| Mostly Credited As: | David Beckham |
| Sometimes Credited As: | Becks
Posh & Becks
Posh 'n' Becks
|
| Birth Name: | David Robert Joseph Beckham |
| Date Of Birth: | May 02, 1975 |
| Country Of Birth: |  United Kingdom |
| Birth Place: | Leytonstone, London, England |
| Height: | 5' 11" (1.8 m) |
|
David Beckham was born in Leytonstone on the 2nd of May 1975, to Ted Beckham and Sandra West. His parents were both fanatical Manchester United fans and David inherited his parents love of both the Club and of Football. He attended one of Bobby Charlton's football schools and took part in a training session at FC Barcelona.
He attended the 'Spurs school of excellence but signed schoolboy forms at Manchester United on his thirteenth birthday. He helped the youth squad win the FA Youth Cup in 1992 and then signed a professional contract shortly after his first appearance on Man U' s first team. In the '94-'95 season he played, on loan, with Preston North End in which he made 5 appearances and 2 goals. On 2 April 1995, he made his first Premier league appearance against Leeds United.
During his first season at Man U, he helped the team to win both the FA cup and the Premiership titles and became a household name after a match against Wimbledon in which he scored from the halfway line. He made his first international appearance against Moldova in a World Cup qualifying match and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year.
In 1997 he started dating Victoria Adams of the Spice Girls, who he later went to marry in 1999 and have three children: Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz. In 1998, he was sent off in England's match against Argentina, after he kicked Diego Simone after he fouled Beckham. Simone later admitted to trying to get Beckham sent off by over-reacting to the kick, and also that Beckham's kick was an instinctive reaction as Simone had used Beckham's back to regain his footing. This is backed up by the fact you can see the pain in his face after Simone did this.
After being sent off the British Public blamed him for them being kicked out of the Cup, and the Daily Mirror printed a dartboard with Beckham in the middle and also the quote: "10 heroic lions, one stupid boy". It is believed that because of this criticism he went to Brooklyn where Victoria was and it was then and there that Brooklyn was conceived.
The '98-'99 season was the season in which Manchester United and Beckham won the treble: Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League titles.
When Kevin Keegan resigned as England Manager, Beckham was promoted to team captain, a role he kept under Sven-Göran Eriksson. Under this new role he helped England qualify for the 2002 World Cup, which included a 5-1 defeat over Germany in Munich and his trademark curling free-kick in the last minutes against Greece to ensure England qualified for the World Cup. After this he was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2001.
During the 2002 World Cup, Beckham ensured that England progressed to the Quarter-finals with a Penalty that kicked Argentina out of the competition, although England were knocked out in the Quarter-finals by Brazil. On June the 13th 2003 he was awarded an OBE for services to football after a season of deterioration for the relationship between Beckham and Man U manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
He was sold for €35 million to Real Madrid in 2003 in which he changed from shirt 7 to 23 and created €624,000 for Real Madrid in sales of shirts which Beckham on the back alone.
In April 2004 Rebbecca Loos, the Beckham's PA, reported that her and Beckham had an affair, which Beckham said was ludicrous.
In January 2005 he became UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and was also key in London 2012 Olympics bid.
Before the World Cup 2006 began he hosted the "World Cup Party - Full Length and Fabulous", over 500 of the richest and most famous faces in England turned up to the event which raised money for 3 charities and was broadcast (in edited form) on ITV.
