The Early Years

David was born on 2 May, 1975, in Leytonstone, London to parents Ted and Sandra, and soon the family moved to Chingford, Essex. Encouraged by his parents (his father Ted was also a United supporter), David set about earning his place in footballing history. In 1986, when he was just 11, David became skills champion for his age group at the Bobby Charlton Soccer Schools. This gave him the chance to attend a two-week trip during which he would train with FC Barcelona at the Nou Camp stadium, with the words of Bobby Charlton ringing in his ears stating that David was the best 11-year-old he had seen in his six years of running the school.

Soon after this David was spotted by a scout while playing for Waltham Forest under-12s and was given a trial at Manchester United. He would travel up to Old Trafford for week long trials, and David was, on more than one occasion, invited to meet the manager and the players. He would spend all of his spare time in Manchester watching training sessions, eager to get involved. In the end David had to make a choice between his local team, Tottenham Hotspur, or Manchester United. With his parents backing whatever decision he made, there was no contest. At the age of 16, David Beckham left home and signed for Manchester United as a trainee on 8 July, 1991.

Manchester United

Success at United came quickly, as he won the FA Youth Cup in 1992 with a team including Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes. Making such an impact led to his senior team debut on 23 September, 1992. This was as a sub for Andrei Kanchelskis in a League Cup match against Brighton and Hove Albion. David then signed as a professional on 23 January 1993, followed by his first full appearance in September 1994 against Port Vale, again in the League Cup. This was followed two months later with his first goal for United, against Turkish side Galatasaray in the Champions League.

When he was 19, manager Alex Ferguson, reasoning that David was a late developer, sent him on loan to Preston North End to gain more first team experience. He made a great impression there after scoring on his debut against Doncaster. However, he was called back to Manchester after just five games as United were short of players for their next match against Leeds. He scored his first Premiership goal against Aston Villa in the first game of the 1995/1996 season, a match in which the United team were out to prove themselves after a lot of changes to the team. They were beaten that day and TV pundit Alan Hansen stated: ‘You can’t win anything with kids’. But United had faith in their abilities, so Beckham and the United team went on to prove Hansen very wrong. During that season, Beckham scored eight goals and United won the Premiership and FA Cup double, firmly establishing David in the first team.

Beckham became a household name during the following season after scoring a famous goal against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park from the half-way line. From then on, David was one of Manchester United’s most loved players with fans all over the world, playing 311 games, scoring 74 goals and winning 11 medals.

Wearing an England Shirt

After winning England caps at under-21 and youth level, Beckham earned his first senior cap for England against Moldova on 1 September, 1996. Manager Glenn Hoddle made the brave move of putting such a young player in the starting line up, which paid off as England won 3-0.

David then went on to become the only player to make the starting line up in every qualifying game for the 1998 World Cup in France, however, this competition finished in disaster for David. Having been left out of the first two games of the tournament, he set out to prove himself in the third match, against Columbia, scoring one of his now famous free-kicks. In the next game, against Argentina, David suffered the first sending-off of his professional career. Having been tackled from behind by the Argentinean midfielder Diego Simeone, Beckham impulsively kicked out at Simeone in retaliation. His dismissal from the match left England to play with ten men for the rest of a game in which they were only beaten in a penalty shoot-out. Almost the entire country blamed David for England being knocked out of the World Cup that year and so he faced abuse and criticism wherever he went, but over time, through his footballing abilities, he won back the crowd and regained his place in the nation’s heart.

Support for David did again rise, and his confidence and ability on the pitch grew, leading to the new England manager at the time, Sven Goran Eriksson to hand David the captain’s armband in 2001. In this role he succeeded in taking the England team into the finals of World Cup 2002 in Japan and Korea. One of David’s best performances as England Captain was ensuring qualification for World Cup ’02. England only managed to draw in this match, but as other players looked woeful on the pitch, Beckham played amazingly. Chasing every ball, and leading by example, he saved the team by curling the ball into the net from a late free-kick to secure a point, and a place in the finals.

Tragedy looked inevitable when he broke his foot in a Champions League match prior to the finals. The whole country willed the injury to heal, and heal it did, leaving Beckham to lead England all the way to the quarter-finals where they were beaten by eventual champions, Brazil.

Family Life

On 4 July, 1999, David married former Spice Girl Victoria ‘Posh’ Adams and enjoyed a honeymoon in the South of France. The couple claim that it was love at first sight, and David knew that she would be the woman he would marry. He proposed on 24 January, 1998, after six months of going out. The couple have been through a lot together, mainly the public hatred towards David after the World Cup in 1998.

