Netflix original Docuseries Beckham was released October 4th, 2023.
#Beckham was viewed 186M+ hours internationally.
rottentomatoes: 88%
metacritic: 69
imdb: 8.1
David Beckham
David Beckham kicks off his illustrious football career in Manchester, England.
“All right. Here it comes. I see it dripping. There’s a bit of an argument in the house at the moment. I think it should be ‘Golden Bees.’ Victoria likes ‘DB Sticky Stuff.’ Oh God. Really? Come on, Man. Lego. Isn’t that amazing? Taste it. Good, right? ‘DB Sticky–‘ see, it’s growing on you, right? It’s growing on you.” — David Beckham
“It was a beautiful day in London. First game of the season. Jordi Cruyff tried to chip the goalkeeper. And I remember looking over at the manager. Because if ever you tried anything like that and it didn’t come off, the manager would be on his feet and he’d be killing you. So… we won the ball just inside our half. And I looked up, and I though, ‘why not?’ And I remember seeing it go right out left, and then, all of a sudden, it started coming back in. And I was thinking, ‘this has got a chance.’ I walked off pitch, the manager said, ‘David, you get on the bus and you don’t say a word. No interviews.'” — David Beckham
“Do you mind, please? Morning. No, not me. Nothing to do with me, actually. My granddad was meticulous. Everything that was written about me, every picture that was in the papers. Oh my God. Some of these pictures I haven’t seen for years. There’s Dad. Did my dad behave himself? Yeah. My dad was absolutely obsessed with Manchester United. Every Christmas, I would get a Manchester United Kit. His obsession was bigger than mine.” — David Beckham
“My mum would have four or five old ladies sat under the big hairdryers, and then I would be making cups of teas and pieces of toast, and giving them cakes and things like that. I never really did well at school. I wasn’t intelligent, believe it or not. Surprise, surprise. I never had many friends. I kept myself to myself. From the moment I got in from school to the moment I slept, I spent my time out in the garden. This one is playing for the county. I know, that style. I could hit a ball in a certain way, different to anyone else. To 30 yards away, on a sixpence. I saw my mum and dad working hard every day, till 11 o’clock at night, 12 o’clock at night. I knew the only way to be a professional footballer was to work hard. The phone rings, and it rung at a time where we all look at each other like, ‘who’s calling this time of night?’ My mum picked it up, and… she, she literally went, ‘it’s Sir Alex Ferguson. This is Alex Ferguson.'” — David Beckham
“That’s me and the boss. That’s one of the first times I met him. Mm. Just brilliant. Signing the paper and that… I just couldn’t believe it was happening. Alex Ferguson was someone that I looked up to as, as a father figure. One of the most important people in my life from the age of 12, 13, when I first met him. Mm.” — David Beckham
“Yeah, my first ever game. I know. 17. My first goal was great, but I was more excited about celebrating with Eric. It was a dream. It was just a dream. And I’d never had a feeling like it in my life. Never. I loved Manchester. You know, there was so much happening. You know, Hacienda, which– I never went to Hacienda, but– well, I actually might have gone a couple of times, but, uh…” — David Beckham
“Gary was Mr. Sensible. Oh, Gaz? Gaz always talked. He could always talk, and we very rarely listened to him. But there was just that special connection between us. That season… …that was the start, for me, of working with the brands. That was the first time I stepped outside of football. Not many footballers were doing that, at that point. Yeah, I got paid. Yeah. I spent my money. I like nice stuff. As soon as we got money, it was like, ‘I want to buy a nice watch.’ I love shopping, I love cars, I love watches. This is a Rolex. Yeah, that’s Gucci. I’d signed a contract with Adidas… for £50,000. And I went and bought an M3 for £50,000. I don’t know. I pick up a big Royal Mail sack sometimes once a week. Yeah. Oh, yeah, definitely. Actually, it was nice, one of my friends turned round to me the other day and said, ‘you’ve got all this, but it’s not changed you.'” — David Beckham
“It definitely didn’t change me. He wanted me to go with a certain agent that he knew, and I wanted to go with another agent. And he went– and he went absolutely mental at me. Like, mental. To the point where he wanted nothing to do with me. He wouldn’t even talk to me. I didn’t want anything to come in the way of football. But I knew my career was going to end at some point, and I wanted to have a career after football. And that ate away at the manager. He just wanted me to be the bets footballer that I could be… …and be, you know, married to a local girl that wasn’t a superstar.” — David Beckham
“And I turned to Gary, I went, ‘see that one there? I’m gonna marry that one.’ And we’re laughing and joking. I’m like, ‘no, I’m gonna marry that one.’ ‘The Posh one. The one in the black dress.’ In the changing room, before the game, one of the players came in and they was like, ‘Two Spice Girls are here,’ and I was like, ‘what ones?’ And they was like, ‘The Sporty one and the Posh one,’ and I was like, ‘great.’ So, I then played the game.” — David Beckham
