David Beckham is widely expected to start this evening for England in the friendly against Brazil at the new Wembley stadium. You can read a match preview online here, as well as details of the formation here and a more general pre-match disccussion piece in The Times. The word in The Daily Mail was that David Beckham had spent an hour practising his freekicks, in a private training session last night, ahead of what will be a very special ocassion for Becks! Here's hoping he has a great game and enjoys it! Go England and Go Becks

Terry full of praise for David Beckham

John Terry took part in a press conference last night at Wembley ahead of today's Friendly and told reporters of the great support he has had from David Beckham over the last nine months, you can read all his comments in The Times and also The Telegraph - here are some key excerpts

When he first arrived I just shook his hand and said, 'It's great to see you back'. It is, it really is. What's great as well is that when I got the captaincy, the first phone calls were from Becks and Stevie G. Since then I have had one phone call a week from Becks wishing me good luck going into Chelsea games and 'how are things' and 'I'm always here if you need me', which is big of him.

"He's always been there for me, always been on the end of a phone, whether it be a text message or a phone call, which is brilliant.

"You can't speak highly enough of him. He's been fantastic since I've been given the captaincy. He's not pestered me or anything like that but he's said I'm always here if you need me and to have that from such a great man and such a great player is unbelievable."

Arise Sir Becks?

There are a lot of rumors doing the rounds that David Beckham might be in line for a knighthood. I hope this is true as certainly it is hard to think of many Englishman in recent times who have done more for their nations image around the world or embodied so perfectly all that has ever been thought of as 'the best of british'. Full story.

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.

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 -

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!*

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*

Just a reminder that an interview with David Beckham will air later today at 5PM GMT or 6PM London time on Radio Five Live's 606 program. You can listen live or download a podcast of the interview online here from 7PM tonight. The BBC have released a few quotes from the interview this morning, you can listen here, David Beckham told Five Live -

"I still feel I would be able to play for England if it ever comes up again. The US season is shorter and I'll be fitter because training will be more difficult because of the humidity."

"We only play 30 games a year so we get more time off,"

"I had offers from two big clubs in Italy and offers from clubs in England but I just felt it was the right time to pack up and leave.

"I was honoured to have played for Manchester United for so many years and obviously Real Madrid for four years.

"But I wanted a different challenge and to me the biggest challenge was going to America and playing in the MLS and living a different lifestyle. I'm looking forward to it."

David Beckham interview in Gazetta dello Sport

Channel 4 have a translation of an excellent interview with David Beckham published in Gazetta dello Sport, read it here. In the interview Becks talks about his friendship with Fabio Cannavaro, his love of Italy and how tempted he was by the offer he received to play for Milan.

Roberto Carlos added his support for David Beckham to Fabio Capello's last night. Capello told a press conference that David Beckham "had never been in better form in the last two years than he is now" and Roberto Carlos told reporters "I don't know all of the circumstances of why he has not played for England since the World Cup but I don't think it's because he is not good enough," said the Brazilian. "It's difficult to understand how you can not pick a player of such high quality."

With the official word on David Beckham's recall to the England squad expected later today this morning's newspapers are again full of discussion, predictions and pronouncements here are a few to view as we wait! (and wait and wait...)

Headline: He's Beck where he belongs
Source: The Sun

Headline: McClaren ready to bring Beckham back
Source: The Guardian

Headline: England's difficulty is Beckham's opportunity
Source: The Guardian - this is a well written piece

Headline: Coaching Corner: Beckham ability still key
Source: The Telegraph

Headline: Beckham 'should play for England'
Source: The Telegraph

Real Madrid v Deportivo Coruna Preview

Tonight is the third "final" in Real Madrid's title race. Three wins is all Real Madrid now need to take the title! There was no change at the top of the table last week, so the race remains tighter than a fishes derriere. You can read a preview of this weekends La Liga action at Sporting Life and also at Team Talk

The last training report of the week in spanish is online here and photos are in the gallery. The squad met up last night with David Beckham, Fabio Cannavaro, Miguel Torres and Iker Casillas drawing the most applause from the gathering of mostly female fans who waved the bus off from Valdedabas as the team headed to the pre-match hotel. David Beckham will be with his Real Madrid team-mates when he receives official word of whether he has been recalled to the England squad. I hope it will be a great moment of celebration ahead of tonight's game!

Hala Madrid! Go Becks! Go King David!

(Source) In today's pre-match press conference Fabio Capello voiced his support for David Beckham's recall to the England team and was generous in his praise (effusive for Capello!) saying -

"I told David the other day that I thought he has never been in such good form either mentally or physically and he agreed with me."

"I can't understand how a player who is playing so well can be left out of any national side."

