David Beckham : A Villain And A Hero, Depending On Which Century You're in (Last Part)

October 6, 2001, Old Trafford, Manchester, England. England face Greece in the final match of the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in the European region. Beckham, the tragic hero of the previous World Cup, is now the captain of the England team. Throughout the qualifying round, the English media was vocal in their criticism of Beckham's captaincy. The match was the last chance for English captain Beckham, who struggled throughout the qualifying round, to respond to his criticism.

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On their own soil, the English first fell behind the goal of the Greek forward Angelo Charistius. Teddy Sheringham equalized in the 68th minute but the Greeks took the lead again in the 69th minute through a goal by Demis Nicolaidis. England needed a minimum draw to ensure direct participation in the World Cup. Beckham has made a name for himself at the Old Trafford on behalf of the Red Devils. Despite being repeatedly criticized by the media and the people of his country, Beckham was determined to be a hero to the people of his country in this field. Beckham was trying to keep England in the match with his skill almost throughout the match. The English captain seemed to be playing alone for the England team throughout the match. Beckham's outstanding single effort kept the English close to returning to the match. But the desired goal just wasn't coming.

England got a free kick from outside the box in the very last minute of the match. Through Manchester, the whole of England stared anxiously at that free kick; Will Beckham, who failed to score in the previous 5 free kicks in this match, succeed in this chance? David Beckham's curved free kick from 25 meters went slowly into the net; Greek goalkeeper Nicopoloidis just stared. Old Trafford's gallery was abuzz with celebrations after the goal. Beckham has done this many times before. The only difference is that before he did this only in the red jersey of Manchester United, this time he did the same in the white jersey embroidered with the three lions of England. Beckham's last minute equalizer gave England a 2-2 draw with Greece to secure a place in the 2002 World Cup over England. Beckham emerged from one of the most hated men in English football becoming England's savior.

Beckham may have stopped the criticism by taking England to the World Cup from the edge of the abyss. But the rest was atonement. Beckham also faced an opportunity when England and Argentina are in the same group as Nigeria and Sweden. Group F of these four teams was called the Group of Death. After the draw, everyone kept reminding Beckham of the previous World Cup. Beckham was silent after all. England and Argentina face each other in their second match. Argentina came to the World Cup with a great performance in the entire World Cup qualifiers. On the other hand, England came to the World Cup at the very last moment, faltering in the whole qualifying round. Argentina won their first match 1-0 against Nigeria but England drew 1-1 against Sweden. All in all, before the match against England, Argentina was the favorite and England was the underdog.

Within 20 minutes of the match, England lost their regular member Owen Hargreaves to injury. Even then, captain Beckham kept the team united by not breaking the morale of the whole team. In the previous World Cup, Beckham and Owen tried to beat Argentina, but it was not possible. On this day, the two of them were repeatedly spreading terror in defense of Argentina. In the 44th minute, Mauricio Pachettino of Argentina fouled Michael Owen in the box and the English got a penalty. David Beckham himself came forward to take the spot kick, who turned into a villain after seeing a red card against Argentina in the previous World Cup. Destiny gave Beckham the opportunity to regain his position. Beckham made no mistake about taking advantage of the opportunity, scoring from the penalty spot to give England the lead, redeemed; He was also released from the unbearable pain he had endured for four years. Beckham's penalty gave England a 1-0 victory over Argentina, avenging their defeats against Argentina in the 1986 and 1998 World Cups. Just as Argentina beat England in the 1986 and 1998 World Cups, so England beat Argentina in the group stage of the 2002 World Cup by the hand of David Beckham.

In this way, this handsome footballer got the honor of being the savior first and later the national hero from a villain to the nation. David Beckham has made a name for himself as a successful captain and legend in English football, even though he may not have won any international titles. England's football will always remember David Beckham as a hero, not as a tragic hero or a villain.