“You’ll need more than one dog. I should bring the other two in as well. That first time that I speak to her, I just fancied her. Be honest. Be honest. What car did your dad drive you to school in? No. One answer. What car was it? What car did you get your dad to drive you to school in? No. No, no, no, no. Thank you. There was something there that just… straight away I was just, like, ‘okay, this is it.’ ‘And it’s gonna move fast.'” — David Beckham
“The boss would not let us wear anything other than a black boot. And I remember brining a pair of white Adidas into– and he was like, ‘absolutely not.’ The first kiss that I ever had with Victoria was in the BMW, in a car park. Classy. We just– I don’t know. I think… have you ever done that, though, early on in a relationship? I didn’t care when I saw her, how much I saw her. If it was me driving down to London to see her for seven minutes, I did it.” — David Beckham
“For about three months, we kept it quiet. And then I bought her a Cartier watch, and she wore it. And then, all of a sudden, people were piecing it all together. So… you know, ‘Posh and Becks.’ I was not comfortable with the photographers being as aggressive as they were. But I loved being in her world. It was exciting. Yeah, of course. You know, you… you walk down the streets, and then this kid’s like, ‘ah…’ a little kid, and you’re like– yeah, it’s nice. It is really nice. I very rarely get nervous. But I remember getting the phone call from the England manager.” — David Beckham
“Uh, yeah, I think so. It’ll be a great experience. I loved United, but the number one thing that I’d always wanted to do, above anything else, was play for England. That was a dream. Playing at the national team’s stadium, playing at Wembley is a very emotional moment for me because my dad always used to take me to Wembley to watch England play. That was really what my childhood was all about. To get a phone call from the England manager would have always been great. But to get it from Glenn Hoddle? That was a special moment. As a young kid, I loved Hoddle. He was kind of flash, he was good-looking, he had the hair. You know, he always wore his shorts really short. He had good legs, actually. But he could play a ball no one else could play. Everything that he did, I wanted to be.” — David Beckham
“To say I was nervous… is an understatement. Everything about Victoria, I loved. I didn’t know she was the strong woman that she was. And I liked that. I don’t know whether it was because I wanted her to look after me. Yeah. I did. She’s a strong, strong woman. Can be a pain in the ass, though. She was a pain this morning. If England have any kind of success at a tournament, I don’t think any country unites like our country. In the training camp, all the other players had had their wives or their girlfriends there. But Victoria was touring the world at that point with the girls, so… I didn’t get any time with them, with her. I went to Glen Hoddle and said, ‘before the tournament starts, is it okay if I go and see her?’ ‘I haven’t seen for her, I think it was seven or eight weeks.’ Uh, I think he said yes. I think either… no.” — David Beckham
“Yeah. Yeah. And I needed that at the time. You haven’t seen nothing yet. Maybe. He came out and said that my head wasn’t in the tournament and that he was worried about it. It killed me. It killed me. Especially someone that is questioning… he was questioning… me as a player. He was questioning my personality, my professionalism. That’s when questions were being asked. ‘Is he right for the tournament? Should he be in the squad?’ And then… I get dropped to the bench. Um, I don’t think there’s any particular reason. You know, the manager just told us the squad for the game, and then, uh… that was it, really. So, you know, I can’t really say much. Um, not really, no. You know, I still wanted to play. I was desperate to play in it. In the end, it’s up to the manager.” — David Beckham
“Even though I’d been treated, I think, the way… Hoddle had treated me, I still wanted to… be there. I took a boom box and a bag of balls out. I put it on, and I took free kick after free kick after free kick.” — David Beckham
Victoria Beckham
“Okay. This is three-zero-six-nine. I am not into football at all. I wasn’t into football then, I am not into football now. Olive, want to come and be in it? It will make me look like a nice person. I’ll just at you every now and then– but I’d seen pictures of him in magazines, and he’s obviously a really good-looking boy. Was a boy. How old was he? Boy? Young man? The fact I went to the games really was just to kind of… some would say ‘stalk’ him. I would say ‘see’ him. When I saw him in the footballers’ lounge, other footballers were at the bar, but he was standing, talking to his parents. And I’m very close to my family, and I loved that side to him. I just fancied him, and it was as simple as that. Yeah, I mean, I think, also, we both come from families that work really hard. Both of our parents work really hard. We’re very working, working class. -I– I am being honest. I am being honest. So, my dad did– my dad– it’s not a simple answer. It depends. Okay. In the ’80s, my dad has a Rolls-Royce.”
