In the midsummer of France 22 years ago, the curtain of the football World Cup slowly opened. Today, the original beauty may still remain in the minds of many fans. In the last issue of the [Sports Gramophone], we told many stories, and today the protagonist in the story has only one game and one person.
Data Map: Beckham at the time was just a teenager. Image source: Osports All Sports Pictures
Different people have independent definitions for each World Cup general meeting, and in the still shining light of the French World Cup, 23-year-old Beckham is undoubtedly the most dazzling among them.
It was Beckham's first World Cup. With the Premier League champion and the best rookie of the season, he and the 18-year-old Irving formed a famous Gemini. With the addition of Adams, Neville, Alan Shearer, Scholes and other stars, the England team was expected to have high hopes.
It's just that the many "fortunes" during the preparation period seem to have vaguely predicted that this World Cup does not belong to England, nor to Beckham.
The great discussion about skirts in England caused by Beckham's wearing of skirts remained unresolved before the start of the World Cup. In addition, Gasco was excluded from the World Cup list, and Sheringham alcoholism...When crossing the English Channel, the England team is not very flat, and every incident that occurs has more or less the shadow of Beckham. The relationship between coach Hoddle and him at that time was subtly changing.
Beckham shines in the league
In the first match of the group stage against Tunisia, Hoddle did not arrange for Beckham to play, which triggered a multi-faceted war of words, and also made the contradiction completely open. Ferguson, who was unfair to the lovers, scolded Hoddle in the column.
It is obviously not a good thing for the England team to have such a "grand scene" in the competition. But for the "eating crowd", the story under the scene may not be as exciting as the teams on the field.
At the end of the group game against Colombia, Beckham finally ushered in the opportunity to score a direct free kick to help the team qualify for the group. It wasn't until this time that the war of words about whether he should play was finally quelled. However, the anger of the first two games "snow hidden" by the coach, it seems that has not been calmed in Beckham's heart.
In the World Cup debut, Beckham scored the iconic full moon scimitar.
As they lost to Romania in the second round of the group stage, England ended up qualifying as the second team. In the 1/8 finals, their opponent was a strong opponent against Argentina.
The Great Britain-Arab War has always had a lot to watch. In the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, it was Maradona who broke through England's gates with handball to achieve the "Hand of God". They advanced to the semifinals and won the championship.
Twelve years later, that was the first World Cup for the Argentina team after the Maradona era. At that time, many people believed that this was a great opportunity for England to "revenge".
However, although Maradona has retreated from the rivers and lakes, the Argentine team is also no lack of "God of War" Batistuta, Sanetti, Belon, Crespo, Simoni and other stars. In the game, the two sides fell into the match between you and me without any temptations. After the halftime battle to 2:2, Beckham's accurate assists to Irving's goals have become an eternal classic.
Irving received Beckham's accurate pass and straightened Huang Long.
People are expecting Gemini to exert more power in the second half, but an accident happened. The anger in Beckham's heart burned into the arena.
Shortly after Yibian's rematch, Beckham was irritated by Simone's foul. After falling to the ground, he fell to Simone with his foot and the referee did not hesitate to show a red card. The sensible Simone pinched Beckham's young and brisk weakness.
However, Simone's foul play is indeed a bit fierce. In the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Brazilian star Neymar was diagnosed with a vertebral fracture due to a similar foul. The severe injury almost ended his career and also lost the good game of the host Brazil.
Beckham kicked Simone out of his feet.
England, which had one less player, was disrupted. Although they managed to hold on to the penalty shootout, they eventually lost to their opponents 5:6 and were eliminated.
Suddenly, Beckham changed from the star-studded star in England to a public enemy. The anger of England fans was vented to Beckham, and even the "passers-by" who did not pay attention to football also joined the critical camp.
British newspapers even published Beckham posters that were made into targets. His posters were hung and ignited by people. Envelopes with bullets were thrown one by one into the door...
A red card made Beckham a public enemy in England.
"There is no doubt that this is the worst moment of my career, and I have always regretted doing such a thing." 23-year-old Beckham would never have thought that the 1998 World Cup in France and Argentina became a battle. "Waterloo" on his own growth. The sight in front of him made him panic.
Beckham, who has always been recalcitrant, bowed his head, but no amount of apology seemed to be able to resist the anger of the fans. He became the "scapegoat" of England's elimination. The expectations and high-profile previously carried, under the huge gap, exacerbated people's anger and blame for him.
Time can gradually wash away people's anger, but that prejudice and the shadow of Beckham's heart can hardly be eradicated. After that game, Beckham embarked on a long road to self-salvation.
How smooth Beckham is at the club, it's bumpy in the national team.
On the club's court, Beckham had a smooth sailing season. He won the unprecedented "Triple Crown" in England with Manchester United, and ranked second in the world football competition.
However, the national team always seems to be difficult for Beckham to pass. After the European Cup group was eliminated in 2000, the England team came to the qualifiers of the Korea-Japan World Cup, and the unsuccessful situation continued. Until Taylor served as interim coach, appointed Beckham as captain.
Then Swedish coach Eriksson took over the position and continued Taylor's appointment as captain. England, which has changed coaches like a knife change, has spurred all the way, winning Spain, Finland, Albania, Mexico and Greece on all fronts in a row. Among them, many tough battles in the World Preliminaries, England all gnawed down, and in the game with the German team, 5:1 away victory over the opponent. Questions about Beckham's role as captain gradually dissipated.
The battle with Greece is related to whether England can directly qualify for the World Cup. Beckham scored a free kick on the left and personally took the penalty, assisting Sheringham who had just played to equalize the score. But a minute later, England fell behind again, and the siege of Greece continued until injury time.
Beckham set the ball at the last minute and directly broke the goal to tie the score.
Sheringham won a free kick for England, and Beckham standing in front of the ball almost determined the fate of that England team. Starting the ball and shooting, the ball draws an arc into the upper corner of the goal. The Old Trafford stadium suddenly boiled, Beckham stretched out his arms and ran to celebrate. Just as he cut off Zhang Yang's cool hair, the humiliation once disappeared.
Life always seems to have some fate in it. In the Korea-Japan World Cup, England and Argentina met again in the group stage. Beckham personally took a penalty kick to help the team defeat the opponent 1:0 while also laying out the advantage.
At the World Cup in Korea and Japan, Beckham revenge on Argentina.
After the goal, Beckham was still the same as he was running with open arms to celebrate. If the World Preliminaries washed away the prejudice surrounding his head, the revenge this time helped him dispel the inner shadows and the unwillingness buried 4 years ago. Before returning to the fans, Bei Xiaobei is no longer abusive, but applause and praise to the national hero.
Football is life, and the joys and sorrows on the field are just like the various forms in life. After four years of salvation, the fledgling Beckham has grown into a man wearing a captain's armband. The 4-year scale of the World Cup is the best testimony of his growth. For fans, the charm of the World Cup is here, so that 22 years later, in retrospect, it is still a familiar taste. (Author Bian Liqun)