What If? No.1 - David Beckham

This feature is where I look at what may have happened if things were'nt the way they are...

Now we know that Becks won’t be playing in South Africa, but I wonder if Fab would have given Becks the nod if he were fit. If he didn’t to select the icon of English football, the team will be left with only two sureties in South Africa that played on that historic night in Bavaria nine years ago. Although it seems like just yesterday, the men on that pitch were our young Lions, and now it could be the time for Capello to bring the new crop of English talent to South Africa.

I am in no doubt that the talismanic nature of David Beckham on a football pitch is unmastered by any other English player in Capello’s frame of footballing perfection, if Beckham had of gone to the World Cup selected he would have made an invaluable impact on the team, and will do in his backroom role he will adopt. That is undeniable. Whilst it has been reduced to simmer, there are still the unfinished articles of whether that yard and a half of pace he has lost since his peak back in 2001 will hamper his chances in a new decade of football. With left-backs ameliorating in the pace department seemingly with each passing minute of each 90 he could struggle in the wide right position he has been advocated at the Rossoneri, that perhaps, shouldn’t deny him his plane ticket though. His cameo performance as the Three Lions’ quarterback against the Belarusians last October could be an option, prominently though not on the starting eleven.

There is also the question of which savvy young talent would Becks scalp should he be on the plane. Although it pains me to say it Aaron Lennon has been world class this season for Spurs and would be a fiery accession to the team, Theo Walcott hasn’t been consistently playing for the Gunners but has ruled supreme with Three Lions on his shirt. Then there is little Shaun Wright-Phillips, incontrovertibly one of the best dribblers of a football in the Premier League, and James Milner’s work-rate for Villa cannot be overlooked. Any manager in the land would envy Capello’s luxury of being able to choose say two of these five, but this could be one of the most demanding decisions he has to make. Even with Beckham out of the equation it is still a huge task, and with him, even greater.

Ultimately, though I feel the beautiful game has moved on from the day of a simple distributing right-midfielder, and evolved into the mould that Ronaldo has set ever since replacing Beckham in the red half of Manchester. And maybe the only Becks Capello will be thinking about is cool one in his hand on the night of the 11th July 2010 after he has lifted the FIFA World Cup Trophy and the party begins…