“I must have flown to the game because I wrote my number on the airplane ticket. And I remember saying, ‘you better call me.’ But I wasn’t one of these girls that would be interested in footballers because they’re famous. I don’t mean this in an arrogant way, but I had that myself. Hello. And we were on a mission to prove that girls are better than boys. And I suppose what we created was a bit of a monster in the five of us. We would jump on the tables. Well, I didn’t jump on the tables. I was always a little more sensible. I never found it as easy as the other girls to be that outgoing. I was always quite shy. I was never the popular kid at school, you know? I was actually bullied, um, quite a lot. And I probably would still be that way if I hadn’t have met the girls. I’m not. And what the Spice Girls did is they brought me out of me. I’m Scary, really.”
“My manager kept saying, ‘try and keep it under wraps.’ ‘Don’t get photographed together.’ So we would– we would meet in car parks, and that’s not as seedy as it sounds.”
“David didn’t have a lot of friends at school. Neither did I. And you go from being that kid at school, who’s desperate just for a friend, to all of a sudden, being chased down the street. You know, it was a novelty.”
“I was on tour. Not knowing when I was going to see him, that was the difficult thing. But he used to do anything to just try and spend time with me. He would sometimes charter a tiny, tiny plane, like a two-seater plane. He would come over literally just for a few hours, and then go back.”
Spice Girls
“We went to a game, and we were invited onto the pitch at halftime. Thank you very much. But all of my family are Liverpool supporters. David, playing for Manchester United, I just knew that he was one of those players for that team I didn’t really like very much.”
“Hi. Go on, say ‘Girl Power.’ Come on, you can do that. Say ‘Girl Power.’ Just do one. We just present ourselves as we are. She is the foxy lady of the group. She’s a foxy lady. There’s only one. And that just kind of became our thing, that we celebrated our individuality. We called ourselves Spice Girls because– if you look at us, we dress quite differently, don’t we? And we’re all really different. We’re like all different-flavor spices. We’re just being ourselves. We don’t need a uniform to be in a gang. If a man wants to wear a dress, that’s fine. Just be who you want to be. Doesn’t matter who you are, what you are.”
David’s Mother
“We were behind the goal that day. It just went deathly quiet. Like, as the ball left his foot, the ground– you wouldn’t have known you was in a football stadium.”
“I was a hairdresser, and then had the children, so I worked at home to make money. We didn’t have much then. He’d never do anything else. If it was bad weather or something, he’d be drawing, and it would all be something to do with football. That’s all he ever wanted. He never went out with friends, never went out at night. Did he tell you I was there the first time Manchester United found him? And this man was stood by the side of me, and he said, ‘I’m the Man United scout.’ I said, ‘oh.'”
“Victoria would be away and we’d be staying at his house. And three o’clock in the morning, the phone would ring. He had a game, so I’d answer the phone and say, ‘he’s in bed, asleep.’ And they’d want to talk. But me, being a protective mum, would have thought, ‘you shouldn’t ring this time in the morning.’ But how can you tell? They’re adults. We were worried that he’d lose all what he’d worked for. ‘Cause football come first and, all of a sudden, it wasn’t.”