David Beckham on the BBC

David Beckham will be interviewed by The BBC's Radio 5 live. The interview will air on the 606 programme tomorrow at 6pm London time. You can listen to the interview live or you can download it. It will be a nice pre-match treat! Details here.

Have a great weekend everyone! Here's hoping we hear lots of good news!

This morning's english press is full of reports predicting David Beckham's recall to the England National team! Some of the media outlets reporting that Steve McClaren will recall David Beckham tomorrow, include newspapers such as The Independent who are known to have close connections with The FA and McClaren himself. Latest reports indicate the squad will be announced noon Saturday. At which time the media expects the king of the comebacks to be on the list! Here's some of the press -

Headline: McClaren to Swallow pride and mend it with Beckham
Source: The Independent

Headline: Beckham on brink of recall
Source: The Times Online

Headline: England SOS to Beckham
Source: The Evening Standard

Headline: Mac lines up Becks recall
Source: The Sun

Headline: McClaren coy over Beckham England recall
Source: The Guardian

Headline: I never said never to Beckham
Source: The Sun

Headline: Hollywood boy gets his dream comeback
Source: The Independent

Headline: McClaren Cool on Beckham recall
Source: The BBC
Excerpt: England coach Steve McClaren has refused to play down growing speculation that former captain David Beckham is in line for a recall.
McClaren names the England squad for the friendly against Brazil at Wembley and the Euro 2008 qualifier in Estonia at noon on Saturday.

Michael Owen backs Becks

Michael Owen spoke with press ahead of tonight's match where he will captain England B against Albania and said

(Source) I take an interest in how Madrid are doing and David in particular. He has had a great time of it of late. I watched him the other day and he put in some great crosses. He is playing very well and I am pleased for him.

Update 2 - More training photos from May 23 in the gallery.

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The latest edition of Skysport's Revista de La Liga featured a discussion of whether David Beckham should be recalled for England as well as the usual highlights and analysis of La Liga as the race goes down to the wire. Some of the presenters comments were very interesting and give an insight into how highly regarded David Beckham is in Spain and deservedly so!

Update - Today's training report in spanish is online here and there are some super cute photos today which I've added to the gallery along with some training pictures from last week.

Update - The training report in english is online and photos are in the gallery
Also one last clip from the Greatest Britons can be viewed here and there is a love-ly tribute to Becks from Bill Nighy in The Sun.



Click here to see David Beckham accept his award for Gobal achievement at the Greatest Britons 2007. Here also is a clip of a brief interview with Becks where he talks about moving to Los Angeles and his hair :) More clips at ITN

I have finally completed the gallery of photos of David Beckham from the awards. I especially loved the photo above it really does Becks justice!

Thierry Henry, who presented Becks with the award, gave an interview to The BBC following the ceremony, he spoke at length about David Beckham (listen to his interview)and backed his re-inclusion in the England national team saying -

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“He has never dropped his quality. He has been the most consistent player at Real Madrid. Maybe his quality was not appreciated with England before.

“What Beckham has done at Real Madrid has been unbelievable. I don’t want to say anything controversial, because to be the England manager is probably the hardest job in the country. But maybe when David was playing for England, people took him for granted. As soon as he’s not playing people call for him to be recalled and that speaks volumes.”

"The guy has been magnificent for English football."

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David Beckham when asked about a recall was wisely cautious, simply saying
“Whether the chance will come up to play for England again, who knows. I've been so honoured to play and captain my country as many times as I have and everyone knows how I feel about playing for my country. If that chance comes, I’ve always said I’d be ready but let’s wait and see.”

Marca have a clip from yesterday's training, it only has 5 seconds of David Beckham but that's 3 more seconds than were on the official site - so click here to view

I have 3 essays due Friday, so this is a very ugly week for me and updates could be a bit sporadic - can't wait for the weekend to get here!

David Beckham attended the Greatest Britons 2007 Ceremony in London last night. He was presented with the Greatest Briton Overseas award for global achievement in recognition of his contribution to his country on and off the pitch, including his work on London's successful Olympic 2012 bid.

The award was presented by Arsenal forward and friend Thierry Henry and David Beckham received a standing ovation from the audience! Watch the video

There are photos of David Beckham and Dame Helen Mirren on the red carpet in the gallery. Dame Helen was delighted to have her photo taken with Becks and was overheard saying "Oh my how exciting!" She also said, when asked about her red carpet companion David Beckham, "I am absolutely speechless. What can I say? He is the best of Britain in every way. He is a great icon for this country." There is also more coverage and a list of winners available at ITV.

The Sun reported that Becks said of receiving the award: “This is an honour and a privilege.” He also thanked his wife and family.

