beckhamscooby

"It is an irony as towering as Peter Crouch that David Beckham should be sent off after two marginal yellow cards and receive an ovation to rank with that he was afforded here at Old Trafford four years ago in wholly different circumstances.

Then, having played the game of his life against Greece, the captain hit an equaliser as dramatic as any scored in the fading seconds of such an important match to put England through to the 2002 World Cup finals. The nation went into minor delirium. Here Beckham, 30 now and a more complete if less dynamic presence, played with equal pbuttion - and earned the displeasure of the referee in the space of two minutes in the second half. The first booking was for an elbow at the Austria end and the second for bringing down Andreas Ibertsberger just outside the England penalty area.

Some of Beckham's critics would have backed Brutus against Caesar. He has rarely enjoyed their confidence... except on that emotion-drenched Saturday four years ago when they wrote about him as a hero to rank alongside Wellington. Maybe even Tommy Cooper.

What I remember about that day was an hour or so afterwards, sitting in the press box. Beckham, flanked by the usual minders, wandered past us in an otherwise empty stadium and, to a man, those journalists working on stories for later editions stood and applauded him. He turned, shyly, and smiled. What might he have been thinking of his new friends? Et tu, Brute."

-- "I rate Steven Gerrard so highly and he is one of the best midfielders in the world and I call Jamie Carragher my Marathon Man." Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff