No.7, the pretty wife, the Real Madrid connection… no World Cup glory. Beckham and Figo will look to change that tonight.
No.7, the pretty wife, the Real Madrid connection… no World Cup glory. Beckham and Figo will look to change that tonight.
MUMBAI: When England take on Portugal tonight, two of the tournament’s most talismanic and inspirational generals — David Beckham and Luis Figo — will lead their troops out.
Defeat for either of them on Saturday will signal the end of their World Cup careers.
How often does a match-up of football skippers have the potential to overshadow the game, the managers and even the occasion, a quarterfinal?
Ukraine’s Andriy Shevchenko versus Italy’s Fabio Cannavaro, Brazil’s Cafu pitted against France’s Zinedine Zidane, Germany’s Michael Ballack standing up to Argentina’s Juan Pablo Sorin. Nothing wrong with those, but Beckham and Figo stand out.
If nothing else, then for the many similarities. Let’s start with something as simple as the No.7 jersey they both wear.
The ageing midfielders have been the suppliers of the best balls into their opponent’s box. Beckham’s screamer from the free-kick put England past Ecuador and into the quarterfinals. At 33, Figo has provided the fodder and breath-taking speed that has enabled Maniche, Pauleta and Cristiano Ronaldo to make light work of scoring goals. Beckham played in spite of dehydration and even threw up after scoring against Ecuador. Figo almost spilled his guts on the pitch during his team’s victorious slug-fest against the Dutch.
Both men have led from the front. And the strand that ties them together runs deeper.
Demi-gods at club football, they have failed to shine enough at the grand theatre of their sport —the World Cup. Beckham won the historical treble with Manchester United — taking the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League titles in 1998-99. Figo tasted Champions League glory with Real Madrid in 2002.
They have also changed their club loyalties controversially. Figo was the reincarnation of Judas (the disciple who betrayed Jesus) for Barcelona fans after he moved to arch-rival Real Madrid in 2000.
David Beckham was literally booted out when Man U manager Alex Ferguson threw a shoe at him and relegated Becks to the bench. He moved to Real Madrid in 2003, a move that incidentally led to him and Figo fighting for the same position on the right.
But at the national level, Beckham remains Eriksson’s blue-eyed boy. Critics believe that Eriksson’s soft corner for the most-endorsed footballer in the world keeps Becks in the team. The knives were out when Figo came out of a self-imposed exile and was granted a place in the national team on a platter by Scolari.
Controversies have studded their careers.
And when they don’t make news, their famous wives do. The tabloids waste more newsprint on Victoria Beckham than on Tony Blair. Figo’s Swedish model wife Helen Svedin is most comfortable on glossy centrespreads.
But at Gelsenkirchen on Saturday, Figo and Beckham will be hoping to hit the headlines — for the right reasons. Otherwise, Beckham kicking Argentina’s Diego Simeone in 1998, an act that earned him a red card, and Figo head-butting Holland’s Mark van Bommel last week will remain their most memorable Cup experience.
Not a happy thought, that.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}