Congratulations to Becks on this well deserved honour!

In other news-

* The discussion of a possible England recall for David Beckham continues to be a hot topic in british sport pages. With columnists who have been unduly critical of Becks in the past now joining the call for his return. Here is one example from The Guardian.

Guillem Balague reports in AS Diario that Steve McClaren held a dinner meeting with journalists last week and let them know that if David Beckham played well against Recreativo Huelva, he would consider recalling him. The journalists followed up with McClaren after Sunday's game and the feedback was positive. This may explain why all journalists are now predicting a recall. David Beckham did of course play exceptionally well against Recre. His passing was sublime, his crosses inch perfect.

The England squad to play the friendly against Brazil is expected to be named this Saturday morning. I am trying hard not to count my chickens, or anything else for that matter, before they hatch, but it is hard not to feel a little suspense at the very least. It would be a rare moment of justice if David Beckham was recalled and a wrong, inflicted on a dedicated, professional and patriotic sportsman, righted. It would be a great day.

* Roberto Carlos was interviewed in AS and paid special tribute to his good friend David Beckham saying (approximate translation), "He has been very good for Madrid, an example on and off the pitch, by virtue of his personality and his joy! He is a football player and it shows, he is a very Brazilian Englishman”.

* LA Galaxy drew 1-1 with Chivas USA in their second "super clasico" of the season. Match details here.

* Finally, there are a number of new videos on the official Real Madrid site and one via the spanish portal is titled Beckham spectacular. I can't get any of the sites videos to play for me currently. You can click here to visit the site and I hope you will have more joy with loading the clips than I have!

Update - Today's training report in english is online here.

The Sun reports this morning that David Beckham will receive a special award for being the Greatest Briton Overseas and that it will be presented to him in person at the Greatest Britons award show tonight in London. The show will be aired on ITV1 from 9pm.

David Beckham Match Highlights

The pick of this mornings press includes an article in The Daily Mail "Becks bang on course to bow out with title" and a great match report in The Independent titled "Recreativo Huelva 2 Read Madrid 3: Beckham masterclass as Real move closer to title" which includes the following post-match comments from David Beckham

"We showed a lot of strength to win it in the end and that is down to the great momentum we have in the squad.

"We all stick together and we play for each other and we never give up. We made it difficult for ourselves [but] it's an important win and that's what we have to do now in the last three games."

Here's a clip with highlights of David Beckham's excellent game, all the goals and celebrations!

Real Madrid won and remain leaders! David Beckham played an excellent match and provided the assist, in the form of a brilliant cross, for the first goal. The match report in english is on the official site and there is also a match report online at Sporting Life. It is nice to see a quote from David Beckham included in the post-match comments published on the official Real Madrid site, he said -

"It has been a difficult game for us, now we have only three more games left to the end of the league".
"For me, Roberto is an incredible person and has made a great goal"

First of the photos are in the gallery.

Seems a good time to bring the "all fired up" celebratory video back to the top of the page too!

El Pais have praised David Beckham's current form and are predicting his recall to the England national team following his recent contributions to Real Madrid, story here. In recent days more and more newspapers are tipping a recall, with The Times and The Sun also suggesting David Beckham may be included in the England squad for the friendly against Brazil. Let's hope there predictions prove accurate!

Tonight's match against Recreativo Huelva is the first of the remaining "four finals" Real Madrid faces and a win is, as always, crucial! David Beckham is playing on the right of midfield as Emerson is out injured and Gago will start in his central role. I have added three photos of David Beckham arriving in Huelva last night to the gallery.

You can read a match preview at Sporting Life and also there is a good article in The Times which mentions today's match but also discusses Real Madrid's La Liga bid and David Beckham's departure from the club. It translates a portion of Roncero's column published in AS Diario yesterday which was an especially nice tribute to Becks -

“Sir Beckham [sic] deserves to bid farewell on June 17 at the Bernabeu with a league title in his travel bag and the whole stadium on their feet saluting the dignity and sense of honour he has given to this institution. King David, impeccable professional, good guy and magnificent footballer.”

The full column can be found at AS.com I am working on a translation in the meantime you can translate it via babelfish.

Let's hope that Real Madrid win and take another step towards realizing the dream of winning the title! It is Iker Casillas's 26th birthday today and I'm sure it's the only present he wants! So in honor of this,
Hala Madrid, Go Becks! and Go Iker!

David Beckham tipped for England return

The Daily Mail are tipping David Beckham for a recall. They suggest that his recent form at Real Madrid might see Steve McClaren name Becks next Saturday in the squad to play a friendly against Brazil on June 1 and the Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia 5 days later. Full story here.

