Manchester United

Becoming a first-team player

United manager Alex Ferguson had a great deal of confidence in the club's young players. When three of his first-team players left the club at the end of the 1994–95 season, his decision to let youth team players replace them instead of buying players from other clubs, drew a great deal of criticism. The criticism increased when United started the season with a 3–1 defeat at Aston Villa,^[17] with Beckham scoring United's only goal of the game; however, United won their next five matches and the young players performed well. Beckham became a regular player on the team and helped them to win the Premiership and FA Cup double that season, scoring the winner in the semi-final against Chelsea and also taking the corner that Éric Cantona scored from in the FA Cup Final. Despite playing regularly for Manchester United, Beckham did not break into the England squad before Euro 96.^[18]

At the beginning of the 96/97 season David Beckham was given the number 10 shirt that was last worn by Mark Hughes. In August 1996, Beckham became something of a household name when he scored a spectacular goal in a match against Wimbledon. With United leading 2–0, Beckham noticed that Wimbledon's goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was standing a long way out of his goal, and hit a shot from the halfway line that floated over the goalkeeper and into the net.^[19]

Beckham was frequently mentioned in the press, and he made his first appearance for the England national football team on 1 September 1996, in a World Cup qualifying match against Moldova.^[20] He became an automatic first-choice player at United during the 1996–97 season, helping them to retain the Premier League championship, and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year by his peers.^[21]

With Eric Cantona retiring at the end of the 96/97 season, this left the coverted number 7 shirt free, and with Teddy Sheringham arriving from Tottenham Hotspur, Beckham left his number 10 shirt for Sheringham and picked up the number 7 jersey. Some fans had felt the number 7 shirt should be retired after Cantona had himself retired. United started the 1997–98 season well, but their performance deteriorated and the club finished the season in second place, behind Arsenal.^[22]

World Cup 1998

Beckham had played in all of England's qualifying matches for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and was part of the England squad at the World Cup finals in France,^[23] but the team's manager Glenn Hoddle publicly accused him of not concentrating on the tournament,^[24] and he did not start in either of England's first two matches. He was picked for their third match against Colombia and scored from a long-range free kick in a 2–0 victory, which was his first goal for England.

In the second round (last 16) of that competition, he received a red card in England's match against Argentina.^[25] Beckham, after having been fouled by Diego Simeone, kicked Simeone, striking him on the calf. Simeone later admitted to trying to get Beckham sent off by over-reacting to the kick and then, along with other members of his team, urging the referee to send Beckham off.^[26] The match finished in a draw and England were eliminated in a penalty shootout. Many supporters and journalists blamed him for England's elimination and he became the target of criticism and abuse, including the hanging of an effigy outside a London pub, and the Daily Mirror printing a dartboard with a picture of him centred on the bullseye. Beckham also received death threats after the World Cup. ^[27]

^{from (wikipedie)}