Their first son Brooklyn Joseph Beckham was born on 4 March, 1998, and has already shown that he may have inherited his dad’s footballing skills after he passed a three-day course at the Bobby Charlton Soccer School at the young age of four. Brooklyn’s brother Romeo James Beckham was born on 1 September, 2002, with a third son arriving for the family – Cruz – on 20 February, 2005.

David Beckham is a dedicated family man, which, unfortunately may have contributed to his departure from Old Trafford. Despite publicly denying the rumours, Alex Ferguson was said to have disapproved of his missing out on training sessions to be with his family. This reported rift between Beckham and his manager was supposedly started in February 2000 when David missed out on a training session because he was looking after Brooklyn, who had a cold. The row was denied, but David was left out of a crucial match against Leeds a few days later.

Showbiz

Like most football stars, David was never far from the back pages of our newspapers… but he was never away from the front of them for long either. David and Victoria, or ‘Posh and Becks’, were the celebrity couple for the beginning of the new millennium, and there was always some news story being written about them. Their wedding was very high profile, being held in a castle near Dublin, Ireland. About 500 people were flown in for the special occasion, and their guestlist included Sir Elton John, and of course David’s Manchester United team mates, and Victoria’s fellow Spice Girls.

People were interested in the Beckhams, and so it was difficult for them to stay out of the limelight. David’s flair for fashion and individualism fuelled some of this interest. A new hair style, a new outfit, and it’s front page news, and there have been many of both. The hair has been shaved off, cut into a Mohawk, been left long and wild and carefully made into plaits, and each one made the headlines. The clothes have a similar effect, for example, David’s infamous sarong. This influence has led to many sponsorship deals, and also his own line of Marks and Spencer2 clothes for boys. Indeed, such was the level of his popularity that he even inspired a movie title Bend it like Beckham.

At Manchester United, David earned an estimated £10 million a year, and anyone with this kind of money is going to splash out – David is no exception. Adorned with tattoos depicting a guardian angel overlooking his sons’ names, and Victoria’s name in Hindi on his arm (even if reports are true, and it is spelled wrongly), a collection of cars, including a £166,000 Bentley Arnage with a 6.75-litre V8 engine and leather baby-seats, and a £2.5m home dubbed ‘Beckingham Palace’ in Hertfordshire, it’s easy to see what he enjoyed spending his money on.

The Next Chapter

In July 2003, David Beckham signed a £25m deal with Real Madrid ending his time playing at the team of his childhood heroes, Manchester United. So a new chapter starts, and everyone waits for the next haircut, fashion statement and footballing milesto

Argentine Lionel Messi, and Spanish Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez are the finalists to win the Golden Ball award on monday

This will be the first time that the Golden Ball unifies with the award to the best soccer player of the International Football Federation (FIFA).
It is the third time in the Golden Ball and the FIFA World Player history, that players of the same club (Barcelona) occupy the first positions.
It was also announced that Spanish Vicente del Bosque and Pepe Guardiola along with Portuguese Jose Mourinho are the three finalists for the best coach award.
In the female category, Brazilian Marta and German Birgit Prinz and Fatmire Bajramaj are the main candidates for the award.

Lionel Messi – Argentina & Barcelona

Lionel Messi is currently the best player in the world after leading Barcelona to more domestic success in Spain. Now he needs to step onto the highest stage in world football and do the same for Argentina. He plays in a slightly different role for his national side and Diego Maradonna has worked hard to get the best out of Messi, even pairing him with the highly experienced Veron in order to keep Messi focused.

If Maradonna manages to get the best out of Messi and with the likes of Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, and Javier Mascherno also in the team Argentina may just claim the World Cup for the first time since Mexico in 1986 where Maradonna himself led the country to glory.