“I remember Glenn Hoddle was opening a shop. And we stood for two, three hours in his little England kit with ‘Hoddle’ on the back, and he never turned up. Glenn Hoddle never turned up. David was distraught. Glenn Hoddle got us to the World Cup… …which, for David, is another dream. Another dream come true. But…”
David’s Father
“And everybody kept saying, ‘oh, what a goal!’ ‘Was it? I didn’t see it.’ ‘What?’ ‘Didn’t see it.’ Some bloody bloke stood up in front of me. But that was the start of it really, because nobody had done it before. Pele had tried it. Oh yeah. It had to. It had to. They never left him alone after that.”
“No, he’s not changed at all. He’s still a nice lad. He makes me laugh. Yeah. I just drift away and, you know, and think how it first happened. Oh, it’s brilliant. I was a gas engineer. I used to work seven days a week. I used to have a red Toyota van. I would have no other color. I used to say to him, ‘every time you hit the crossbar, I’ll give you 50p.’ And it used to cost me a fortune. He didn’t want to know. At first, I thought it was a wind-up. I was… I couldn’t sleep that night.”
“To see my son come out for the first time at Wembley, I must admit, I had a little tear. He phoned me up. He went, ‘oh, Dad, I’m in the paper.’ ‘What for now?’ He went, ‘well, I wore a sarong.’ I went, ‘what the bloody hell’s a sarong?’ So I rushed out and got the paper. And I looked at it and I thought, ‘bloody hell.’ And then I phoned him back. I went, ‘do you know what?’ I said, ‘I like that.’ I said, ‘you look smart in it.'”
“They said he wasn’t focused.”
Gary Neville
“No. I don’t like nightclubs… um. really. Not for me. never have been. The music, the noise… I think a night out, for me, is about a social experience where, the people you’re with, you talk, you have a good night, you have a drink. The idea of nightclubs, where you’ve got music in your ear, this banging noise, that isn’t for me, that. Not a scarf. It’s a hoodie. Give me a break. We were absolutely destroying teams down that right-hand side. He was with his crossing. And I was supporting him in a way which, to be fair, was… I’d say I was a side dish, really. Not the beef. I was the mustard on the side.”
“Yeah. I think he’s gonna be the best midfielder in England. I’m sure of that. But also, he’s unique in that he can do things that other footballers can’t do. I was subservient… …because I need David to go and do something special. He was practicing free kicks. I was practicing throw-ins. We were like that on the pitch. It was telepathic. Off the pitch as well, I knew where he was in his mind. It wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to be more than a football player.”
“We were watching TV. It came on. I suppose that most blokes have done that in their life. Looked at a television, said, ‘I like her.’ You don’t end up with them. Sir Alex Ferguson had socialist principles. ‘You might be an individual, but in here, we’re all equal.’ ‘You’re putting the team first.’ What Sir Alex built was a team of Mini-Mes.”
“The truth is, he was on the phone to Victoria every second, and he would stay on the phone until one o-clock in the morning. He was in the bathroom with the light on all night, speaking to her. I’m like, ‘what the fuck are you speaking to her about?’ ‘Come on, mate. Seriously? We play Liverpool on Sunday.’ I knew the lengths he was going to see Victoria, it was a lot. It was like an addict. It was like he had to– he would drive four hours to spend 20 minutes with her. He couldn’t kid us. I’d say, ‘where were you last night, mate?’ ‘Oh, I just went for a drive.’ What do you mean, ‘went for a drive?'”
“But… …I don’t know how he did it. David had the ability to have madness in his life, potentially… …and literally an hour before kickoff, he’d switch into football mode. He’d be on it, and he’d perform. I don’t know how he did it. I don’t know how he did it. I couldn’t do it. Honestly, it would break me. And I always remember, in Manchester, there were the two brothers that followed him around. They were fucking everywhere. I can’t put into words how big they were. They were the new Charles and Diana, in some ways. I don’t know whether I feel comfortable saying that. But they were like royalty.”
“He loved playing for his country. He was so patriotic. And I’m like, ‘that ain’t gonna work. That ain’t gonna work, that.’ This was, like, front page of the absolute shit-fests of newspapers that existed at the time. He was feeding them like a frenzy. What’s the mood like in the papers today? We don’t get them. Is it good? Bad? The comment he made about David was a public… annihilation. Glenn just created an absolute shit storm, publicly, for David and for the whole country. Um… yeah, I suppose so. I don’t think it affects David, to be honest. David was down. He was down. He was low. David wanted to go home. He wanted to go home. I don’t think he wanted to be there. He was. David struggled, always, when he was away from Victoria for long periods. He did. He did struggle. He has to admit that.”
