This week Sky sports Revista de La Liga has more on the title race as well as a segment on David Beckham’s great form for Real Madrid and his recall for England. It features nice comments about Becks from Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Miguel Torres and Sven Goran Erikkson -

Terry welcomes Becks back

John Terry has spoken with The BBC ahead of tomorrow’s friendly with Brazil and told them how pleased he is to see David Beckham back -

“It is great to have him back. We all know his quality and he has brought that into training and we look forward to seeing him training.

“It is not strange for me. We are all important players in the squad and it is just great to have him back.

“I had a few chats with Steve and the form he has been in is exceptional since he came back from injury. It couldn’t go unnoticed. The manager has brought him in and rightly so.”

Would you like to be a webmaster?

If there is anyone out there who would like to be a webmaster of this site can you please email me – admin@fans-online.com You will need to be a huge David Beckham fan – obviously! You will also need to have good written english and know a little html and css. I can help anyone with a genuine interest to pick up the rest!

Gary Lineker backs David Beckham

Gary Lineker was one of the few UK football pundits who called for David Beckham to be recalled for England months ago and he has given David Beckham his support in his BBC Column today saying –

The one thing about Beckham is that he has always been a very good pro, not only a top-class player, but a bloke who works hard, trains hard, and gives 100% when he plays.

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This morning the FA have put a second clip from England’s training session online. Click here to view both part one and part two of the England training video.

The first of the training videos is also on you tube thanks to da8estone

And I have added the second part to You Tube for anyone having trouble a big thanks to notorious for sharing the clip -

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There are another 24 training pictures of David Beckham in the gallery

Steve McClaren has praised David Beckham’s desire and how hard he has worked to be recalled for England, explaining that he had earnt it, here are some of his comments –

“He showed great hunger and desire to get back. He didn’t moan, just got his head down and worked hard.”

“I have not made this decision for anyone, it is about form. He is the fittest I have seen for a long time.”

After one match, Capello said David ran 15 kilometres and the next highest figure was 12km. In another he ran 80 yards in the last minute to create a winning goal.

“Anyone who has watched David over the last few months must understand why he is in the squad”

Don’t worry Mr. McClaren anyone who has watched David Beckham over the last few years has never doubted he was amongst the best 22 players for England at all times. Read the full story and all the comments at The BBC

The Sun and Reuters also have more comments from McClaren including comments on the decision that David Beckham would not speak to press after being recalled, he said -

“David wants that as well.”

“When we spoke two weeks ago we agreed on that. He just wants to play football.”

“We want the player performing on the field. That’s what I’ve said to him and he agrees with that and that’s all we want. That’s why he doesn’t want to speak this week.”

David Beckham and the Pink Plaster

If, like me, you looked at the pictures of Becks with a pink plaster on his back from Saturday’s game against Deportivo and thought “hmmm I wonder what that’s for and what a funny shape and did he choose the color?” David Beckham’s spokesman Simon Oliveira has kindly provided an explanation “He’s simply got a knot in his back, and the plaster stretches it, generating heat in that area of his back, and helping alleviate the strain.” Mr Oliveira also said that medical staff at Real Madrid had chosen the plaster for Becks. Here’s hoping that Becks is feeling better! Source

Other news

The Sun reports that Becks will sadly miss Gary Neville’s wedding because it is scheduled for June 16, the day before Real Madrid’s final match of La Liga against Mallorca and scheduling is just too tight as Becks will be expected to meet up with the team at 8.30PM the day before the game. Gary Neville was David Beckham’s best man and the two have been best friends for many years, so Becks will be very disappointed not to be there for his special day. However, I’m sure Gary will more than understand and be hoping that Becks will pick up a spanish league winners medal to match his own english one!

Guillem Balague says in his AS.com column, that David Beckham thought he would never play for England again and that it hurt him deeply. When he was told that he was being considered it came as a surprise. He was very nervous before confirmation of his England recall came and he received the phone call only 30 minutes before Steve McClaren made the news public. There was lots of hugging and celebrating when the news came!