Read more at Suite101: FIFA Football World Cup 2010: Key Players of World Cup Top Teams http://www.suite101.com/content/fifa-football-world-cup-2010-key-players-of-world-cup-top-teams-a246897#ixzz17Qi7JKYc
Luis Fabiano – Brazil & Sevilla

After a poor season by Luis Fabiano’s standards the Brazilian hit man will be hoping to claim the World Cup Golden Boot as the competition’s top marksman. He spearheads the Brazilian team and is the only natural striker in the team but has a good goal scoring record. He is also adept at holding the ball up and bringing the flair players of the Brazil team into the game. With the likes of Kaka and Robinho in support Fabiano is likely to be a key figure as to the destination of the World Cup this summer.
David Villa – Spain & Barcelona

The prolific David Villa signed for Barcelona before the World Cup after yet another successful season at Valencia. He is one of the world’s top strikers with a formidable goal scoring record at international level and is the favourite to claim the Golden Boot award. His partnership with Liverpool’s Fernando Torres is vital to Spain’s chances of success and with his future settled with the move to Barcelona he is definitely one to watch.
Wesley Sneijder – Netherlands & Inter Milan

The Dutch midfield maestro has had his best ever season with Inter Milan and played a huge part in Inter Milan’s treble success. He was instrumental in his club’s successful UEFA Champions League campaign and is expected to play a similar role for his count

Read more at Suite101: FIFA Football World Cup 2010: Key Players of World Cup Top Teams http://www.suite101.com/content/fifa-football-world-cup-2010-key-players-of-world-cup-top-teams-a246897#ixzz17Qibmc2b
Sneijder can score and make goals for others at will and should provide many opportunities for compatriots Robin Van Persie and Klass Van Huntelaar in the Dutch attack. The Netherlands are without doubt a team to keep a close eye on.

Read more at Suite101: FIFA Football World Cup 2010: Key Players of World Cup Top Teams http://www.suite101.com/content/fifa-football-world-cup-2010-key-players-of-world-cup-top-teams-a246897#ixzz17QimrHOa
Wayne Rooney – England & Manchester United

If England have any chance of winning their first World Cup since 1966 then Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney will need to play an instrumental role this summer. Rooney is England’s main attacking weapon and after his most prolific domestic season England fans are full of hopes. He is perhaps the only member of the England squad capable of unlocking the world’s best defences and has a unique ability of bringing other players into the game with little effort.
Gianluca Buffon – Italy & Juventus

Gianluca Buffon is one of the world’s best goalkeepers and has been for a number of years. He was key to Italy’s successful World Cup campaign in 2006 and he will need to be on top of his game this time around too. The Italians have a limited goal threat making Buffon vital to his country’s attempts to retain the trophy with the team hoping for a number of clean sheets offsetting their lack of firepower.
Miroslav Klose – Germany & Bayern Munich

The German striker has been in poor form for his club, Bayern Munich, this season only managing three league goals. However he is often a different proposition at the World Cup. Klose was the Golden Boot winner in 2002, and runner-up in 2006 making him a constant goal threat. He spearheads an exciting looking German frontline and is usually accompanied by his Polish-born countryman Lucas Poldolski.
Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal & Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo became the world’s most expensive player when he joined Real Madrid for around £80m in 2009. He has enjoyed a successful debut season in Spain continuing his rich goalscoring form. As the Portugese captain, Ronaldo will be expected to pull the strings for Portugal who are in the same group as Brazil and Ivory Coast. If Ronaldo can reproduce his club form on the world stage then a weak looking Portugese side may well spring a few surprises.

Read more at Suite101: FIFA Football World Cup 2010: Key Players of World Cup Top Teams http://www.suite101.com/content/fifa-football-world-cup-2010-key-players-of-world-cup-top-teams-a246897#ixzz17Qj2dQ00

The Bigg Boss house took by a storm to believe that it would have such a huge (literally & metaphorically) celebrity as its occupant.

Khali has joined the the Bigg Boss house as a wild card entrant and the first person to rejoice the entry was another participant Rahul Bhatt. All the women were dumbstruck-en and the men welcomed Khalid with opened arms.

The excitment was restored when the junior Bhatt proved to be a in- house Encyclopedia of Khali, from being a sub-inspector in Punjab to becoming the WWE Superstar, “Mahabali Khali” too seems to be impressed with Rahul’s ‘phalwani’ physique..

Seems like Khali is a God to Rahul! Now is he going to mess with his God to secure his seat?

For if he does the show will get some food to feed its audience…lets wait & watch for all the tamasha.

Sources revealed that while KBC opener had an aMap rating of 5, Bigg Boss only managed to score 3.6 on its first day of telecast.

Basab Dutta Choudhury of Madison Media said the aMap ratings were acredible. One expected that the opening episode of KBC would have a 30% impact on the rating of Bigg Boss.

However, the truth also lies in the fact that KBC 4 episode 1 was un-successful in touching the popularity mark of its last seasons.

