“I don’t have time for hobbies. At the end of the day, I treat my job as a hobby. It’s something I love doing.” – David Beckham
Who is David Beckham?
Lovingly called “Becks”,”Golden Balls”, David Robert Joseph Beckham, is an English former international football/soccer player.
Born on 2 May, 1975, in Leytonstone, London, he is one of the most influential personalites and one of the richest soccer players in the world.
The teams that he has played for while taking them to great victories include,
- Manchester United
- Preston North End
- Real Madrid
- Milan
- LA Galaxy
- Paris Saint-Germain
- The England National team
When did Beckham start his career?
In 1992, at the age of 17, he officially started his career as a football player. He dropped out school and joined Manchester United’s youth training scheme, initially being a trainee at Tottenham Hotspur.
Coached by Eric Harrison, he was a part of a team created by the coach himself which included the likes of Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes. This team won in the May of 1992 while playing for the FA youth cup.
Fact : Before he signed his first contract, he made his first appearance for United’s senior side, as a substitute in a league cup against Brighton.
Timeline of Events in Beckham’s Life
1994-1995
- 1995: His first premier league appearance for Manchester United in a goalless draw against Leeds United.
- After 3 of his top players left the team, Ferguson replaced the top notch members of the league with the youth members, for which he was greatly criticized in media. He won the premiership and FA cup double.
Highlight : Beckham scored a winning goal in the semi-final against Chelsea, took the corner that Eric Cantona scored from in the FA cup final.
A milestone for Beckham : 3-0 win, in Beckham’s English debut which helped the team to win.
1997-1999
- He played the third match against Columbia and the team was victorious by 2-0, where he scored his first goal for England.
- Beckham was a runner up to Rivaldo at the European footballer of the year and FIFA world player of the year.
- Beckham got married to Victoria Beckham of Spice Girls fame. He was greatly criticized for this as people believed that he was not concentrating on the game (4 July 1999).
2000-2012
- Beckham was made captain within this time frame following which the team qualified for FIFA world cup finals.
- Had the famous 5-1 victory over Germany in Munich.
- In 2003, Beckham signed a 4-year contract with Real Madrid.
- He signed a 5-year deal with MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy worth $250 million in 2006. In July 2007, he was officially made a galaxy player.
- In December, BBC honored him with a lifetime achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show.
12 David Beckham Facts
- His favourite subject at school was Art!
- He was the face of PepsiCo for 10 years, with the contract ending on 31 December 2008.
- He launched a male fragrance called David Beckham instinct in the UK and US in 2007.
- He modeled for Armani in 2007.
- The movie, “Bend it like Beckham” which premiered in 2002 was named after him.v
- Came in #19 in the top 100 celebrities (2013) in Forbes.v
- Beckham donated his $5.3 million salary at PSG to a children’s charity.
- David Beckham Suffers From Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
- If Beckham was not a footballer, he would have been an artist.
- David Beckham has 20 body tattoos and still counting.
- David Beckham’s net worth is $350 million.
- Beckham is associated with two organisations: UNICEF and Malaria no more.
David Beckham Academy
It is a football school founded by David Beckham in 2005 which opened in two locations: London, UK and Los Angeles. The California branch closed soon after.
Related Article:
- To know Interesting and Unknown Facts about Football, visit https://mocomi.com/football-fun-facts/