Should Beckham be included in the Olympic squad? In my opinion definitely yes. There is a distinct possibility that we may not even have won the Olympic bid without the efforts of Mr Beckham. I for one was not expecting a positive outcome on the July morning we won the bid, and I don't mind saying it brought a tear to my eye.
Aside of all the efforts of David Beckham to win us the Olympics, the man has been a global icon and ambassador for not only football in Great Britain, but Great Britain as a whole. He does one thing in life that many people don't do, and this is lead by example. On the pitch he has taken games by the scruff of the neck and dragged England to the required result. The primary example of this was in 2001 when England played Greece at Old Trafford. We required a draw to progress to the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea and we were trailing 1-2. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Beckham started to play like a man possessed amongst players who seemed lacklustre in comparison. If one man could get us to the finals, Beckham could. He'd had a few sighters from dead ball situations during the second half, when in the dying minutes of the game, England won a free kick, and this happened.

The red card against Argentina was now forgotten. The coming months after this red card showed the character of the man. David Beckham suffered dreadful (and unnecessary) abuse by away fans when he came back to play for Manchester United, and still more often than not he managed to turn out above average performances, and as we all know was quite often sublime. If only more of England's 'Golden Generation' had shown as much bottle during the campaigns of the noughties we would surely have frequented the latter stages of tournaments one or twice. The fact that during the reign of Steve McLaren as England manager, when he dropped Beckham in a rather undignified fashion, David never ruled himself out of selection. He announced publicly that he would never rule himself out of availability for his country. Towards the end of his international career he was flying from Los Angeles to London (and then around Europe for games) when I am sure his employers would rather he didn't, but in his mind playing for England was the greatest honour, and a challenge that should be accepted with grace and undertaken with heart and vigour. I think Beckham should be given the opportunity to pass this example on to the younger generation of players, as well as younger fans, and what better way do do this than by signing off from a distinguished career than bringing back a gold medal from the games in London. Not only in London, but in East London where David Beckham began his life and found a love for football. He may not be England's most capped player, or even England's greatest player. But surely David Beckham is England's most loved player.
David Beckham's career statistics
Clubs played for: Manchester Utd, Preston North End, Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy, AC Milan
Total Appearances 674
Total Goals 121
Total Assists 90
Honours
6 Premier League titles
2 FA Cup Winners medals
1 Champions League
4 Charity (Community) Shields
1 FA Youth Cup
1 La Liga
1 MLS Cup
As well as many personal awards including Premier League Player of the Month (1): August 1996, PFA Young Player of the Year (1): 1996–97,FWA Tribute Award: 2008,Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year (1): 1996–97,UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (1): 1998–99,UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year (1): 1998–99,Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2001–02),Domestic & Overall Team of the Decade, Goal of the Decade (vs. Wimbledon, 17 August 1996),BBC Sports Personality of the Year (1): 2001,English Football Hall of Fame: 2008,BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award (1): 2010
Officer in the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II: 2003,England Player of the Year: 2003,United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador (2005–present),"Britain's Greatest Ambassador" – 100 Greatest Britons awards,The Celebrity 100, number 15 – Forbes, 2007, Number 1 on the list of the 40 most influential men under the age of 40 in the UK, Time 100: 2008, Gold Blue Peter Badge winner, 2001
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