Beckham sent off at 98 WC

That Damn Petulant Beckham

Who: David Beckham gets sent off against Argentina in 1998.

He said what? “Ten Heroic Lions, One Stupid Boy.” Daily Mirror.

What happened? Football vocabulary is an odd thing. For instance, in no other field is the word ‘aplomb’ used so much. Also, is there any other walk of life that irony is so misunderstood, so very often?

Every now and again something new crops up that becomes the word of the moment, and at present it’s ‘nous’. Fat Sam Allardyce can’t wait to tell reporters about his ‘tactical nous’, and there are countless other pundits who are using it like it’s going out of fashion.

One word that had no great significance in football circles before June 1998 was ‘petulant’. It was something to describe an errant schoolboy perhaps, but footballers were generally deemed one of the following up to that point: honest, crafty, clever or sly. Then came David Beckham, a stupid mistake and a red card.

By the time the World Cup had come around in 1998, the Beckham brand was taking shape. He was seen out in a sarong, he was the star of an Adidas commercial with a soundtrack by Massive Attack, and he was still considered one of the most naturally gifted footballers in Britain.

Having played in all the World Cup qualifiers he expected to be in the first team come their tournament -opener against Albania. Instead he was accused by then-manager Glenn Hoddle of not concentrating on his football and was dropped in favour of Darren Anderton. It was a move that proved controversial.

TV presenter Danny Baker said it was evidence that Hoddle was trying to make England a ‘middle class’ team, a theory that seemed to be based on the fact that Anderton’s quiff looked slightly more regal than Beckham’s parted, highlighted hair. Anyway, England won their first match 2-0 and everything was hunky dory. That is until Dan Petrescu scored a last minute winner for Romania in their next game to beat merry old England 2-1.

With Blighty’s fate hanging in the balance, Beckham was summoned to the first team, producing an excellent first half free kick to send his nation on the way to a 2-0 win. The second round in Saint-Etienne would bring their old enemies Argentina, in what would become one of the games of the tournament.

Argentina went ahead early on when Diego Simeone cleverly went over David Seaman to win a penalty. Gabriel Batistuta scored; cue howls of derision from the English commentators. A few minutes later, when Michael Own tripped over fresh air to win another spot kick, the Little Englanders were a tad quieter, but overall the feeling was that things had evened out.

When Owen scored one of the goals of the tournament to put them 2-1 up, Hoddle’s men felt they could beat anyone with him in the side. However, just before half time, a neat free kick routine allowed Argentina’s Javier Zanetti to equalise.

The second half started at a similar pace to the hectic first, but then just past the hour mark things changed. After being felled by Simeone for a free kick, Beckham lay flat on the ground before lifting his right leg to clip Simeone on the back of his knee, the minimal contact sending the Argentinean, predictably, down like a sack of spuds.

Few had time to watch a replay of what had happened before Danish referee Kim Milton Nielsen had handed out a red card to the English number seven. He barely protested, knowing he had made a mistake and shuffled down to the dressing room. In extra time England had a Sol Campbell goal disallowed after Alan Shearer had elbowed Argie keeper Carlos Roa out of the way to let the former Spurs and Arsenal man in.

That aside, they never looked like winning though. They held on at 2-2, only to lose on penalties. In essence, it was the kind of exit the English dream of.

Scapegoat? Yup – Beckham.

‘We wuz robbed’ moment? Yup – Campbell goal.

Outlandish reason to be hopeful for the next tournament? Yup – Owen.

Perfect.

Beckham would wake the next day to read headlines of how his stupid act had let his entire nation down. ‘End of the world’ read one red-top headline, while another ran with ‘10 heroic lions, 1 stupid boy’. Beckham, it was predicted, would be greeted with hatred around the nation during the upcoming season. Effigies of him were hung outside London pubs and his every move was covered in the blood-hungry media.

One word stood out amongst most of the press clippings though; petulant. ‘The petulant boy cost us the game’, preached the generally accepted wisdom. The columnists wrote that the ‘petulance of this treasonous act’ was typical of the modern pampered footballer. It would become the byword for any act of dissension from a player on more than 30,000 a week from thereon.

Ronaldo, Rooney, Deco and anyone else who dares to complain or moan is branded with the tag by pundits reverting to the easiest word available that might just make them sound vaguely educated.

Back with Beckham though and at the start of the 1998-99 season he was roundly booed every time he touched the ball at away grounds and, like match referee Nielsen, was the target of death threats. As we all know though, that year he won the treble with United and within 18 months he’d be England captain. His amazing turnaround in the affections of his home country was complete when he scored the winner against Argentina in the opening rounds of the 2002 World Cup.

In a way, England paid for the 1998 sending off not only by going out of that World Cup, but by elevating Beckham to such a status that it became impossible to ignore him, or for managers to drop him, in the following years. He became the most famous footballer in England, and indeed the world, but by no means was he even the best of his compatriots.

A fantastic right foot but never a world class player, though try telling that to the English, or their Swedish manager, in 2002, 2004 or 2006, when their captain’s ego and place in the side’s plans undoubtedly hampered them from having any flexibility to their play.

In June 1998 though, his petulance (yes I’m using that word), gave all of those who don’t sing ‘God Save the Queen’ one of the funniest moments of that World Cup, and whether you like him or not, you certainly won’t forget that pretty weedy kick on Simeone.

Where are they now? Committed husband Beckham is sorting out his future, deciding between Real Madrid or possibly ending his career playing soccerball in the States. Simeone is now manager at Estudiantes de La Plata, and recently led them to their first Argentinean league title in 23 years.

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JJ Worrall