“This is a test of character, and David’s character is magnificent.”
Rio Ferdinand
“We didn’t have access to Internet and stuff like this, so you hear about it through the radio. And it was like, ‘right, Match of the Day tonight.’ ‘We’re gonna watch that.’ You’d heard about him before, and you’d seen him play games, but that was the first moment where I went, ‘okay.’ ‘There’s a difference with this guy.'”
“Seriously, that feeling, if you could bottle that feeling and sell it, you’d be a billionaire. There were times that season we’d think, ‘wow. Becks, the way he’s hitting this ball, I’ve never seen anything like it.’ There isn’t a guy who can do it the way he does it.”
“And he was building the team around Becks. But… I think Glenn Hoddle had demands on Becks because he knew how good he was, and I think he saw a bit of himself in David. We had some shit suits, man. Some really bad suits. You could have three of me in one suit, it was that big and baggy. But Becks still looked good. I used to say, ‘who’s helping him with this shit?’ ‘Are they fitting his kit differently?’ ‘Is he going to a tailor to get his kit fitted?’ ‘Because the way it looks on him ain’t the way it’s looking on me right now.'”
Eric Cantona
“Yeah? Wow. We talk about anticipation. To anticipate. Anticipation. That’s why sometimes people speak about intelligence, that footballers are not intelligent. But you need to have this kind of intelligence. We play wonderful football. Wonderful. That season, when you see David play, everybody said that he has a gift. He’s like an artist in front of his canvas. He can put the ball anywhere.”
“When you start young, a lot of people want to invite you to this party, and you become the most beautiful guy for a lot of girls. You’ve got people around you ready to give you advice, to spend money on that. And then you have to… you know, stay calm, keep the feet on the ground, and know that this is a circus. ‘And I don’t need this circus.’ ‘I need to concentrate on football.'”
“If you lose discipline, you don’t play at 100%. You play at 80% or 90%, and then you go down very quickly. You know? Very fast. In a few months… you’ve disappeared completely. And then you wake up in the morning and you say, ‘oh, shit.'”
Sir Alex Ferguson
“So I get two cameras? I was hoping for three. It was not long after I came to the club. We haven’t won the league for 20 years. It’s a great challenge for Manchester United players.”
“I won’t be taking my foot off the pedal. It’s not my nature. As long as they’re hungry. Because without hunger, you can’t achieve. What I wanted was a structure of young people getting a chance. That was my mantra, to get young players, develop a football club, not a team. He came to us as a small, skinny little boy, you know? But when you see potential, it sticks out at you. It’s your job then to bring that to fruition, to make them a man. Okay, son?”
“We know that they’re gonna run long. They’re gonna run forever.”
“Well, he changed, there’s no doubt about that. And I think that media attention he was getting, and becoming a celebrity, it was different from what I wanted.”
“Getting David to keep hit feet on the ground became more difficult. He was a good-looking boy and he was always well-cut, so it was a great attraction for the media. Well, I mean, I think… yeah, I think it probably does. I think that’s a phase at the moment, that he’s getting a lot of profile. And you hope that dies out quickly. He’s taken on an agent now, so… I don’t know how… they handle that part. But he knows where I am, and that’s important. I know my team, and hopefully, we can do the business. All right. Bye-bye.”
“Well… uh, D… David is… the– the availability of the protection’s always there for him. He knows where I am.”
Manchester United
“The one thing about Sir Alex, you had to have… what we call in England, you have to have a big pair of… to play. Um… yeah. You need a pair of balls. Manchester United hadn’t won the league for 25 years. It was ridiculous. So that was the Holy Grail. The thing that hit you straight away was the ferocious appetite he had to succeed.”
“Yeah. Into the Theatre, as it’s known. The Theatre of Dreams. Flash lad, gel in his hair. Looking real prim, proper. Pretty– we called him ‘pretty boy,’ ’cause he was. He was pretty.”
