DAVID BECKHAM O.B.E. VICTORIA CHRISTENED HIM “GOLDEN BALLS”

O.K., so his proper full name is David Robert Joseph Beckham, and he comes from the East End of London. But it was his wife Victoria (“Posh” from the Spice Girls) who gave him his nickname. Whether it had anything to do with soccer, or otherwise, is a matter of some conjecture.
The more adoring of his fans like to portray him as the greatest footballer ever. He wasn’t. But he was undeniably a great player, a man who became a brand and whose current personal wealth is an estimated 300 million Euro.
He had a powerful right-footed kick, could bend the flight of the ball spectacularly and effectively, and, at his best, played precise and intelligent balls from his customary right midfield spot. Maybe that’s what Victoria had in mind. Maybe. The fact is that Beckham was deadly on set pieces. It’s often forgotten (or not known) that Alex Ferguson sent him on loan to 3rd Division Preston North End in the 1994-1995 season.
During his 5-game spell with them he scored two goals — one from a corner that he curled straight into the net, the other from a free kick. It was only after this that he was brought into the Manchester United first team.
He went on to win 6 Premier League titles and 2 FA Cups with them — and left them in 2003 after being struck on the head by a flying boot kicked in anger by Ferguson.
He became the first English player to win league titles in 4 countries — England, Spain, USA and France. He captained England, was red-carded twice, scored 17 goals for his country, suffers from fear of birds (the flying kind — ornithophobia), and his favourite meal is pie with mash, and jellied eels.
I met him once. I was doing some coaching in California, and he was with L .A. Galaxy. Invited to an L.A. Galaxy training session to observe, I managed to have a few minutes chat with him when the session ended. The topic of conversation was the woeful lack of two-footed players in football.
When I mentioned the statistic to him that 80% of football players worldwide are one-footed, he expressed surprise — and admitted then that he would be counted as one of that 80%!
As we shook hands and bade each other farewell, I was impressed by how easy-going he was.