Well, England was unceremoniously dumped out of Euro 2004, with a highly questionable decision by the Swedish referee to disallow the putative England winner late in the game. Rooney's injury, of course, played a part, as did Scholes' unfamiliar positioning on the left flank. But, much of the blame has to be placed on the shoulders of David Beckham. There can be no debating that he is a rare talent and world class player, as this reflective BBC article reports. But, his performances at the tournament certianly failed to justify his lofty status. To his detractors, I must point out that this man has bounced back from disaster before. At the 1998 World Cup in France, there was the infamous ejection against Argentina, for which he was skewered in the press and his likeness hanged in effigy around Britain. The following season was perhaps Beckham's best ever (and, indeed, Man Utd's finest season, too, as they won the Premiere League, FA Cup, and Champions League) and he finished second in balloting for the 1999 World Footballer of the Year, only to lose to Zinedine Zidane. Then, to be sure, was his ultimate redemption at the 2002 World Cup, where he scored the winning goal--from the penalty spot--against Argentina, perhaps England's fiercest rival (remember the Falkland Islands issue). I can only hope that he'll repeat 1999's and 2002's successes in 2004-2005.
