© EuroFootball.com
"After the failure in the World Cup against Portugal, England national team captain David Beckham announced his resignation from the captaincy after six years and expressed his desire to continue representing his country. The Madrid "Real" player made this announcement in the emotional press conference held in England last Germany.
31-year-old Beckham, who was given the captain's armband in 2000 in a friendly match against Italy by the then interim coach Peter Taylor, thanked the current "Crystal Palace" for fulfilling his childhood dream on Sunday in Baden Baden and said that he believes it is time to pass on his responsibilities to the new captain and coach Steve McClaren.
"On November 15, 2000, Peter Taylor appointing me as the captain of the England national team gave me the greatest honor of my career and fulfilled a childhood dream. It was an honor and a privilege to be the team captain and I want to emphasize that I want to continue playing for England and in the future help the new captain and Steve McClaren in every way possible."
In the quarter-final match against Portugal, Beckham had to leave the field due to an Achilles tendon injury and later it was revealed that he will be unable to play for about six weeks. Sitting on the bench, the footballer did not hide his disappointment and had to witness his team's failure in the penalty shootout. This only added more emotions to the press conference, where the player read a speech he had written on Saturday evening.
"I made this decision long ago, but I hoped to announce it after a successful World Cup. Unfortunately, it did not happen. This decision in my career so far has been the most difficult, but after consulting with my family and relatives, I decided that the time has come. Our performance in this championship was not enough to progress forward, and both I and all the players regret and are more disappointed than people imagine," continued the former "Man Utd" star.
"I want to thank all the players for their support while I was captain, as well as Peter Taylor, Sven (Goran Eriksson - Ed.), all the coaches. I also want to thank the media and, of course, all the England fans who were great for me and my team-mates. I want them to know that it was a great honor. After all, I lived a dream, I am very proud that I wore this armband and was the captain of England. I will always be grateful for that," Beckham finished and amidst applause from the gathered journalists left the conference room.
The peak of Beckham's career as captain was the match against Greece in 2001, at "Old Trafford" stadium, when in added time he secured his team's ticket to the 2002 World Cup with a precise penalty kick, where the English team lost in the quarterfinals to the future champions Brazil. This year, the player had to silence critics, which he did with a winning penalty against Ecuador in the quarterfinal match.
"He was a very good captain and was very proud of doing this job. I was a little surprised when he told me this, but his decision must be respected. Now it is up to Steve McClaren to decide who will take Beckham's place. He has many options because many players are more than capable of taking on these responsibilities. It is now up to him," said Sven-Goran Eriksson, who stepped down from the position of the head coach of the England national team after the championship.
It is believed that the two main candidates for the captaincy of the national team are London "Chelsea" defender John Terry and "Liverpool" midfielder Steven Gerrard - both players have been playing for their clubs since the start of their careers, are true leaders, and have led their team-mates to victories while captaining their teams."
