David Beckham has never let the distractions of a high-profile
lifestyle affect his football. Photograph: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty
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David Beckham returned to Major League Soccer at the weekend,
coming on for the last 20 minutes of LA Galaxy's 3-1 victory over
Columbus Crew. This was his first appearance since rupturing his
achilles tendon in March and the crowd gave him a warm welcome.
Afterwards he recounted his second-half conversation with the
Galaxy head coach, Bruce Arena. "He came up to me and said, 'How
about 10 to 15 minutes?' I was like, 'Well, how about 20 to 25?' He
kind of listened to me and we met in the middle." At 35 years of
age, Goldenballs is still hungry for game time.
With all the money and honours and fame that one man could
desire, his appetite is not sated. If he never pulls on an England
shirt again, it will not be for the want of trying to convince
Fabio Capello that his "too old" remark was premature. And only a
fool would imagine that his principal motivation is to prolong the
life of his brand. Beckham may be a shrewd businessman, but he
loves football. As much, even, as Wayne Rooney does.
You can choose to believe
Sir Alex Ferguson's claim before Saturday's match at
Goodison Park that the decision to leave Rooney out of his squad
was motivated by worries over abuse from the Everton fans. Or you
can believe Mike Phelan, his assistant, who remarked afterwards
that the decision had been taken because "Wayne wasn't ready to
play". There is, however, a third possibility. Maybe Ferguson was
just fed up with the whole Rooney circus and wanted to rid himself,
temporarily, of a tiresome distraction.
It is now seven years since Ferguson's irritation with Beckham's
celebrity, and in particular with the supposed effect of his
pop-singing, clothes-designing wife on his ability to concentrate
on the job at hand, reached critical mass. There was a famous
occasion when Beckham was given a day off training to look after
his young son, who had a tummy bug, only for Ferguson to explode
when he discovered that Posh had been photographed that same
evening at a fashion show in London.
For the crime of being a caring father who believed his wife's
career to be as important as his own, Beckham was fined a
fortnight's wages – £50,000 – and dropped.
It is poignant, in the light of recent events, to recall
Ferguson's very deliberate praise for Coleen Rooney a couple of
years ago. "She's a clever girl, who is down to earth," he said, in
words taken by many as a tacit criticism of the flibbertigibbet
Victoria Beckham. "Marriage helps footballers," he added. "It helps
them settle down. You know where they are, too."
Well, maybe. Six years ago Ferguson paid £27m to attract Rooney
to Old Trafford and he has certainly had his money's worth from a
man who scored 35 goals in all competitionsfor
Manchester United last season. This year things have
been a little different.
Rooney has not been the same player since he was rushed back
from an ankle injury to play a Champions League match last May.
After a dreadful World Cup he came into the new season looking
slimmer and more alert, but his first touch and his long-range
shooting have become unreliable, and there has been a dimming of
the sense of adventure that was so pronounced in the
16-year-old.
His effort is beyond dispute. His focus is not. We know, from
various bits of evidence, that he likes a cigarette and a drink.
And he seems to get himself into the sort of trouble that dear,
old-fashioned Fergie apparently believed could be avoided by
getting married.
It will be remembered that Beckham had his own little escapade
shortly after leaving Old Trafford and moving to Madrid. His wife
has said that, in the end, it made their marriage stronger. It
certainly never affected his football. And while David Beckham
plays on into the second half of his fourth decade, Wayne Rooney
has us – and perhaps his manager, too – wondering whether he will
still be in the game at 30.