angeles Galaxy only reinforced the longstanding idea of Beckham’s desire for celebrity status and that football had become just one part of “Brand Beckham.” This is not meant as a swipe at Beckham’s career or marketability. He quite clearly possesses an acute business brain, but it makes it difficult for fans to take him seriously as a world cup candidate while his rivals are competing in the Premier League.
Beckham has just returned to AC Milan for a second loan spell in two years. It is testament to either his personal levels of fitness, or the level of intensity in the American league that he is even attempting a full MLS season, then half a Serie A season plus a Champions League campaign, all to be followed by a world cup. Should Beckham impress again at Milan then the bandwagon for 2010 will rightly gather momentum. If David Beckham still possesses the ability to play at one of Europe’s top clubs, especially in the European cup, then his place in the England squad will be much easier to defend. It does however beg the question: were there any real football motivations behind his move to the MLS if he was still good enough to play with Europe’s elite every week?
Regardless, the months to come are crucial to Beckham’s bid for a fourth world cup place, and inevitably he will apply himself with great professionalism and determination to achieve a squad place. And it would be a magnificent personal achievement for Beckham. Michael Owen has struggled to make any sort of impact at Manchester United, and the form of his rivals for England’s striker allocation should mean that his place on the plane to South Africa has already been provisionally taken. Beckham also faces stiff competition. As the world cup draws nearer, many fans will be working out their own versions of what the squad should look like. On current form, it is tricky to fit Beckham in the top 8 or 9 English midfielders, which is roughly the number that would be taken in the squad, particularly on the right hand side, Aaron Lennon for example has shone for an attacking and pacey Tottenham side so far this season.
An England squad that could move on from the likes of Beckham and Owen and finally look to build a new, younger side would be an exciting prospect, but it is also risky and it is unlikely that the World Cup and all the expectation that comes with that for England will be seen as the best time to take such a risk. Finding a place for Beckham is a safe move for Capello, although many would question the decision on purely football terms, there are few who would begrudge a great servant such as Beckham one last shot at international glory. His ability on the set-play and incredible accuracy on long passing and crossing never seems to wane.
Sure, Steve Mclaren’s decision to omit David Beckham now looks premature and it is not out of the question to suggest it was taken with the primary aim of trying to cement Mclaren’s own influence over the squad. But, now Beckham’s important to the first team has surely started to diminish. To many, myself included, Beckham seems to have taken on the role of glorified cheerleader recently for England. He rises from the subs bench with around half an hour to go and re-energises the fans, inevitably his introduction always greeted with a great reception. But it has to be said that, that while the fans are happy to see him; opposition defenders, with 20 minutes to go in the World Cup quarter final, might not be so pleased to see David Beckham.
Written by David Harrison
Tags: David Beckham, England, world cup 2010
This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 and is filed under England, World Cup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
David, for me your closing statement sums up the whole Beckham debate. While his club form may not match some of his midfield rivals, if I were an England fan and my team was struggling in a World Cup quarter or semi-final, I would feel more confident about Beckham being able to produce something special, rather than the likes of Lennon or Walcott.
While he’s no longer an automatic start, he should still be on the plane.
I think I agree William. He has shown time and again that he can create a goal from nowhere. I think it was his inexplicable appearances in qualifying games and friendlies that confused me. We all know what David Beckham does by now. The whole point of friendlies is to try other options. It must put extra pressure on the likes of Lennon to know that, even in these pretty meaningless games, if he’s not excellent for 90minutes, England will always recall David Beckham.