“Bentleys, Porsche, yeah. He was the first to kind of… upped everyone’s game in the car park, I’ll give him that. David used to get his salary on a Friday and spend it on a Saturday, all, and then spend the next five days waiting for his next salary to get the jeans to match. That was him. Have money, spend it. Have money, spend it. Have money, spend it. Me and Gary were like, ‘let’s save it for a rainy day. Have a pension.’ We used to put money in a pension and David’s like, ‘what are you doing?’ He was like, ‘I bought a fancy pen,’ and we’re like, ‘who the fuck buys a pen?’ You know what I mean? Who buys an expensive pen? Shirts and clothes, I get all that, and cars. But who buys a pen?”
“Uh, I can honestly remem– he, uh… it just got built up and built up, all these young ladies writing to him, you know? Mm. It’s not nice, is it, sending underwear to a boy? I’d put them to one side and… …didn’t reply. No.”
“Sir Alex would buy players… …not just because they were talented, he had a look at their background. ‘Have you got a girlfriend?’ ‘Yes, gaffer.’ ‘How long you been with her?’ ‘Two years, gaffer.’ ‘Are you engaged?’ ‘Getting married in 1990, gaffer.’ He liked the fact that you were going home to someone, because he wanted you to be stable. Not having parties every night. We all knew the rules. It’s his way. You had to conform. Go against him, you were finished.”
“You knew David was pissing the manager off. I think he was probably going down to London at times when he possibly shouldn’t have been. And the manager wouldn’t have that. You know, when someone’s telling you something and you’re trying to be calm? ‘Yeah, gaffer, that’s unbelievable.’ But your stomach’s going 100 miles an hour. You just can’t wait to get into your room and ring your wife and tell everybody.”
“I’ve never played in the World Cup. It’s a player’s dream to play in the World Cup. The pressure of it… we were all surprised. It was all a shock. There was talking about, ‘why’s he not playing?’ ‘Why is Becks not playing? He’s got to be. It’s madness. He should be playing.'”
Producers
“What’s the name of your honey again? That could get you in trouble with HR. Oh my God. What other hobbies do you have like this? It’s really good. Yeah. ‘DB Sticky Stuff.’ It actually is. Fuck, it’s very sticky, though.”
“Did you now that his life was going to change after that goal? What’s up? Did you kill these deer? He certainly had a lot to say. Look. Already you had– partying? Girls? Okay, camera’s rolling. Here he comes. Ready? And– hold on. That’s not him. Oh, it is him, moving. So, thank you so much. We ordered you a coffee. Two cameras, yeah. Aye, yeah. You can say ‘balls.'”
“Camera’s rolling. This was your first ever… look how young, dude. That’s one of his favorite memories. Mm-hm. What was that moment like, when the ball hit the net? This was your entrance every day? Did you ever go to the Hacienda?”
“Did he talk a lot then? But you got paid. You spent your money. You liked your stuff. What is the obsession with the cars, man? So, do you remember when David got his first fan mail? What did they send? Did it get to his head? What would you say? No.”
“He sees you. You guys followed them everywhere. Were you aware of the Spice Girls? Were you a football fan as well? It didn’t rub off. To get picked to play for your country, how important is that? You must’ve felt safe with her? Mm. Did Victoria give you confidence outside of football? And did you think he was focused?”
Anna Wintour
“I certainly was. I put them on the cover. I only put them on the cover ’cause my daughter was so obsessed with them that I felt that the world must be. Absolutely not. But when you have two equally charismatic people, it doubles the volume. It puts the heat factor way up.”
Man U Fans
“Can I ask you a couple questions? First, David Beckham’s goal. Fantastic. Out of this world. Best goal I’ve ever seen. It’s unprecedented. In his own half. Nobody’s ever done it before. Good evening. There was a goal from the halfway line scored by Manchester United’s David Beckham.”
“David! Here, David! Over here! Has he changed at all? Do you pinch yourself? Do you think, ‘I can’t believe it’s happening?’ And I think you could go. Okay. When did David Beckham first come to your attention?”
“Is that your first autograph for United? There’s a picture of you there, signing with Alex Ferguson. What was it like signing? What was that moment like, when the ball hit the net? Let’s move around. Steven, can you get the boots? These here. See that? ‘Becks.'”
“It was very much the music stars in Manchester who were the stars. We were, you know, cock of the walk. Were were kings of the roost. The Manchester music scene, in that time, with The Hacienda, it was all about musicians. The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Oasis. When Beckham’s star rose, it turned around completely. And you’d watch the footballers become the rock stars.”
