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| What Next for Beckham? |
| The former captain's days on the England squad seem to be over, but the future's rosy |
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Nick Lee Bishop (snake)  |
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Published 2006-08-12 14:59 (KST) |
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Is it the end for David Beckham's England career? Yesterday it was announced that Steve McClaren, the new England coach, had dropped the former team captain from the squad picked to play Greece in a friendly next Wednesday. The decision has been branded both controversial and brave.
According to "The Times" McClaren told reporters at a press conference:"I spoke with David last Monday and notified him of my decision and said I was planning for the future, to change things and go in a different direction, and that David wasn't included in that. I have great respect for David, he was a fantastic captain, a great player and still is. He took the news well. He was disappointed but I got the reaction I wanted. That was for him to continue to fight for a place. I will never close the door. That was the end of the conversation." When asked if this meant that Beckham had effectively been dropped from the side, the coach said that had yet to be proven. Tim Rich of "The Telegraph" thinks that McClaren's denial was unconvincing and points out that the dropping of a big player is always accompanied by the door-will-remain-open speech.
Beckham resigned as captain after England was knocked out of the World Cup. In many ways it was the end of an era and McClaren's decision is quite possibly the final curtain. One wonders where the former golden boy will go next. Has he got the skill to follow in Gary Lineker's steps as a sports broadcaster?
Beckham has been a talismanic figure for the England team and an icon the world over. Who can forget the footage of love-struck Japanese schoolgirls when Beckham-mania struck Japan? Or all the tabloid-documented highs and lows of his marriage to Posh Spice, a.k.a. Victoria Beckham? Who doesn't know that Victoria calls him "Golden Balls"?
Beckham always had the support of Sven Goran Erickson and I often speculated that when the Swede left Becks wouldn't be too far behind. It turns out that I was right.
People have been saying for a while now that David Beckham is not the player he once was. Perhaps now is the right time for him to leave while his reputation as one of England's greatest ever footballers is still intact. He will certainly never be a poor man.
Beckham currently has sponsorship deals with Adidas, Gillette and Pepsi. Put together the deals are said to be worth (US$94.5 million) ï¿¡50 million. He has also recently signed a deal with cell phone company Motorola, and "Instinct," his best-selling fragrance, is still extremely popular.
David Beckham's critics have sometimes accused him of putting more effort into his role as style icon than his career as a football player. Perhaps he was simply being very clever in looking to his post-football future. What's next for Beckham? Who knows, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if a London fashion week is in his plans somewhere.
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©2006 OhmyNews
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