Since then, Balague says he has not spoken with David Beckham as Becks is avoiding all media contact and keeping a very low profile. His main priority is proving that he deserves his place and should keep it, when of course he should never have been left out. (this is a very rough and approximate translation)

The Evening Standard has an interview with one of the UK’s top referees, Graham Poll, that includes him talking about the support he received from David Beckham after he made an error during a game at last year’s World Cup. It really shows what a very special man David Beckham is.

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The FA have finally put a video of yesterday’s England training session online, you can either go to The FA Site to view or click here to open the player.

David Beckham on the cover of Marca – again!

David Beckham is on the cover of Marca for the third day in the row and it would appear that he will be on the cover again tomorrow as Marca are running an interview over two days and they have posted a range of photos on the site and are asking that people vote for their favorite, which they will publish click here to see the photos and vote.

AS Diario, are carrying excerpts from the BBC Interview that aired on Radio Five Live as well as a small report on David Beckham’s England training session where they mention that he was warmly received by his team-mates and the small gathering of fans who gave him an ovation.Story here.

Guillem Balague, who is one of the presenters on Revista de La Liga, has a detailed feature in today’s Times Online, that details David Beckham’s roller-coaster season at Real Madrid. Read the full story

David Beckham’s last game for Real Madrid

David Beckham will wear the white shirt of Real Madrid at the Bernabeu for the last time on June 17 in a game gainst Real Mallorca. It will hopefully be the night that David Beckham and Real Madrid win La Liga and celebrate ending a roller-coaster season on a high note. That would be a fitting farewell for King David!

It had been previously suggested that he would travel with the team to Israel for a “match for peace” on June 19. However Becks is unavailable as he had already booked a holiday to coincide with the end of the Spanish season. It also seems more appropriate somehow for his last game for Real Madrid to be at the Bernabeu and not in Tel Aviv. For more on this, click here.

David Beckham’s LA Galaxy presentation

Becks will travel to Los Angeles where he will be formally presented as an LA Galaxy player on 16 July. Full story.

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David Beckham attended the first England training session ahead of this Friday’s friendly with Brazil today. The session was held at arsenal’s training facilities in North London. You can read a training report online here. Steve McClaren hinted to the media that David Beckham would be a starter for the next two matches as is widely expected. There are more than seventy photos of Becks at today’s training session with the England squad in the England training gallery

The BBC show, Inside Sport, will have a special piece on David Beckham this evening, Becks won’t appear on the show, but they travel to Madrid and interview fans and his team-mates such as Ruud Van Nistelrooy. It will air on BBC one at 23:05 and it will also be available for download from the BBC site the day after the programme goes to air. I’ll post a link as soon as it’s available.

Update – The Sun also have a write up on yesterday’s training session.

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David Beckham is on the cover of Marca for the second day in a row , click to view full size. The cover, as you can see, proclaims “this is the league of zipi and Zape!”. I think Becks is zipi! Details of both players contributions are given.

AS.com reports this morning that David Beckham is tied with Guti for the most assists by a Real Madrid player this season with a tally of six. They also say that if it had not been for injury and the stubborness of Capello he would have more. He has been providing excellent and also crucial service to his team mates in recent weeks. So far this season he has made three assists to Ramos, one to Robinho, one to Raul and one to Van Nistelrooy. Full story here. It is great to see full credit for his contribution, in the spanish media and there is also a video on the Real Madrid website which you can access through the spanish page called El mago ‘the magician’ David Beckham which also celebrates his important assists.

The Independent have an excellent match report “Real Madrid 3 Deportivo La Coruna 1: Beckham crowns England recall with Real surge to title”, with lots of poignant details about how beloved David Beckham is by the Bernabeu faithful, read the story

Sid Lowe, has devoted his weekly column on Spanish football to David Beckham. He talks about David Beckham’s great game against Deprtivo mentioning that the defeated Deportivo players whispered, “he was unbelievable”. The Deportivo goalkeeper Didi Aouate said: “Beckham was involved in everything. He crossed with both feet, he took all the free kicks, he took shots, he led the attacks, he carried his team-mates.” It is a well written column about David Beckham’s imminent departure from Real Madrid and how it came to pass. Read the column and he also has a slightly different piece in The Telegraph

I’ve also added another 20 or so photos from the last Real Madrid game to the gallery.

