DAVID BECKHAM has defended his position as England captain following England's Euro exit.


The Real Madrid man missed the first spot-kick in the 6-5 penalty shoot-out loss - but feels he had not lost the ability to lead Sven-Goran Eriksson’s team.

Asked if he was still as inspirational as he was, Beckham turned the tables on the reporter and asked: “Do you think I can inspire the team as I did in the past?

“I am England captain. I will not be resigning my position. I am proud to be England captain.

“I won’t be resigning unless someone wants me to, and that will be the manager. I believe this team can go far.

“I am a strong person. Every time anyone criticises me I will come back fighting. That is the sort of person I am.

“The players have no regrets. We can’t look back. We could have kept the ball better and we could have attacked more. But who knows what might have happened then?”

Beckham conceded he felt tired but admitted: “You will feel tired at end of a game like that. It does get to players, with extra time and penalties. You will always be tired at the end of a long season - but you don’t let it get to you.”

The captain also backed manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

He added: “I respect Sven as a person and a manager - and we all want him to stay as manager.”

He also paid tribute to Wayne Rooney, who limped out of last night’s match with what has since been diagnosed as a broken bone in his foot.

“It was disappointing for Wayne because his performances have been amazing.

“It was a sad end to an amazing few games and an amazing few goals. We are very proud of him. We are very lucky to have him as an England player.”

Beckham believes UEFA did not act on his manager’s warning to replace areas of turf around the penalty spot before his shoot-out miss.

“The night before we’d been practising at the other end, and every penalty we took our feet were giving way.

“The manager made an official complaint about both penalty spots to UEFA, and they said they would do something about it. But I’m not sure they did, because the same thing happened.

“Someone explained to me that when I planted my foot down I think the ball just lifted; I’m not sure I could get the ball in that position just from striking the ball.

“I said beforehand that we had a great team and I do believe that - but I also said you need that certain amount of luck.

“Once the disallowed effort by Sol Campbell which would almost certainly have secured a 2-1 win for England went in the linesman was running up the pitch and had given the goal - it was just the referee’s decision.

“But Portugal played well. They played a good game, and good luck to them.”

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LET’S get David Beckham’s personal life out the way first and then we can talk about his football.
 
He is the most famous player in the world at the moment, but not because of his talent.
 
Take a dose of good looks, a pop star wife, the England captaincy and a fantastic PR machine.
 
Mix them all up and David Beckham is what you get.
Hundreds of column inches a day – both front and back pages – millions in the bank and allegations of adultery ensure that the boy Becks is never far from our thoughts.
 
Amazing really for a shy east London lad who has never been more than just a very good footballer.
 
He became a household name when he scored a now legendary goal from inside his own half against Wimbledon at the start of the 96/97 Premiership campaign. The same season, he made his senior England debut against Moldova in Kishinev, and was voted Young Player of the Year, as well as runner-up for Player of the Year.
 
Typical of the way in which he flew through the ranks, in the 94/95 season he scored while on loan to Preston North End in Division Three - then went on to score for Manchester United in the Champions League.
 
After such a meteoric rise, Beckham's world collapsed around him, ironically during the 1998 World Cup in France. A moment of petulance turned him into a national hate-figure overnight when he kicked out at Argentinian Diego Simeone after he had been fouled.
 
He was sent off for the first time of his career and blamed by many for England's exit from the tournament as Argentina went on to win 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out after a 2-2 draw.
 
Could Beckham live down his disgrace? The majority of pundits and fans expected him to leave United and move abroad. Instead, he rose above the abuse and scored a trademark free-kick in the first match of the following season against Leicester.
 
A high-profile wedding to Posh Spice followed later in the season and he was once again the Golden Boy - or Golden Balls as his wife Victoria famously labelled him - of English football.  The 1999/2000 season saw more controversy for Beckham - just because he shaved his hair off.
 
But he was as skilful as ever on the pitch and voted second best player in the world and Europe. Rivaldo beat him for both awards and he had to settle for runner-up spot again when Lennox Lewis was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
 
He was then given the England skipper’s armband by Sven Goran Eriksson, who has brought the best international performances yet out of the player - not least his injury time free-kick against Greece which qualified England for the World Cup finals.
 
A broken bone in the left foot threatened Beckham’s participation in the 2002 World Cup but he recovered in time and, if he wasn't always at his best, his presence propelled England to the quarter-finals.
 
 
The following season was his last at Old Trafford. A well-publicised bust-up with Sir Alex Ferguson over a missed training session was compounded by Bootgate – when Fergie blamed Becks for Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph over United and promptly kicked a football boot straight into the golden boy’s face.
 
The stitches above Beckham’s eye told their own story and it was a rift that could never be healed.
 
United lifted the Championship again, Beckham waved a tearful goodbye to his adoring fans and Real Madrid coughed up £25million to secure his services.
 
Sadly, Becks spent more time answering questions about getting his kit off rather than getting it on as lurid tales threatened his marriage as well as his game.
 
And it has become obvious that Euro 2004 will be a blessed relief for the blonde bombshell if only so that he concentrate on one thing and one thing only – football.
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Kakvo je vase misljenje o njemu, da li je dobar igrac...?

ma sladak je,ali sta ce.... :anger: nije mu lako

Onako smatram da imam mnogo boljih fudbalera od njega koji nisu tako poznati kao on, sli eto nemaju harizmu poput njega... Sem precizne desne noge, mislim da nema nesto mnogo posebno...

Nema taj nista-mister Hodajuci Pano za Reklame kog je stampa suvise uzdigla. Sto ne nauci kako se izvode penali?

on je vise maneken nego fudbaler iako zna da salje dubinske lopte i izvodi slobodnjake...dosta pretrci,sve u svemu on jeste dobar igrac ali izgleda nesto slicno poput Pedje u kosarci, kad je najvaznije zakoci.

Pa svi dobri fudbaleri budu losi kad se od njih ocekuje tako nesto kao sto je penal za Beckhama.

Mislim da je u pitanju "penal" mentalna blokada kakvu je imao i Mijatovic koji je i bolji igrac i psihicki snaznija licnost od Beketama.

Није да нема ништа, има човек центаршут страшан...

Pa rekli smo to, ima strasan centarsut, ali ima i doooosta mana...

Што рече Нађ - девојчица...