Bye Bye Beck's

David Beckham announced today that he will be leaving Real Madrid and signing for LA Galaxy at the end of the season (see BBC Site).

What has this got to do with me? Nothing really, but in the interest of blogging and the abillity to randomly discuss news events I thought I would give my views on this as a) I am a supporter of football and b) David Beckham is probably the iconic footballer of my generation.

Since before Oliver was born I have thought about things that happened to me when I grew up, things that I enjoyed that Oliver will miss. It came about really by reading The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson. I won't write a review now, but it's basically a look back at Brysons life growing up in the 50's and the things that he remembers.

After a lengthly thought process about things from when I was growing up I arrived at a mental list of footballers whom I remember standing out from all the rest, just like when my Dad grew up with Dalgleish, Souness, Cruyff, Moore and many others.

One of the names on my list was David Beckham, whom nobody really needs me to remind them of who he is or what he is remembered for.

There has been much speculation about his future and the probability of him moving to Los Angeles. I wouldn't call myself a fan of his, but there has been so much written about him that you cannot escape following his career, both on and off the field. I was however, always hoping that the Los Angeles stories would remain just that, a story, and that he would come back to the Premiership for a few more seasons, just for the possiblity of being able to say I had seen him play live.

Taking a quick look at the list of footballing names from when I grew up that I can tell Oliver all about such as Cantona, Giggs, Gascoigne, Figo, Ronaldo, Jason Lee and ironically Alexi Lalas (just for his awesome 1994 World Cup beard and is now coach at... LA Galaxy!).

Out of those, Beckham's standout strength being the best crosser of the ball in the world, even now, and you would want him around the box taking a last minute free kick above most others, which is probably another reason why I find it a bit of a shame he is not making a return to the Premiership, and feel that it is a touch premature to be playing in the MSL when he still has a lot to offer.

By Beckham saying "Adios" to the Spanish in May and "Hi" to the Amerian's, Beckham's football legacy will live on for a long time yet. With his soccer school franchise starting to take shape his footballing career taking delivery of one final paycheck.

Beckham as England captain may not have lead us to the World Cup, or fulfilled his own World Cup dream, but there is a chance he could be involved in the next one and the one after that! He could be sitting on his yacht reading a tabloid story all about a dramatic world cup winning goal by a new global megastar who graduated from one of his own academies!

I can just see it now "Gillingham Rookie Oliver Bird lands England on top of the tree" (Or something equally puntastic!)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I've a Stalker in Jesus

Not Alone in the Forest

Birdy's Bognor Hen Do - The Official Story