With so many of the English teams dominating Europe in the last few years, who would have thought that there would be no English team in the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League? And you would be more surprised to know that the only Englishman left in Europe's elite cup tournament, is the 37 year old David Beckham.
It was in 2010, when Beckham had last played in the Champions League, when he faced Manchester United at Old Trafford while played for AC Milan, losing 4-0. Since 2010, Beckham moved back to LA Galaxy after his loan spell with AC Milan.
After completing his 5 year long contract with LA Galaxy, he made the long awaited switch back to Europe with the cash-rich Paris Saint Germain in January. Although the didn't play in the Champions League round of 16, after gaining the required fitness his time had come. PSG were scheduled to face Barcelona on the 2nd of April, 2013, and with everybody's eyes on the team sheet, the good news came with Beckham in the starting line up to face Barcelona
It was the time, the whole of the footballing world turned into a PSG fan base. Yeah! Just to support Beckham. Well, at least that's what it seemed on most of the social networking sites. After more than 2 years out of the Champions League, he did quite a good job in midfield for PSG, although he played in a slightly different role in defensive midfield and with some pin point passing, he did show he is still Champions League quality. Had a decent first half but as the game went into the second half, his legs gave away and was substituted in the 70th min.
It was in 2010, when Beckham had last played in the Champions League, when he faced Manchester United at Old Trafford while played for AC Milan, losing 4-0. Since 2010, Beckham moved back to LA Galaxy after his loan spell with AC Milan.
After completing his 5 year long contract with LA Galaxy, he made the long awaited switch back to Europe with the cash-rich Paris Saint Germain in January. Although the didn't play in the Champions League round of 16, after gaining the required fitness his time had come. PSG were scheduled to face Barcelona on the 2nd of April, 2013, and with everybody's eyes on the team sheet, the good news came with Beckham in the starting line up to face Barcelona
It was the time, the whole of the footballing world turned into a PSG fan base. Yeah! Just to support Beckham. Well, at least that's what it seemed on most of the social networking sites. After more than 2 years out of the Champions League, he did quite a good job in midfield for PSG, although he played in a slightly different role in defensive midfield and with some pin point passing, he did show he is still Champions League quality. Had a decent first half but as the game went into the second half, his legs gave away and was substituted in the 70th min.
Although most of the footballing world thought it was a decent performance, one of France's leading sports newspaper didn't think so. L'Equipe gave Beckham a rating of 3/10. Saying his selection was a gamble and surprise. No one really cared as every footballing fan was happy to see Beckham back in the Champions League.
With Beckham back in Europe's elite competition, there are talks going on of Beckham being included back in the England squad, and considering the current quality of the England squad, Beckham could be give a try, and why not?
Former manager Alex Ferguson said that he "practised with a discipline to achieve an accuracy that other players wouldn't care about." Well, that's the reason he's back at the center stage.
Beckham's Champions League stats
Manchester United
Played - 85
Goals - 15
Real Madrid
Played - 28
Goals - 2
AC Milan
Played - 2
Goals - 0
PSG
Played - 1
Goals - 0
Total played - 116
Total goals - 18