Book Review: David Beckham (My Side)
Provided by 4specialtysoccer.com
In the footballing world, David Beckham is a household name – much like Maradona or even as on the lips of every child today, Lionel Messi.
Yes, he meant a lot to football fans only a decade ago when Manchester United won its first treble which included that famous UCL win against Bayern Munich in 1999.
It’s surely a win that even most non-United fans will remember until this day, considering how they came back in injury time to win a match that seemed like a foregone conclusion until then.
It’s really shades of Jupp Heynckes losing to Chelsea only a couple of years ago. But I digress.
As a fan of his, I’ve been very disappointed with his move to MLS (it’s football, bitch!) and it was only until recently that he moved back to PSG, and subsequently retired, only to the chagrin of millions of fans of his last season from two consecutive generations.
But with this football legend gone, it’s not such a bad idea to relive the moments that made him who he is by reading his book aptly titled, “David Beckham: My Side”.
Manchester United – The Proverbial ‘Legend’ Generator
To be honest, David Beckham is one among a list of footballing legends that Manchester United yet if there was anything about his, and as the book reveals (apart from several of his colleagues), was his dedication to working hard at his game.
Yet much like Best, he has stayed in the spotlight for more reasons than not, be it for his taste in fashion, his marriage to Victoria, his leaving of Manchester United and his apparent falling out with Ferguson, and moving on to Real Madrid for $41 million pounds.
It also covers his life as a boy, having a father who dreamt of his son playing for the “Red Devils” and how he got his lucky break with the club that propelled into international fame.
He also addresses rather affectionately how much he loves his kids, Brookly and Romeo, and his wife, Victoria – but it also reveals another side to him that the world views as a celebrity with all the haircuts, fashion and the moves – er, freekicks.
That’s something that most fans will never forget but it has also led people to believe that Beckham (and quite rightly too!) approaches the game as if he’s the only star.
But could you expect any better, since that’s the way footballers are expected to behave?
Of course, his fame hasn’t come without its pitfalls, considering the criticism he was showered with after he returned from a disastrous World Cup campaign and that sinking feeling that he felt after fateful penalty that he missed in the quarterfinals against Portugal at the Euro 2004.
It’s all there in the book – every high and low. Only this time, you won’t get the scoop from the tabloids and the newspapers that he hated so much but right from the horse’s mouth.
In Closing
It would be silly to assume that if you are a passionate football fan that you would be interested in reading about Beckham’s rise to the top as an English footballer and among the greats.
But if you would like to gain insight into the game of football from a footballer’s perspective, then you wouldn’t want to miss this book. It’s one you won’t put down easily.