“Is that a scarf? Is it? Do you think he’s a good player? In a short while, I’ll be issuing a statement. We’ve invested significant resources in developing a modern range of products which is specially formulated for men. David! Over here! Sit up straight. I’m trying to get wide on it. Hang on. It’s blooming nice, yeah. Yeah, it’s… this is the first time that I’ve ever been in a Porsche. Oh, what’s he like! Yeah. Your watch. What is it? This is interesting. You have to look good for the paparazzi, haven’t you? David! Over here! How many letters do you get? Do people send you nickers through the post, all that kind of thing? Can you believe it’s happening to you? Are your feet still on the ground?”
“Okay, David. Straight down the center. Big smile. Does pop image for young footballers concern you? Over this way. Just from the head upwards. Keep your shoulders that way. The list of boy bands around these days is endless. Spice Girls are set to give the lads a run for their money.”
“You put a lot of emphasis on protecting young players from the outside world. But what do you do with David? This was the first time we were really seeing Victoria and David Beckham together as a couple. It’s unbelievable. It’s manna from heaven for newspapers. There’s so many angles. It hits pop culture, sport. VDB. Victoria and David Beckham.”
“Over here, David! It became fashion-led. We had to learn fashion brands. Learn which handbag Victoria was carrying, which trainers David was wearing, which glasses he wore, which car he was driving. We had to learn. No, it didn’t rub off, no. This is the day of Princess Diana’s death. Do you get a kick when people go, ‘there’s David…’ you do get a kick. Don’t you? David, is it extra special to play for England? Can you see him now?”
“This way. Around this way. Victoria, can you describe the ring for us?”
“The World Cup is the spectacle of all spectacles. I mean, there is just no comparison. The viewing figures for England at the World Cup exceed anything in this country. What else is attracting 25 million people watching it? I mean… the royal wedding? Nothing generates the emotional collective narrative energies of the World Cup. It’s the most important thing in life. But I think there are lots of other things in life– Julia, there is nothing more interesting than World Cup football. Even you-know-what is not more interesting than the World Cup. I think there are some things. Excuse me! England! This is the moment that this idea of Englishness around the football team emerges. And people start talking about a ‘golden generation’ of English footballers, which is like, there’s an albatross to hand around one’s neck, eh?”
“♪ England! England! England! ♪ David Beckham. ‘Got his Posh frock on,’ it says here. It’s a skirt. Have you been keeping in touch with your fiancée? So, uh, what is the final word on the sarong? Or are you fed up with that? There’s more to come?”
“I’ll put the football a bit higher there as well. Beckham has to deal with an awful lot. How do you think he’s coping? Some of the tabloids have had a go. Now, you’re a teammate and you’re a friend of David Beckham. He’s just in the spotlight all the time. Do you feel for what he’s going through at the moment? Do you feel there was any particular reason why you were left out? So now you have come to terms with it?”
England Football
“The fact that I’ve brought him in on my first squad and given him his debut, um, and he’s stayed in the team, I think says it all. But obviously, he still needs to find his feet at international level.”
“Just clear my throat.” That’s the main half of his problem. I don’t think he’s been focused coming into this tournament. He hasn’t been focused on his football. He’s got to understand that football’s got to come first and remain first.”
Commentators
“Welcome to the start of the new season in England. Number ten, David Beckham. In the glare of the sunshine, in the glare of great publicity, we’re about to get underway. Cruyff. And Beckham saw Sullivan off his line! Oh! That is absolutely phenomenal! From the halfway line! What an astonishing goal! Everybody in the ground just lost in admiration. And 21-year-old David Beckham scores what may go down as one of the great goals of our time, and it’ll be talked about for a long, long time.”
“Pele. He saw the goalkeeper off the line!”
“1986 has been United’s worst start to the season since the war. The club are fourth from bottom. The club say they will now be approaching Alex Ferguson. As Manchester United face a crucial afternoon in their quest for the Premier League. The manager saving every vital second. Out to Pallister. Bruce! Yes! Unbelievable. Brian Kidd and Alex Ferguson are celebrating the championship! That’s the moment Old Trafford has been waiting for since 1967.”