More England recall reaction

Ryan Giggs, Becks former Manchester United team-mate and friend has told the press how pleased he was to see David Beckham recalled for England saying,“I’m delighted for David. He’s been outstanding for Real Madrid since before Christmas…he’s been key to them getting back to the top of the league. His ability is unquestioned, I’m very pleased for him and hope he does well.”

Peter Crouch told Sky Sports “David Beckham is a top, top player and has been for a number of years now. Obviously, as a forward his delivery from dead balls and wide areas, from anywhere, is top class. For me, it’s probably pleasing. As I’ve said, his crosses into the box and his delivery, and passing ability, is only going to help players. It will help me personally. It’s the manager’s decision to pick whoever he chooses and I certainly don’t think anyone in the squad would argue with David Beckham’s inclusion.”

The Sun has an article predicting that David Beckham will reach 100 caps for his country provided they win in Estonia, full story here. Sticking with The Sun, they also have an article about how delighted Stevie G reportedly is to see Becks back in the team as well as more quotes from Ruud Van Nistelrooy on David Beckham’s tremendous form!

Finally, further to comments made by LA Galaxy President, Alexi Lalas, yesterday, that the business would be reluctant to release David Beckham for non-competitive England matches, The Independent has an article this morning that explains that David Beckham has a clause in his contract to say he must be released for all England games including friendlies, more details here. The article says that David Beckham is understood to be adamant that he will not be prevented from representing England and would even invoke Fifa regulations that dictate players must be released for international duty.

England schedule

England will train at 3PM today at London Colney, Arsenal’s Hertfordshire training ground. The session is open to the public. The Football Association has no plans to have David Beckham do any press work ahead of the Brazil match.

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Michael Owen has welcomed David Beckham’s recall and told the press –

(Source)The lads will be pleased to see David back he’s very popular among the players and doing very well for Real Madrid at the moment.”

“Everyone knows what David Beckham can do. He is good on set-pieces and can deliver great crosses. I’ve scored from a few in the past! I follow his career because I know him well. I always watch Madrid games on TV and it will be nice for him to sign off with the championship before he goes to Los Angeles.”

LA Galaxy President Alexei Lalas has given an interview to the BBC you can read and listen to it online. He said he is pleased that David Beckham has been recalled to the England squad and re-states that he understands how much it means to Becks. However, he does also say that the clubs commercial agenda will have priority and that Becks will not be able to play in “friendlies” during the season.

The Times reports that David Beckham celebrated his return to the England team with a man of the match performance for Real Madrid. The article also reports that Becks is already thought to be in the UK having caught a private jet to London last night, full story

The Times also has a report by their Madrid correspondent that reviews David Beckham’s season in Madrid and includes some lovely quotes from team-mates Ramos and Guti – read them here.

Sven Goran Erikkson was pleased to hear the David Beckham had been recalled and told Sky Sports “I am very happy for him. He deserves to play.” When asked about future call-ups the former England manager said “In the future? I don’t know, they start again in September… but I can’t see any better player on the right. Maybe not for Real Madrid, maybe not anywhere in the world.” Story here.

David Beckham cover boy!

David Beckham is on the cover of this morning’s Marca. The Madrid Sports daily praises Becks saying that with pure Raul, successful Van Nistelrooy and the class of Beckham, Real Madrid moves closer to the title! With just 180 minutes of football remaining in La Liga season! Barclona won their match last night and remain tied on points with Real Madrid who are leaders based on the head to head rule. Real Madrid next La Liga game will be away to Zaragoza on June 10! Fingers crossed!

Here are highlights of David Beckham’s ‘man of the match’ performance against Deportivo.

There are a few more photos from Real Madrid’s win over Deportivo in the gallery.

