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LAGOS, NIGERIA - Between 9-10 seconds into the match against China ,David Beckham hit his first ball for Real Madrid at the Beijing Workers' stadium. And the crowd roared. The maestro, and dreaded dead ball virtuoso was fully, that of Real Madrid.
Steve Ogah The build up to David Beckham's first match for Real Madrid created a frenzy. It would not be out of place to put it that most, if not all, of China was in a feverish mood to behold the charismatic winger-cum-midfielder in the dazzling white of Real Madrid.
The press had a lot to feast on, considering the clout of the enigma that was being brought to their domain. Not only did the Chinese press find Beckham a delight to write about, it also wanted a feel of the palpable presence of the flank maestro.
Beckham's move form the legendary old Trafford, or what many pundits have termed "the theatre of dreams", was as controversial as it was exciting. The transfer saga was like nothing recorded in the recent history of football moves.
His following has not diminished. If anything, his rank of followers is swelling to classical dimensions. The huge market for football (soccer for you Americans) in Asia is doing great things for those in one way or the other interested in promoting the totality of personality, character, and profile of a captivating player call David Beckham. And, to some, he is arguably the best crosser of the ball to have emerged in the red colours of Manchester United of England.
But the colour has changed from red to white. The home ground had changed also from the "theatre of dreams" - Old Trafford - toİChina. The following? It is still growing.
The venue was China, the far east. The turf was that of Beijing Workers stadium at a capacity of sixty thousand. And millions of devout followers of football around the world watched in the comfort of pubs, homes and so forth. Many watching because of one player - David Beckham. The referee blasted his elegant whistle. The crowd was in a tumultuous uproar. Two teams, China and Real Madrid, locked horns. The latter, a globetrotter of sort for football. But one man directed camera movements - David Beckham.
Real Madrid began the match with its trademark tailored taps that have now become synonymous with their present class of dazzling players. And, as expected. the cameras were focused on field and off-field actions but still kept close eyes on the position of Beckham in the scheme of things. For viewers and fans who expected to see their idol in his traditional position for Manchester and England they were in for an initial expectation shock.
David found himself in an initial positional shift. He deserted the wings to dally in the midfield. This might not be entirely new for a player who sometimes plays in the middle. But most pundits expected to see him straight form the beginning and displace the equally subtle Luis Figo on the right flank.
To further illustrate the initial positional displacement of Beckham, from the instance he hit his first ball for Real Madrid he was in the midfield thick of things.
Luis Figo, during the first few minutes, roved the left and right wings of the fieldd all in a calculated move to size up China's defence, in order to figure out where to concentrate his attacking and often mesmerizing movements.
For a short period Beckham was quiet as he tried to find a place in his very first match in the white of Real. Just when Zidane established his midfield presence, Beckham moved to the right flank, a place where he is traditionally known and confident.
By the nineteen minute, Roberto Carlos swapped position to the right wing, and in his characteristic powerful push up front he was fouled by a Chinese defender. This zone being Beckham's familiar domain, he posed from his first dead ball strike for Real madrid.
Of course, for Madrid, there was an option in Figo. For a ferocious volley, a Roberto Carlos came in handy.
When it came to the crunch of putting a smooth bend to the most demanding of Free kicks, David had often proved his mettle as a renowned dead ball taker. By the time the Chinese had erected their defensive wall, Madrid placed a couple of players around the wall for the sole purpose of latching onto rebounds.
By the time Beckham curled the ball over the wall in a difficult yet simple task, because he had perfected the art, the defensive rampart proved worthless. And it only took the power punch of the Chinese goal keeper, standing at 1.98 m to avert a disastrous situation.
Though the commendable effort of Beckham was aborted, he had nevertheless sounded his trumpet of warning. That he was present on the pitch as a formidable threat to the Chinese and subsequent Real Madrid opponents was no more news.
China was no more to be scared easily. By the twenty-second minute, they had penetrated and scared Madrid, but it took the effort of Beckham to save his team. And he did it in style with an almost three hundred and sixty degrees turn. Four minutes to the half hour mark, David went in with a high risk tackle, but was fortunate not to be booked as the Chinese player evaded the threat.
During the half hour play, Raul connected Beckham. Expectedly, he authored a cross but it was unconnected. This left him moving to the middle as Raul crossed to the left wing. The Fortieth minute saw Beckham's pull out dropping in the eighteen yards box, but Michele Salgado was in the wrong position for a potentially productive ball.
And Beckham became physically involved in the friendly game as he committed a couple of infringements before the first goal by Luis Figo. The first half ended on this status.
By the time the second half resumed, the Chinese had understood the threat of Beckham, and he was marked closely. On an occasion when he managed to effect a cross, it was cleared out of danger. He was not done, as in the lat two minutes before the one hour mark, he connected a pull out from the right flank into the eighteen yard box. Luis Figo's ambitious attempt for a bicycle kick, did not fall into place. Whoops!
The hour mark found Beckham with a pull out for Raul, who connected a weak shot for the Chinese keeper to pick. Beckham was caught offside in the seventy-second minute, and it never took long before Celedes substituted him. And the first football turgy of Beckham in white came to a close!
By the time the referee sounded his final whistle, the score was four goals in favour of Madrid, three by Morientes. But the much talked about football turgy of David beckham in the white colours of Real Madrid had been tried. An assessment was in the court of versed football pundits ! But Beckham seems not done yet.
© 2003, GENERATOR 21.
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