BECKHAM SKIPS FROM ZERO TO HERO
Beckham's attitude has been magnificent since he was widely and savagely denounced by football fans following the petulant kick on Diego Simeone against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, that ended his involvement in the match and effectively England's in the tournament.
One set of supporters infamously drooped an effigy of the Leytonstone-born midfielder from a pub sign after the incident. But it looks more likely now that statues will be built in Beckham's honour following a dazzling, industrious display that sums up his contribution to England's successful qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup.
Despite the obvious distractions of a pop icon lifestyle, the England skipper has gone about his business on the field in the best possible manner and has refused to give in when the odds have been stacked against him and his men.
And a fitting allegory of Beckham's rise from public enemy number one to one of the most respected players in the game came in Saturday's match.
Whenever presented with a shooting opportunity from a dead-ball situation, Beckham did not shirk the responsibility - even when, at the death, Teddy Sheringham offered to step in and take over.
The United maestro had fired seven free kicks at goal with just one of these on target up to that point, but despite his failures he kept plugging away and finally got his just rewards with his eighth and final attempt - a belter that burst the back of the net and sealed his place in the hearts of the watching thousands at Old Trafford and countless millions around the country.
Before that magical strike, though, Beckham had covered every inch of the turf he knows so well, in an attempt to drag England back into a game that they looked in constant danger of letting slip away.
England's skipper made more crosses and passes combined than any other player on the pitch, firing over a staggering 19 balls from the flanks in the 90 minutes.
In fact such has been England's reliance on Beckham's crossing ability that he produced 99 deliveries from wide areas in the successful qualification campaign, equating to 47% of all England crosses.
Which makes it even more surprising that the pinpoint delivery on to the head of Sheringham for the Tottenham man's quick-fire equaliser was the first assist of the qualifiers for Beckham.
But as he showed on Saturday, Beckham is far more adventurous and keen to get on the scoresheet himself these days, a fact that Opta's stats bear out.
In total he hammered nine of England's 24 strikes at goal against Greece, while on the road to Japan and South Korea no England player managed more shots on target than Beckham, with the midfield linchpin firing 14 efforts to test the opposition 'keeper - an excellent 61% of all attempts. Moreover, four of Beckham's five international goals have come under the year-long reign of Eriksson, whereas previously the United star had had to wait until his 17th cap to open his account.
Of course the beauty of Beckham is that, in spite of his obvious talents he is more than willing to harass opponents for the ball and, having wrested possession from them, launch counter-attacks. Against the Greeks he added another six successful dribbles and runs to his tally for the Group Nine assault, which means that no England player barring Emile Heskey made more successful forays into opposition territory than the skipper over the course of qualification.
Add to that the fact that only Paul Scholes - who played significantly more time than Beckham in the qualifiers - made more passes than the captain, while only three players contested a greater number of tackles than Beckham, and it is crystal clear that no individual has given as much for the England cause over the past 12 months or so as their skipper.
Beckham's strike against Finland that gave England the victory at Anfield and the late free kick away to the Greeks to seal all three points were undoubtedly crucial moments in the tightrope walk that was Group Nine qualification.
But never was there a more vital intervention from Beckham than in injury time on Saturday when, as colleague Teddy Sheringham so aptly put it, he "struck gold". And never was there a man more deserving of the glory than Beckham.
