David Robert Joseph Beckham (born 2 May 1975) is an
English professional football (soccer) midfielder
who currently plays for and captains Major League
Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy. He is also a member of
the England national team.
He has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of
the Year, and in 2004 was the world's highest-paid
footballer. He was Google's most searched of all
sports topics in both 2003 and 2004. Such global
recognition has made him an elite advertising brand
and a top fashion icon. Beckham was captain of
England from 15 November 2000 to 2 July 2006. He
made 58 appearances as captain, and ended his tenure
in that role after the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.
He continued to make contributions for the England
national team in 2007 competitions.
Beckham's career began when he signed a professional
contract with Manchester United, making his
first-team debut in 1992 aged 17. During his time
there, United won the Premiership title six times,
the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in
1999. He left Manchester United to sign for Real
Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons.
In his final season, Real clinched the La Liga title
(Beckham's only major trophy with the club) in the
final game of the season. In January 2007, it was
announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid and
sign a five-year contract with the Los Angeles
Galaxy. He played his final match with Real on 17
June, after which the team was awarded the 2006–07
La Liga championship.
Beckham's new contract with the Galaxy, effective 1
July 2007, gave him the highest salary of any MLS
player in history. He debuted for the team on 21
July in a friendly versus Chelsea at the Home Depot
Center, and on 15 August, he had his first start
with the team, scoring his first goal in the 2007
SuperLiga semi-final. His first league start then
came on 18 August in front of a record crowd at
Giants Stadium.
Beckham was born at Whipps Cross Hospital in
Leytonstone, London, England; the son of David
Edward Alan "Ted" Beckham (b. Edmonton, London,
July-September 1948), a kitchen fitter and
Manchester United fan, and wife (m. London Borough
of Hackney, 1969) Sandra Georgina West (b. 1949), a
hairdresser. He regularly played football in
Ridgeway Park, Chingford as a child. He attended
Chase Lane Primary School and Chingford Foundation
School as a child. His mother's family is Jewish,
and Beckham has referred to himself as "half Jewish"
and spoken of the influence the religion has had on
him, although he is not known to practice Judaism or
any other faith. In his book Both Feet on the
Ground, he stated that growing up he always attended
church with his parents and his two sisters, Joanne
and Lynne.
His parents were fanatical Manchester United
supporters who would frequently travel to Old
Trafford from London to attend Manchester United's
home matches. David inherited his parents' love of
Manchester United and his main sporting passion was
football. He attended one of Bobby Charlton's
football schools in Manchester and won the chance to
take part in a training session at FC Barcelona, as
part of a talent competition. As a child he played
for a local youth team called the Ridgeway Rovers -
coached by his father, Stuart Underwood and Steve
Kirby.
He was a Manchester United mascot for a match
against West Ham United in 1986. Young Beckham had
trials with his local club Leyton Orient, Norwich
City and attended Tottenham Hotspur's, which was the
first club he played for, school of excellence.
During a two-year period in which he played for
Brimsdown Rovers' youth team, he was named Under-15
Player of the Year in 1990. He also attended
Bradenton Preparatory Academy, but signed schoolboy
forms at Manchester United on his fourteenth
birthday, and subsequently signed a Youth Training
Scheme contract on 8 July 1991.
