David Beckham's notoriety due to his sending off in the 1998 World Cup did earn him the title the Bad Boy of England. But that only added to his appeal. (Wasn't James Dean a bad boy himself?) Practically all of England hated him for 'costing' them the country's chances in the tournament. But his fellow Manchester United and England teammate Phil Neville predicted that an even better David Beckham would come out because of the incident. And he was right. In true Beckham fashion, he emerged from the shadow of that red card like the true warrior he was--and still is.
And so my sports news viewing took a dramatic turn in '98. Every other sports news and scores took a backseat--behind Becks news and ManUnited match results. But it irked me to think that I wasn't a Becks fan way back in the '96/'87 season. Because that was when he scored a goal from the halfway line. They were playing against Wimbledom and out of the blue, the young talent scored from sixty yards out. Poor keeper! But thanks to Beckham-mania these days, footage of that wonderful goal is frequently being replayed on different sports programs. And it never fails to put a smile on my face!
Manchester United FC's home pitch, the Old Trafford, soon became my football home. It wasn't difficult to do that. ManUnited was the reigning club in England leading up to the new millennium. Which wasn't really a big surprise since majority of the squad were composed of the winners of the 1994 FA Youth Cup--veterans of the club's youth academy. Talents the likes of Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, brothers Gary and Phil Neville, and David Beckham kept the Red Devils on top form. The last had already been recognized as Young Footballer of the Year by both SkySports/Panasonic and the PFA (his peers) in 1996; and he was honored with the prestigious Sir Matt Busby Award the same year.
Up until the 2002-2003 season, ESPN Asia was only showing matches from the Spanish La Liga and the Italian Serie A. So I had to settle for their UEFA Champions League coverage to see ManUnited play live. True to Phil Neville's word, Becks didn't disappoint after the England tragedy of '98. The '98/'99 season was a monster season for his club. They had already won a domestic Double--the Premiership title was wrapped up on May 13 and they defeated Newcastle United on May 22 to lift the FA Cup--and they still had a chance to win a unique Treble. All throughout their Champions League campaign that year I had been waking up at odd hours in the morning ready to celebrate a ManUnited win, content myself with a draw, or suffer a loss.
I was ready for anything on May 22nd 1999, a Wednesday. I set my alarm clock for the usual two o'clock wake-up call. I still don't know what happened but I just snoozed back after it rang. The next thing I knew it was almost four in the morning. I dreaded opening the TV set because I had the feeling that Bayen Munich was already lifting the silverware. My dread was not unfounded, after all. When I tuned in to the match, the Red Devils were a goal down since the sixth minute and there were only five minutes left in regulation. What we needed was a miracle.
That Thursday morning (Philippine time), the Red Devils gave me my most memorable club football match yet. Just when the German fans were about to celebrate, Becks sent in a corner that lead to a goal by substitute Teddy Sheringham to level the game. Even before the tens of thousands of spectators at Barcelona's Estadio Nuo Camp could recover from that first ManUnited goal, another Becks corner found sub Ole Gunnar Solksjaer for the winning goal. A few seconds later, the ref blew the final whistle. As a football fan, it was hard watching the anguish of the Bayern Munich players. But as a ManUnted fan, I was all smiles! Miracles do happen--even in injury time. The conquerors of England were the Champions of Europe.
In 1999, Becks was recognized as Europe's Most Valuable Player and was voted the second best in the world. For the next four years, he would help ManUnited win more games and fill the club's silverware cabinet. But then, what do you expect from someone who inherited the number seven ManUnited jersey from one of the greatest footbal legends, Eric Cantona, as well as named after ManUnited and England legend, Sir Bobby Charlton? The Bad Boy of England had redeemed himself--and had become the Golden Boy of Old Trafford.
(Originally posted at The Kookie Jar.)
And so my sports news viewing took a dramatic turn in '98. Every other sports news and scores took a backseat--behind Becks news and ManUnited match results. But it irked me to think that I wasn't a Becks fan way back in the '96/'87 season. Because that was when he scored a goal from the halfway line. They were playing against Wimbledom and out of the blue, the young talent scored from sixty yards out. Poor keeper! But thanks to Beckham-mania these days, footage of that wonderful goal is frequently being replayed on different sports programs. And it never fails to put a smile on my face!
Manchester United FC's home pitch, the Old Trafford, soon became my football home. It wasn't difficult to do that. ManUnited was the reigning club in England leading up to the new millennium. Which wasn't really a big surprise since majority of the squad were composed of the winners of the 1994 FA Youth Cup--veterans of the club's youth academy. Talents the likes of Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, brothers Gary and Phil Neville, and David Beckham kept the Red Devils on top form. The last had already been recognized as Young Footballer of the Year by both SkySports/Panasonic and the PFA (his peers) in 1996; and he was honored with the prestigious Sir Matt Busby Award the same year.
Up until the 2002-2003 season, ESPN Asia was only showing matches from the Spanish La Liga and the Italian Serie A. So I had to settle for their UEFA Champions League coverage to see ManUnited play live. True to Phil Neville's word, Becks didn't disappoint after the England tragedy of '98. The '98/'99 season was a monster season for his club. They had already won a domestic Double--the Premiership title was wrapped up on May 13 and they defeated Newcastle United on May 22 to lift the FA Cup--and they still had a chance to win a unique Treble. All throughout their Champions League campaign that year I had been waking up at odd hours in the morning ready to celebrate a ManUnited win, content myself with a draw, or suffer a loss.I was ready for anything on May 22nd 1999, a Wednesday. I set my alarm clock for the usual two o'clock wake-up call. I still don't know what happened but I just snoozed back after it rang. The next thing I knew it was almost four in the morning. I dreaded opening the TV set because I had the feeling that Bayen Munich was already lifting the silverware. My dread was not unfounded, after all. When I tuned in to the match, the Red Devils were a goal down since the sixth minute and there were only five minutes left in regulation. What we needed was a miracle.
That Thursday morning (Philippine time), the Red Devils gave me my most memorable club football match yet. Just when the German fans were about to celebrate, Becks sent in a corner that lead to a goal by substitute Teddy Sheringham to level the game. Even before the tens of thousands of spectators at Barcelona's Estadio Nuo Camp could recover from that first ManUnited goal, another Becks corner found sub Ole Gunnar Solksjaer for the winning goal. A few seconds later, the ref blew the final whistle. As a football fan, it was hard watching the anguish of the Bayern Munich players. But as a ManUnted fan, I was all smiles! Miracles do happen--even in injury time. The conquerors of England were the Champions of Europe.
In 1999, Becks was recognized as Europe's Most Valuable Player and was voted the second best in the world. For the next four years, he would help ManUnited win more games and fill the club's silverware cabinet. But then, what do you expect from someone who inherited the number seven ManUnited jersey from one of the greatest footbal legends, Eric Cantona, as well as named after ManUnited and England legend, Sir Bobby Charlton? The Bad Boy of England had redeemed himself--and had become the Golden Boy of Old Trafford.
(Originally posted at The Kookie Jar.)
Labels: Living Goldenballs, My Man Becks, Sports: Footy
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