David Beckham, already the world’s most famous footballer, is expected to reach another career highlight today by becoming only the fifth player to win 100 caps for England.
Beckham, who turns 33 in May, is back in Fabio Capello’s England squad after missing the Italian’s first match in charge against Switzerland last month.
Capello, Beckham’s former club manager at Real Madrid, said he did not select him then because he was not fit enough — a view Beckham agreed with.
Capello made it clear then he would not award Beckham a “sentimental” 100th game, and would pick him only on merit.
Not for the first time in his long career, Beckham has risen to a challenge and says that if he plays against France in Wednesday’s friendly it will be one of the greatest moments in an already glittering career.
He also hopes that his 100th cap will not be his last. He believes he can do a valuable job for England for at least another two years, until the World Cup finals in South Africa in 2010 if England qualify, and he has no intention of quitting yet.
Beckham can still whip in a cross like a guided missile, he can still inspire his team mates when the going gets tough and, although he probably divides opinion among the public, he never ceases to be polite and charming when in the media’s glare.
As he himself readily admits, he was never blessed with the greatest of pace, but, “give me five yards and I still think I can pass as well as I ever could”.
He can also take free kicks which leave some of the best defenders and goalkeepers utterly bamboozled and although he has had his off-days, including two red cards for England, only an elite few have the special qualities needed to play 100 times for their country.
Beckham was singled out as being special when he won a schoolboy soccer skills tournament at the age of nine and came to the attention of Manchester United great Bobby Charlton.
Charlton, one of only four men who have played more than 100 times for England, knew he had unearthed a diamond.
Although he was born and grew up in London, the young Beckham was a United fan and signed as a trainee at his beloved Old Trafford shortly after his 16th birthday in July 1991.
As former United skipper Bryan Robson recalls: “Everywhere we went, Alex Ferguson used to let this little lad in to the dressing room to meet us. He told us then he was going to be something special and he wasn’t wrong.”
Beckham made his first-team debut for United as a substitute for Andrei Kanchelskis in a League Cup tie at Brighton on Sept. 23, 1992.
By the time he left United for Real Madrid in a STG25 million ($A54.64 million) deal 11 years later he was already a millionaire many times over. He had helped United to win six Premier League titles and two FA Cups and in 1999 was a key member of the team that won the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup treble.
He was also the most recognisable and marketable footballer in the world with sponsorship and advertising deals worth millions. His good looks and his high-profile marriage to Spice Girls pop star Victoria Beckham turned the couple into showbusiness royalty.
Like all top sportsmen, he never knows when he is beaten and admits to a stubborn streak that drives him on.
He responded to a red card in the 1998 World Cup by giving one strong performance after another as United won the treble the following year.
He responded to being dropped from the England squad by Steve McClaren after the 2006 World Cup finals with a series of fine performances for Real Madrid and he responded to being left out of the Real Madrid team by his current England boss Capello with some inspired performances when he got the chance to return.
He says living in the United States and playing for LA Galaxy is no hindrance to him continuing to play for England and he hopes that his 100th cap will not be his last.
There is every chance he will even emulate Bobby Charlton’s haul of 106 appearances.
Beckham’s England career highs and lows
* Beckham made his England debut on Sept. 1, 1996 in a 3-0 away win over Moldova in a qualifier for the 1998 World Cup finals.
* He scored his first goal for England after 30 minutes of his 17th international, a trademark free kick against Colombia in the opening round of the World Cup in Lens, France, on June 26, 1998.
* In the next match, a second-round tie against Argentina in St Etienne four days later, he was sent off two minutes into the second half for kicking Diego Simeone. He was largely vilified at home for his dismissal as it was seen as a contributory factor to England’s loss on penalties after the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
* Caretaker manager Peter Taylor named him as captain for the first time for the friendly against Italy in Rome in November 2000.
* Sven-Goran Eriksson appointed him the permanent captain when he took over as England boss in January 2001. In the next game, Beckham’s 39th international, he scored his second goal for England, against Finland at Anfield. He went on to captain England 58 times.
* On Oct. 6, 2001 at his home ground of Old Trafford, he scored one of the most famous goals of his career — a free kick deep into stoppage time that gave England a 2-2 draw against Greece and effectively sealed their place at the 2002 World Cup finals.
* He won his 50th cap in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup finals on June 2 in Saitama but was replaced after 63 minutes of the 2-2 draw with Sweden
* In what he describes as one of the highlights of his England career, Beckham scored with a penalty to give England a 1-0 win over Argentina in the enclosed dome of Sapporo in their second group match
* The 2003-04 season brought him mixed luck from the penalty spot, scoring against Croatia and Macedonia and missing against Turkey and France — the latter miss in England’s opening Euro 2004 finals match in Lisbon. He also missed a penalty in the shoot-out against Portugal in the quarter-finals when England went out of the competition.
* Became the first England player to be sent off twice when he was dismissed against Austria in a 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory at Old Trafford on Oct. 8, 2005.
* Scored to give England a 1-0 win over Ecuador in their final group match in Stuttgart on June 25, 2006 to become the first English player to score a goal in three World Cup finals tournaments.
* Missed the first nine matches of Steve McClaren’s reign as England boss but returned for his 95th cap against Brazil in the first full international played at the re-built Wembley Stadium on June 1 last year.
* Won his 99th cap against Croatia at Wembley when he came on as a halftime substitute for Shaun Wright-Phillips but even though he provided a stunning cross for Peter Crouch to equalise, England eventually lost 3-2 and failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals.
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