Life Story of David Beckham

David Beckham is an English footballer who plays for Italian Serie A team, AC Milan. He has scored 17 goals in his 110 appearances for the English national side. He is the only English player to score in three consecutive World Cups. A Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF since 2005, he appeared on the Time 100 list for the year 2008.

He was born to David Edward Alan 'Ted' Beckham and Sandra Georgina West on May 2, 1975 in London, England. The whole of the Beckham family was a great Manchester United fan. At the age of 11, David got a chance to become Manchester United mascot in 1986. He attended Bobby Charlton's football school in Manchester, where he won a talent hunt competition and got a chance to take part in the training session of FC Barcelona. After attending Tottenham Hotspur's school of excellence, he joined the team at junior level.

David Beckham was a part of the group, fondly known as 'Fergie's Fledglings', a group of young players, Sir Alex Ferguson brought to Manchester in 1990's consisting of players like Nicky Butt and Gary Neville. He was a member of the Manchester United team, which won the FA Youth Cup in 1992. He made his UEFA Cup debut in December 1994 against Galatasaray. On returning to Manchester after spending a brief period with Preston North End, he made his Premier League debut against Leeds United on April 2, 1995. Beckham played a crucial role in Manchester's Premier League and FA Cup double in the 1995-96 season. In the following season, he was voted Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year.

In 1998-99 season, Manchester United performed a rare feat of winning Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same year. By this time, Beckham had become an important part of the world of football. His last minute free kick goal, in the World Cup qualifiers, ensured England a berth in 2002 World Cup. In 2000, he was appointed the captain of the National team and the following year, he was named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. An injury to his left foot in 2002, almost made him miss the World Cup; but, a timely recovery ensured that he stayed up to people expectations. But, England's World Cup campaign that year came to a halt after conceding a defeat against Brazil, who went on to win the tournament.

Between the period of 1993-2003, Beckham played 265 league matches for Manchester United and scored 62 goals. An alleged rift with the manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, made him leave Manchester United. He signed a four year contract with the Spanish football club; Real Madrid in July 2003. In his four years stint with Real Madrid, he scored 13 goals in 116 appearances. He also earned 41 yellow cards and 4 red cards, when he was with Real. Later in the same year, he received the 'Order of the British Empire' for his services to football from the Queen. The year 2004 saw Beckham engulfed in a controversy, when he was alleged of having an affair with his former assistant, Rebecca Loos.

After a disappointing World Cup performance by the English side in 2006, Beckham resigned as the England captain. In August 2006, he was completely dropped from the English national side by the new coach, Steve McClaren. In January 2007, David Beckham family moved to Los Angeles. He was offered a five year contract with Los Angeles Galaxy. He made 30 appearances for the club, in which he scored 5 goals before being sent to AC Milan on loan in January 2009. He has made 12 appearances for Milan in Serie A since January 11, 2009 and scored 2 goals for the team.

In March 1997, Beckham met Victoria Beckham, more famous as Posh Spice, of Spice Girls fame. They fell in love and soon dated each other. They gave birth to their first son in April 1999. In July, the same year, Beckham got married to Victoria in a grand wedding ceremony that took place at Luttrellstown castle near Dublin, Ireland. An estimated amount of $800,000 was spent on the ceremony. Their second son, Romeo Beckham, was born on September 1, 2002, while the third son, Cruz, was born on February 20, 2005.

David Beckham made it to the 15th position in the Forbes; The 100 Celebrity List while a BBC poll in 2004 listed him as the "91st Worst Briton". He had his share of good as well as bad days, but it's a well-known fact that he has established himself as a legend.