David Beckham - Public Enemy to National Hero

Some strange things are happening in English soccer's 2001/02 season. But, oddest of all, far odder than the fact that Manchester United is leaking goals and England is beating Germany, is the fact that the nation has suddenly decided that it likes, maybe even loves, David Beckham.

Previously thought of as either a fool with celebrity pretensions or, worse, as a hothead with a nasty temper, his career hit the depths in 1998 when he became the most vilified player in English soccer. Personally blamed for the national team's exit from that summer's World Cup Finals, his every touch of the ball was greeted with hoots and whistles of derision from spectators. He was public enemy number one.

And yet just three years later, with the next World Cup just around the corner, the country not only accepts Beckham's captaincy of England, it genuinely warms to it. How did this peculiar tale unfold? Well, it's a long story -- a story about a brilliant footballer, his pop star wife and a very fickle soccer public.

The summer of 1998 was not a nice one for Beckham. The World Cup should have been the first step on his road to glory and, when he scored from a trademark free kick in the vital first round game against Colombia, it seemed he was doing just that.

And yet just a few days later his dreams, like those of a nation, lay in tatters. Fouled and floored by Argentina's midfield hard man Diego Simeone, Beckham flicked his own leg upwards in retaliation. Although barely grazing Simeone's leg, the "hard man" collapsed in agony, sufficient to convince the Danish referee that Beckham deserved to be sent from the field in disgrace.

England subsequently lost and what followed was a year of vilification wholly inappropriate to the crime, and which the English should be thoroughly ashamed of. Death threats became common, not only to Beckham, but to his fiancee (the Spice Girl Victoria Adams) and his family also.

And yet within this cauldron of vitriol, fuelled with depressing predictability by a rabid tabloid press, Beckham refused to be incited to further acts of frustration. In fact his behaviour generally belied his "reputation." He was calm, sensible and industrious. Characteristics, moreover, which were instrumental in helping Manchester United claim the title of European Champions.

Throughout, though, the suspicions and the sniping continued. Beckham, it was said, was a liability with a short fuse. Perhaps more offensive to the conservative tribes of critics and fans, however, was the fact that Beckham refused to tone down his show business lifestyle.

In the summer of 1999, he married Spice Girl Victoria Adams amidst a party of lavish and rather garish taste. The couple dived headlong into a classic celebrity battle with the tabloids in which they seemed to desire and detest publicity in equal measure. A year later their son was born, confirming what is, despite all other criticism, widely accepted as a completely devoted relationship. In response to the birth, Beckham had his son's name tattooed in huge letters on his back. It was typical of the man: overtly public, a bit tasteless but ultimately born of genuinely heart-felt emotion.

But, despite dallying with celebrity madness, it was increasingly difficult to suggest that Beckham was a slacker. If anything, his hunger to succeed in his sport seemed greater than ever. Indeed, in sharp contrast to many of his footballing colleagues, he was more or less abstemious, his diet was impressive, his practice schedule was legendary and his work-rate on the pitch acknowledged to be phenomenal.

It was with this in mind that the part-time England manager Peter Taylor did the unimaginable and made Beckham captain. It was a decision, Taylor said, based on his high standing with his peers and his ability to lead by example. Critics creased their brows and waited for the new permanent England manager to right the wrong. But when Swede Sven Goran Eriksson took control of England he did no such thing. The critics merely shrugged and waited to be proved correct.

The only problem is that they haven't. Beckham has not only shown himself to be a fine captain, he has blossomed into possibly the best captain England has had for years. Moreover, he has smashed the previously accepted notion that captaincy in soccer is little more than a ceremonial duty.

And how has he achieved this? By dragging England through their final World Cup qualification match almost single-handedly. Whilst the other outfield players froze on the day, he put in an astonishing performance of stamina, guts and ability. An effort melodramatically gift-wrapped with a last minute equaliser of supreme talent and drama -- a free-kick from twenty yards which he curled, with exquisite skill, into the top left hand corner.

In the seconds that followed the ball hitting the back of the net, both Beckham and England roared. And in so doing the player and his nation were reunited. The metamorphosis of Beckham was complete -- from public enemy number one to national hero.

Never let it be said English soccer is a fickle beast.