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The perfect end to a perfect day! Real Madrid remain La Liga leaders with a convincing win over Deportivo Coruna. David Beckham had another great game! The match report is on the official site. There is also a match report “Beckham inspires Real Madrid to win” at Sporting Life. First of the photos are in the gallery. Amongst them is a photo of Becks running to give his shirt to a fan in the crowd! I bet that made their day!

Fabio Capello praised David Beckham in the post-match press conference saying “As I said yesterday David Beckham is playing better than he has in two years. He’s in extraordinary conditions, with much quality, speed. He is in great form.” Transcript here.

Team-mate Ruud Van Nistelrooy told reporters during his his post-match comments, that David Beckham was delighted with his England recall he said -

“He was delighted, he was so happy with the news”

“Everyday leading up to it, we were talking about it and counting down the days to the announcement. It’s so good to see a professional who has been through everything in the game and is so pleased to be called up for his country again.

“For me, only the true greats can have an attitude like that.”

“It’s a great feeling and I’m so happy for David,” said Van Nistelrooy who also played alongside Beckham at Manchester United.

“He’s turned it round himself by his mentality and qualities and many players would have said ‘this is it for me’ and he didn’t and he deserves the credit for it. He’s a player that belongs in the national team.”

You can also read more comments in support of David Beckham from Ruud at Sportinglife.

Becks on The Beeb

A lovely interview with David Beckham full of cute stories and touching anecdotes (recorded on Friday) aired on the BBC’s Five Live 606 show prior to kick-off. If you missed it, you can download it here

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Update – You can listen to McClaren being interviewed on the BBC about David Beckham’s recall, he mentions that he met with Becks 10 days ago at which time he let Becks know that a recall was a possibility. You can also watch McClaren explaining his decision on Football Focus.

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David Beckham was “absolutely delighted” when he received the news from Steve McClaren that he would be included in the England squad named today. Full details of Steve McClaren’s comments to Sky Sports can be viewed online here and you can also read and watch his comments to BBC Sport. Here are excerpts from his comments -

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Sky Sports- “David was absolutely delighted as I knew he would be.

“He is coming into form and deserves to be here. We’ve got a very big game in Estonia coming up that we have to win and I’ve got to pick a squad capable of doing that. That’s why I’ve picked David.

“Winning away at international level is very difficult anywhere and we need as much experience as we can get.”

McClaren attributed Beckham’s recall to his form during the second half of the La Liga season. “Since Christmas his form has been very good, I think he can help us win in Estonia and that’s why I picked him.”

“I feel at this moment, that for the Estonia game, we need experience and David certainly provides that. He is in very, very good form. The team needs that.”

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BBC Sport – “Everyone knows David’s attributes and he’s a big-game player who can help us win in Estonia.

“Everybody’s professional and we’ve a squad that will blend together that will get us a result and I’m sure everyone will welcome David back”

*Don’t miss the details of David Beckham’s BBC interview and also his interview with Gazetta dello Sport posted below!*

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David Beckham has been recalled to the England squad.

He has been waiting almost 10 months, since he was unfairly left out of the squad to face Greece, for this moment, but David Beckham is a patient man. He has never complained, or criticized, he has never uttered a word in frustration or impatience. He has always been gracious in the face of provocation because David Beckham is a man of dignity, a man of quiet strength and character. He has known what he wanted, he has focussed with singular purpose and has possessed the wisdom to never place obstacles in his own path.

The road back has at times been long and hard, David Beckham may know it’s a round world but at times he must have wished it would turn a little faster. Still he has never given up, he has continued to train, to play and to wait. Today his determination is rewarded. It has been a difficult season but as we enter the final weeks, David Beckham, who Fabio Capello would “never play again”, is a first team regular at Real Madrid and competing with his team-mates to win La Liga and next Friday he will play for his country again.

A great deal will be written about his recall, but somethings are beyond words. Becks will savour the comraderie, every step down the tunnel, the sound of the crowd, the first touch of the ball, the chance to wear the shirt and play for his country again. He will realise a hope he has held in his heart for almost 10 months. There aren’t words for that.

The BBC Announcement

David Beckham we salute you!

*ok I have to go run around screaming now*

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