There is an extensive article "David Beckham: Coming to America" in the Sunday Times which takes a detailed look at David Beckham's move Stateside and some of the challenges. This is tough reading as it raises many concerns.

As.com reports that last Thursday night after the Audi presentation David Beckham attended a surprise party arranged for him by his close friends 'La Penita'. Becks was accompanied by Roberto Carlos, Cicinho and Salgado. There will be a formal team farewell but this was an informal "surprise" gathering attended by many personal friends.

Becks was presented with a cake and also (as far as I can make out) a silver 'memory' tray expressing the sentiments "We hope you never forget the good times and the good friends you have in Madrid, no matter how far away you are, you always have a home here."

Becks is reported to have been very moved and to have said in reply, according to Marca who also ran a story on the party this morning, “Thanks for everything. For how you have treated me in Madrid and this country. I will not forget you. You have made me happy. You are like my family. I will always remember. I will return to Madrid whenever I can. I do not want to leave without gaining this Liga. I hope that we are going to win it…”

Update - Today's training report in english is online here. David Beckham will travel with the squad this evening ahead of tomorrow's game. It is anticipated that he may play in the centre of midfield, as Emerson is absent through injury. Here is a general preview of this weekend's La Liga clashes - click here.

There is a great interview with David Beckham in The Times ahead of today's FA Cup final at Wembley. He is of course tipping Manchester United to take the title. Becks talks about his forthcoming move to Los Angeles and also about how much he would still love to play for his country. Here are some excerpts -

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On acting & botox -
what about the stories that he is looking for a film role? “No chance.” Or a recent report that he had Botox injections? “Seriously? I would never touch anything like that.”

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On Sir Alex Ferguson -
We’ve still not sat down for a proper talk and I’m not sure we ever will, but I’ll only ever speak fondly of him. I never really wanted to leave United but he gave me the chance to play for the club I always dreamt about at United. I owe him so much out of my career.

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On moving to LA -
It is Hollywood and people are speculating that we are going to spend all the time with movie stars because we have some famous friends but it is not like that. I’ve got a job to do and that means mucking in with people on and off the pitch.

“I will be training as hard as I ever have done. I am not getting any younger so I have to work harder than ever. There have been high expectations of me throughout my career.”

He jokes about nipping down on to the Wembley pitch for a quick kick-about just in case he never gets another opportunity.

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I know we all hope that he will get the opportunity! For his sake and also for the sake of the England national team and supporters. For the rest of the interview and all David Beckham's comments click here

*according to the Daily Mail David Beckham visited Wembley on Tuesday

update 2 - More photos in the gallery from training and the Audi presentation - really cute!



Here's a little clip courtesy of Real Madrid of David Beckham and his team mates at the Audi presentation and driving course. Can anyone work out who it is that just about bunny hops? Very funny! :) Click to watch

There are two new photos of David Beckham at the Audi presentation and five of Becks watching the Espanyol game in the gallery. You can read a write up on the driving course the team did in english here. They did the course in pairs and Becks was Diarra's co-pilot!

Update - Todays training report in english is online here and the photo is in the gallery. There is a clip on Marca from training look out for the 1.5 seconds of Becks and Gago - it's brief but cute :)

Update - The training report in spanish is online and there are lots of cute photos of Becks from training in the gallery.

I haven't updated the statistics area of the site since Sara and I started it almost a year ago and it needs a lot of work - it's on the to do list! In the meantime - here are the statistics to date for the 2006/2007 season for La Liga for those of you who would like to know how many minutes David Beckham has played, how many goals he has scored and how many assists he has made etc. Full details.

In other news, football legend Pele has described David Beckham's move to the US as "almost the same" as his own, full story.

The Real Madrid site advised yesterday that first team players would receive new cars today from Audi and also be going on a sports driving course. So I'll be on the look out and will be back with news and any photos later. Details here.

Motorola held a product launch for it's new mobile range yesterday in New York. Videos of a number of Motorola ambassadors, including David Beckham, were used to demonstrate some of the phones new features. Full story here. Here is a teeny clip from Motorola of Becks demonstrating messaging and browsing features. There are some small and fuzzy caps in the gallery There are also some training pics from today and yesterday in the 'this week' gallery. Thanks to CC for the heads up :)

Update - the training report in english is now online.

Vote for David Beckham!

David Beckham has again been named as one of 10 players nominated for the annual Golden Foot award. The award is presented to footballers over the age of 29 who have excelled on the pitch and who have earned the esteem of fans and football experts alike. Personality is also taken into account. The final decision as to the winner is made by fans. To support Becks please go here to vote. You don't need to register to vote just select the sec