Pacman To The Point / Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco / 07 October 2008 / Leave a comment

Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco looks at the career highs and lows of David Beckham and urges his fans to make the most of his remaining time as a player, because one of the most colourful footballing careers ever is coming to a close sooner than you may think.

Were it not for soccer, David Robert Joseph Beckham would probably be little more than an anonymous name in the local phonebook. Because of it he's a multi-millionaire, married to a member of the most famous girl-band in history, has his own line of fragrances and was the most searched-for sportsman on Google in both 2003 and 2004.

It hasn't always been plain sailing for the man they call Goldenballs, though. During the second round of the 1998 World Cup, Beckham kicked out at Argentinean midfielder Diego Simeone and was shown a straight red card in a match that England went on to lose on penalties. The British Media had a field day and in typically ruthless fashion were happy to single him out as the scapegoat rather than apportion the blame amongst the rest of the squad, the manager or indeed Simeone himself, who reacted theatrically (and later admitted to deliberately over-playing the incident in order to get him sent off) to what was minimal contact from the England midfielder. The repercussions for Beckham were immediate and brutal. For the best part of the following Premiership season the then Man Utd winger was "persona non grata" at virtually every football ground in the country with opposition fans putting their creative juices to good effect in coming up with abusive chants and banners aimed at Beckham and his wife Victoria.

But football fans are fickle soles and on the back of impressive performances for England during 2001 - most notably in their historic demolition of arch-rivals Germany by 5-1 away from home and a last-minute free-kick against Greece to ensure qualification for the 2002 World Cup - the man previously seen as a national outcast for an act of petulance that potentially cost his country a World Cup victory, was now viewed by the nation as the inspirational captain who could do no wrong. Unless that is, you're his club manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Photos in glossy magazines of the fashion-embracing Beckham wearing a sarong, missing training sessions to look after his sick son whilst wife Victoria was pictured at a fashion show and increasing media and sponsorship commitments, tried Ferguson's patience. The last straw came in the form of a dressing-room incident involving a stray flying boot kicked by the Man Utd boss that accidentally struck Beckham just above his eye brow; whereas Ferguson would have been keen to play down the incident, Beckham was even keener to make the most of it by wearing a butterfly-plaster that drew attention to the cut.

Beckham was subsequently sold to Real Madrid and despite spending a largely successful four-year spell with Los Merengues, he was frozen out by Fabio Capello towards the end of his final year at the Santiago Bernabeu as contract negotiations for renewal broke down on the back of a loss of form. With a transfer to LA Galaxy on the horizon, Beckham vowed to make the best of his remaining time in Madrid and as the battle for the 2007 title with rivals Barcelona went down to the wire, he was recalled and ended up playing an instrumental role in Real being crowned champions.

Off the field, his time at Real coincided with allegations of extra-marital affairs firstly with Rebecca Loos, at the time his personal assistant, and later with Malaysian-born Australian model Sarah Marbeck, though any evidence of either misdemeanor was almost solely based on the claims of the two women in question.

It's testament to Beckham's mental strength and courage in the face of adversity that he's been able to overcome these setbacks both on and off the field, so much so that his marriage remains intact and he has been recalled to the England squad after being initially left out by the new England manager, his old acquaintance...Fabio Capello. But now, at the age of 33 and as the skipper of struggling MLS side LA Galaxy it is his physical strength and stamina that has deserted him and has been the catalyst behind a notable loss of form which threatens to put an end to his fairytale of a career sooner rather than later. At his prime for Manchester United and England, the man with the 1,000 different hairstyles was praised for what the English call his "engine" (stamina), resilience and work rate as he was for the pin point passes, inch-perfect crosses and trademark free-kicks that he is most often associated with. That Beckham's body is feeling the effects of 15 years of professional football is normal: he's always been a selfless player that would rather run himself into the ground than be accused of not giving his all, he has largely stayed clear of injury throughout his career meaning he's spent little time on the sidelines and has been present at the last five major summer tournaments that England have been involved in. That's a lot of football and the effects are beginning to show.

It is all somewhat reminiscent of a soprano that can't quite hit the notes of yesteryear or a stage actor incapable of delivering Lear's final speech with the same passion, pain and regret that would have come so naturally a decade earlier. And with Beckham's increased frustration at an inability to perform to the same standard as he did in the past, due to fatigue and loss of pace, comes indiscipline. Not that Galaxy's number 23 has ever been any sort of choirboy on the field. He is after all the only player to be sent off twice for England, the only player to have been dismissed as England captain and a player who picked up no fewer than 41 yellow cards and four reds during his time with Real Madrid, in which he made 116 appearances.

The truth is that by the high standards that Beckham sets for himself, he's not having a great season in a league where you'd expect a player of his calibre to shine week-in week-out and his loss of form is a big factor behind why Galaxy find themselves just one place off bottom spot, with their chances of clinching a play-off place rapidly disintegrating. But let's allow the stats to do the talking: in 23 appearances he's amassed a respectable nine assists but found the net himself on just five occasions. Not bad on the face of it but let's put things into perspective. Guillermo Barros Schelotto of Columbus Crew has twice as many assists in the same number of matches whilst Beckham doesn't need to look any further than his own dressing room to see how it's done when it comes to scoring goals - team-mate Landon Donovan has 19 goals to his name and the same number of assists as Beckham, over two fewer matches. And it's a safe bet that Donovan doesn't earn the reported $48 million per year (subject to the player and Galaxy meeting certain targets) that Beckham does.

So what next for Becks? Whether LA Galaxy will be willing to continue paying him such astronomical wages when he's not doing the business on the pitch is debatable and revenue generated from jersey sales, tickets, sponsorship and TV are, as is so often the case in sport, dependent upon LA Galaxy's success. Beckham does of course have a five-year contract with Galaxy (not to mention one of the finest legal teams in the world) but it would surely be undignified for one of the wealthiest men in sport to carry on cashing the cheques at the end of the month when his performances are sub-standard. We'll just have to wait and see whether Beckham remains at the Golden State's premier soccer club for the full duration of his current contract.

And what exactly Goldenballs' next move will be after he eventually hangs up his golden boots, is another question, but in any case he's unlikely to be joining the queue at the job centre in downtown LA. Modelling? Coaching? Acting? A chat show? More advertising work? A new ambassadorial role? Buying LA Galaxy - the ultimate toy for the man who has everything? It's anyone's guess but the offers will certainly be coming in thick and fast. The more interesting question is how Beckham will be remembered in twenty years time. He would no doubt prefer to be described as a world-class footballer who won some of the biggest prizes the game had to offer and captained his country on 58 occasions from a total of 105 appearances over an international career spanning 12 years and counting. The temptation however, is to remember him merely as a very good footballer whose film-star looks, showbiz friends and fondness for the Media spotlight made him the natural successor to the great George Best, less as a great Manchester United crowd thriller and more as a superstar footballer who allowed off-field distractions get in the way of him doing what he does best.