Beckham calls time on captaincy
Sunday, 2. July 2006, 14:06:38
'Greatest honour'
The England midfielder, on the verge of tears, said he would step down with the change of manager as Sven-Göran Eriksson hands over to Steve McClaren. Beckham said former caretaker England manager Peter Taylor had given him "the greatest honour of my career" by appointing him as captain in November 2000 for a friendly with Italy in Turin. But he continued:
I feel the time is right to pass on the armband.
Playing on
As we enter a new era under Steve McClaren, it has been an honour and a privilege to have captained our country and I want to stress that I wish to continue to play for England. And I look forward to helping both the new captain and Steve McClaren in any way I can. I came to this decision some time ago but I had hoped to announce it on the back of a successful World Cup. Sadly, that wasn't to be. This decision has been the most difficult of my career to date. But after discussing it with my family and those closest with me, I feel the time is right.
'Not enough'
Beckham had been in tears after being substituted due to injury early in the second half of last night’s defeat by Portugal in a penalty shoot-out. It followed a Group B campaign and a second-round victory over Ecuador, secured with a Beckham free kick, in which England had never really got into gear. The 31-year-old said,
Our performance during this World Cup has not been enough to progress further and both myself and all the players regret that - and are hurt by that more than people realise. For me it has been an absolute honour. Finally, I have lived the dream.
Eriksson praise
Eriksson said:
I think David has been a very good captain. He did good work always. He has been very proud of doing the job. I was a little bit disappointed when he told me his decision to finish just before he announced it. But you have to respect that and that's it.
The Real Madrid CF midfielder was captain for 58 of his 94 England caps. John Terry and Steven Gerrard, the captains of Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC, are thought to be the favourites to replace Beckham.
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