By Max Miranda
Netflix’s latest documentary series “Beckham” takes soccer fans back to the playing days of English soccer player David Beckham.
For big soccer fan, this docuseries is an attention catcher. It showcases the high and low moments of Beckham’s career.
Growing up, Beckham’s favorite team was Manchester United. Beckham didn’t have a lot of friends because all he did was play soccer.
A scout from United discovered Beckham from one of his games.
United’s manager Sir Alex Ferguson then signed Beckham to United’s youth academy when he was 14 years old. Beckham made his debut for United at 17 years old in September 1992. Despite being young, Beckham proved his talent.
From his passing to his shooting, Beckham was one of the bright young stars in England.
In March 1997, Beckham met his now wife Victoria Adams. Adams was a part of the group Spice Girls and went by the name Posh Spice.
Beckham’s United teammate Gary Neville said that he and Beckham saw Adams on TV, then Beckham said he was going to marry her.
Neville thought it was a joke, but the two ended up dating.
After the 1997-98 season was over, Beckham played for England in the 1998 World Cup. In the round of 16, England played Argentina. Early in the second half, Argentinian midfielder Diego Simeone pushed Beckham to the floor. Beckham retaliated by sticking his leg out and tripping someone. The referee gave Beckham a red card, sending him off.
England went on to lose in penalties as they were knocked out of the World Cup. Beckham was the most hated man in England. If Beckham was out in public, people would curse, spit and threaten him.
During this dark time for Beckham, Adam gave birth to their first child Brooklyn. Despite being hated by everyone, Beckham would bounce back for United in the 1998-99 season.
United went on to win the treble. Winning the Premier League by one point, United beat Newcastle 2-0 to win the FA Cup and beat Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League final. Beckham would stay with United up until 2003 when there was an altercation between him and Ferguson.
After a loss, Ferguson was furious. He yelled at his players, but he mainly targeted Beckham.
According to Beckham, Ferguson kicked a boot from a pile of clothes that hit Beckham’s head.
After Beckham was no longer with United, and he transferred to Real Madrid.
Real Madrid President Florentine Perez said that Beckham was born to play for Madrid. During that time, Madrid was stacked with players such as Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, Zinidene Zidane and Ronaldo.
Beckham’s tenure with Real Madrid didn’t go as planned. They weren’t winning trophies and Madrid was going through manager after manager.
In 2006, Madrid announced Fabio Capello as their manager.
Capello benched Beckham before a game and Beckham wasn’t happy with that decision. Beckham planned to leave Madrid. And in a shocking move, Beckham signed with the LA Galaxy in January of 2007 for $250 million. Beckham was still under contract with Madrid, which expired in June of 2007.
During that time, Capello wouldn’t play Beckham and told him to train on his own. Capello eventually played Beckham late in the season and Madrid went on to win the league. Madrid fans tried to convince Beckham to stay but he already made his decision to play for the Galaxy.
Beckham was with the Galaxy for a year and a half. Capello was announced as England’s manager and told Beckham if he wanted to play for England in the World Cup, he’d have to play for a top team.
Beckham would then play for AC Milan in Italy, but eventually went back to the Galaxy. Beckham went on to win two Major League Soccer Cups with the Galaxy before leaving the club in 2012.
Beckham had one last ride, as he signed with Paris Saint-Germain in 2013. He went on to win the league that year, his last year playing soccer. Beckham retired at 38 years old.
While retired, Beckham wanted to stay busy. He announced in 2014, that he planned to own an expansion club of MLS in Miami. The club Inter Miami was announced in 2018, but didn’t make its debut until 2020.
“Beckham” is on Netflix and has four episodes with a runtime of about an hour long each episode.