“Young David Beckham coming on. A young midfield player. As Kanchelskis goes off. Cantona charging. Bulent’s getting himself into trouble. Beckham. It’s a goal! Two-nil! The young boys are doing Alex Ferguson proud. Joy on the youngster’s face there.”
“A really noisy atmosphere at Old Trafford. David Beckham. That’s not a bad ball in! Eric Cantona. Two, might be three. This is Beckham! It’s gonna be Beckham. Oh! It’s another classic from young David Beckham. …drop to Beckham! Well, every goal he scores is an absolute beauty. How about that? What a finish.”
“Gary Neville. Beckham. It’s another for the collection for David Beckham. Gary Neville. Beckham. Glorious ball. Beckham. It’s a difficult ball, but how about that for execution? Victoria, can you announce this one? Three thousand and 69. If that’s your ticket… Neville. It’s a useful cross. Beckham! Absolute beauty! He could not have struck it better. Gary Neville can take plenty of credit. David Beckham struck the only goal of the match.”
“Good morning from Anfield for the most important league game of the Premier League season, the two juggernauts of English football. For United, the win would put them well on their way to their fourth title in five seasons.”
“Morning kickoff. Some criticism of that, that such an important game has to have an 11:15 kickoff. It’s meant, of course, that the players have had to get up at the crack of dawn. And just looking at the players’ faces, you can see the nerves and tension of the occasion. This is Gary Neville. He’s played so solidly again this season. Kvarme gets it away. Not very far. Here’s Beckham! Liverpool were grateful that he wasn’t so deadly on that occasion. Beckham again. And this time the ball is… long ball in. And Barnes has scored!”
“Exactly what the Liverpool fans ordered. And he won’t be very happy with the way this story is unfolding so far. This is Gary Neville. Cantona. Beckham. Nicely done. Cantona again. Lovely move by Manchester United. That was on the far post… swung in again by Beckham. And a tremendous save! Beckham. Here comes the Manchester United corner. And a goal! And how priceless will that goal be in the title race? Here’s Beckham again. Pallister again on the near post! And he’s done it again! And Liverpool’s defending from corners is an absolute nightmare.”
“And Manchester United get the three points in the biggest league game of the season. And here goes David Beckham. Game, set and match for Manchester United. Victoria Adams joins the glee.”
“The 1997 Young Player of the Year, and thoroughly deserved, David Beckham. You’re attracting attention not only from the back pages of newspapers, but the front pages and the middle pages.”
“Rome has seen its fair share of gladiatorial confrontation down the years. Will it ever have witnessed anything like this, though? England’s biggest game of football for some four years, for a place in the World Cup Finals. Well, all football fanatics know the scenario tonight, but forgive me for just spelling it out. Italy have to win, a draw enough for England. On this extraordinary night. A sellout crowd of 75,000… Beckham.”
“A problem for Ince, who seems to maybe have a facial cut. Beckham. This is a great play. Sheringham. David Beckham! That could have been, and maybe should have been, all over. And we’re into time added on. David Beckham’s corner. And here comes Chiesa and Italy, with Del Piero. Oh! England have qualified for the 1998 World Cup Finals. And it’s the dance of joy for the man who masterminded it all. They achieved the target. And raise your glasses back home.”
“Soccer and Spice… …posing for pictures after announcing their engagement. They might have found love, but finding the time to be together could be the problem. While Beckham has his sights on the World Cup, the Spice Girls are about to start their world tour.”
“The England squad arrived today, setting foot on French soil in beige suits. They were ‘dull and lacking in style.’ The suits, that is, say fashion editors.”
“It’s estimated up to a million extra TVs will be sold to watch the first kickoff. Asda will be stacking up an extra 300,000 gallons of beer and lager. Relate, the relationship-counseling organization, says if your love life is already on shaking ground, France ’98 could put the final boot in.”
“Beckham, the only player to have taken part in all of England’s qualifying games, said it had been a bitter blow. This is the biggest setback of David Beckham’s career so far. How he responds to this current setback could be crucial for him. Gary Neville believes Beckham has the strength. Hello.”
“Good evening. There’s a tremendous sense of expectation for this one. No Beckham, still? England really do have to lift this tempo. Oh, Adams is struggling. And Moldovan! And England are behind! David Beckham is about to come on. He should be really focused now, shouldn’t he? Beckham’s chasing after this one, and got there first. Good play by David Beckham.”