Well now when both the shows are on air, the only thing that could catapult TRPs are the performance of the host & the contestants.

The content also matters in long run, as a quiz based show obviously has a better footage over real drama and ‘nauk jhauk’ of celebrities.

With performance credentials that have established it as the hottest sportbike on the planet, the Suzuki Hayabusa is designed for the serious sport rider who will settle for nothing less than the best. Its combination of unsurpassed power, crisp handling and superb aerodynamics creates the ultimate sportbike. You could say that the 2011 Hayabusa is so intense, that it’s in a class of its own. For 2011 Hayabusa will get new colors and graphics (Pearl Mirage White with gold trim and Pearl Nebular Black with red trim).

The 2011 Suzuki Hayabusa is powered by a 1340cc, in-line, DOHC liquid-cooled engine with 16-valves engine and gets a a large volume 4-2-1-2 exhaust system with a large capacity catalyzer, dual triangular canisters and closed loop system. The Hayabusa comes with an optimized 6-speed transmission. Oil spray to the 4th, 5th and 6th gears reduce wear and mechanical noise during highway cruising.

2011 Suzuki Hayabusa features after the jump.

Tiger Woods wife Elin wanted to divorce him last year, when his numerous mistresses started popping up, but last week she retracted back her statement, and said that she doesn’t want to divorce him now. It was a sweet gesture on her part to fly all the way to Mississippi to pick up Tiger Woods as he finishes his sex-rehab. Apparently now the divorce lawyers can pack up and leave, as the First Family of Golf seems to be back together.

However there are still some more hurdles to be crossed, as Tiger Woods mistress – porn star Joslyn James claims that he had a long-term relationship with her. Joslyn James has hired a lawyer –Gloria Allred, and she said that Joslyn James had admitted to a long-term intimate relationship with the ace golfer Tiger Woods. The 39-year-old Joslyn James’s real name is Veronica Siwik-Daniels. She believed that she was in love with Tiger Woods, and she had ample reason to believe that Tiger Woods loved her too. Gloria Allred’s law firm gave all these details, in a statement in early February.

The photo was taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz before Tiger had his car crash that started the media onslaught.  Vanity Fair released the cover photo this week, along with promises of a full photo spread inside the magazine when it hits newsstands in the coming days.

I don’t think this photo spread is going to win Tiger any support.  New Yorkers were given a sneak peek of the cover photo featuring a muscular Woods without his shirt, holding barbells in his hands. One of the sound bites we ran on Monday’s Action News at Eleven featured a man saying “it shows Tiger has a huge ego.  He pumps a lot of iron.  I’m surprised. I didn’t think golfers looked like that.”

Just when I thought the Tiger story was going away, it’s back.  What do you think of the photo and Tiger in 2010?

Thanks for watching, and reading.

Wasim Akram invented the art of reverse swing and he was immediately labeled a ball tamperer by English cricketers. Of course, no evidence was found against him. In fact, it was the leader of the English side, Mike Artherton, who was caught ball tampering and got away with it (surprise, surprise). He was caught reaching into his pocket for a substance and then rubbing it on the ball during a Lord’s Test against South Africa in 1994. He denied it was tampering, claiming that he had dirt in his pockets.

Rules seem to be different for Pakistani and foreign cricketers. They can indulge in ball tampering, sledging and benefit from biased umpiring. However, the moment a Pakistani cricketer does the same, he is faced with penalties, something unheard of with foreign cricketers.

What on earth will be more embarrassing for the cricket loving nation than this? Shahid Afridi has been caught by TV camera suspect as tampering the ball by biting it with his teeth in the dramatic fifth and final ODI at the WACA Ground in Perth. Television cameras caught the captain taking two vigorous bites along the seam of the ball at the end of the 40th over. The ball was immediately examined by the umpires and replaced. One of the more bizarre incidents to have been witnessed in international cricket which no one wants to watch again.

As a consequence of this Shahid Afridi has been banned for two T20 matches. Afridi apologized for his actions last night claiming they were borne out of frustration. The desperation to win the match by hook or crook was evident from his behavior showing that the moral of the team is at lowest level now. Though the shameful act did not justify it. Just for a second thought it might be intentional as to keep his record of being the most successful T20 skipper for Pakistan team unharmed.

Whatever the reason may be, desperation to win or for the sake of records, his act is a sheer disappointment for his fans as well as the nation. Wake up PCB!