Beckham Rising

You just can't keep the man down. After a long absence from the Real Madrid squad David Beckham is rising once again. Don Fabio Capello has finally given in and included Becks in the list of players making the trip to Real Sociedad this Saturday. The Madrid coach is hoping that his presence will help spur the floundering team on to a much needed victory. Beckham has gone through some very difficult times in his career and has always managed to overcome. Love him or hate him, he has a resilience that always earns the respect of his teammates and always sees him rise above difficult challenges. Ever since Becks signed for LA, there have been a number of articles written about the man: some hailing him as the savior of US soccer, some saying he is not worth the money, and others saying that he is just flat out not a good player. I fall on the side of the fence that believes he is an excellent teammate, a damn hard worker and deserves to be respected as such.

Here is why: For starters, Fabio Capello is the General George Patton of coaches. He is extremely difficult to please and for Beckham to work hard enough to get back into the team, after all Capello has said about the MLS contract and going behind Madrid's back, is amazing. Don Fabio has taken the hard line stance against some players at Madrid in a mafia-like fashion. If you disrespect the family, you sleep with the fishes. Poor Antonio Cassano learned that the hard way after his petulance relegated him to the fringe, as did a certain Ronaldo who, as we all know, ended up in Milan. But Beckham, by being himself, which means showing up day after day to work and train and never back down, has thrown off the dunce cap and returned to the front of the class. Capello has recognized his mistake and apologized. And when Capello is forced to apologize, that, in and of itself, is a miracle.

Secondly, David Beckham's teammates have had his back from the start of this mess. At every press conference since the news about Beckham broke, Madrid's players, down to the man, have stood up for ol' Becks. Iker Casillas was very candid about his sadness saying he would lose a good friend and teammate. Salgado mentioned that Beckham should be in the team.

Finally, when one of the sacred cows of Madrid, Guti, said that Beckham should be free to help the squad, Capello had to listen. All the evidence points to Becks being not only a world class professional, but a world class teammate as well.

Thirdly, Real Madrid need his help. Capello likes wingers who are fast, take players on and press forward into the opponent's box. Beckham has none of these qualities. What he does have, however, is a level of experience about how to win important games, an uncanny ability to posses the ball and supply strikers with gilt-edged opportunities to score. Madrid has lost their last two (without scoring a goal) and their last four out of six and are in desperate need of a win. Reyes and Robinho look like shadows of their former selves and Ruud needs some service. In tactical terms, Don Fabio doesn't have many other options than Goldenballs himself.After being sent off in the 1998 World Cup, Beckham faced a nasty reception from fans back in England, but he persevered and ended up winning a treble with Man U in 1999. After falling out with Sir Alex Ferguson in 2003 he made the move to become the most marketable footballer on the planet at Real Madrid. After being dropped from the English National Team and losing his starting spot at Madrid he signed with L.A. to bring an unprecedented level of notoriety to the league. Now he has won his place back at Real Madrid. Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit, there is just no keeping the man down.

Published Friday, February 09, 2007 2:27 PM by ElDane

i came across an article from goal.com by chance and hadnt thought that it would be THAT good. i know there are some reporters out there who would like to be rocognized as anti-beckham, but this is somethin. i dont know if this person is one of the reporters but he does have a point. beckham is not a regular player who any managers can put aside easily and be forgotten for ages. he stood up once in WC 06 and he has done it once more last week in sociedads match. at least, capello understands becks capability and hopefully, he will be played in important matches coz right now capello realizes who he can count on till the end of season.