The conversation went something like this. Do you want a 100th cap that is a
charity job, a favour, a sop tossed to a sentimental public that will, in
essence, mean nothing, coming as it does for all the wrong reasons; or do
you want a century that is deserved, that brings with it the acknowledgement
of a career that has life in it still, that can be crucial and significant
and meaningful beyond all expectations?
Do you, David Beckham, want to have a goal in life or a fake gold clock? And,
put like that, how could he logically resist? Indeed, how could anyone? The
ego-strokers and proto-stalkers may fume impotently, but Fabio Capello has
got his first big call absolutely right.
Footballers need to play football. No player can photo-shoot or interview his
way into the England team. When Beckham collects his 100th cap it must be on
merit, or exist without credibility. This is nothing to do with making a
statement; this is about making sense.
Steve McClaren was right about Beckham, too, after the World Cup in 2006, but
he lacked the conviction to justify his decision. Too concerned for his
image, he allowed a judgment made for sound football reasons – Beckham’s
England performances looked like those of a man who was taking his status
for granted – to be corrupted by mistrust.
Many saw it as a PR stunt, one that misfired badly when the players McClaren
had lined up for Beckham’s role, not least Steven Gerrard, failed to
perform. Capello has no such complication. He exudes the gravitas that
McClaren lacked and has framed his argument to the player in more
encouraging terms. McClaren dropped Beckham because he did not think he
could do it; Capello has left him out because he thinks he can and will,
just not now, when he is lacking match fitness.
Beckham’s determination to remain in shape, training with Arsenal’s reserves
during the Major League Soccer (MLS) close season, is admirable, but in
recent weeks his advisers have reverted to type. There has been a round of
friendly interviews, a rash of photographs showing off his toned upper
torso, a couple of well-publicised meetings with the Prime Minister – who
came obediently at the snap of David’s fingers, like a good little puppy dog
– all designed to maintain his standing as the man Capello could not ignore.
Except he has, because to fall so tamely into line would make him no different
to Sven-Göran Eriksson who raised a toast to Beckham’s century last month as
if to deny it would be treachery. Everyone has seen where that charade ends
and set against the cold rationality of Capello’s argument, how silly
Eriksson’s moment seems now.
There is nothing but sentiment in Beckham’s corner this morning, the warped
justifications of those who regard the rounding up of England appearances as
due, or fair. Yet, as Beckham cannot be evaluated on form during the MLS
close season, how fair would his selection be to players such as David
Bentley, Ashley Young, Shaun Wright-Phillips or Gabriel Agbonlahor, who are
playing well in one of the hardest leagues in the world? Would it be fair to
ignore them, for what is no more than a ceremony?
Capello is no fool. He understands that the most successful football nations,
the ones that experience sustained success in leading championships, are
those that have kept the worth of international selection intact. Brazil may
hawk the team out to the highest bidder, but every player attends, no matter
where the venue. Italy treat all levels of international competition
seriously – and Aaron Lennon would do well to remember that, before he sulks
at his demotion to the under-21 team – and Capello never considered the
visit of Switzerland as a trivial affair in which Beckham’s 100th cap might
be tossed across the room like a bauble. There will be criticism of his
selection of Michael Owen, and the suggestion that the striker has received
preferential treatment, but that choice comes down to one factor alone:
options – or, rather, the lack of them.
Meanwhile, the idea that thousands of people have paid under false pretences
to watch Beckham reach three figures is laughable. The price of admission
gives the purchaser the right to attend the match, not to pick the team.
What next, a refund at the box office because the Arctic Monkeys do not take
requests?
Through our interactive television culture, we have become a nation that
believes it has the right to vote on everything. Capello, with his
unblinking logic, is the antidote. He knows that his value judgments give
greater worth to the dying ember of Beckham’s career than this muddled fan
club, those who text and recite their messages of support and wish him
anointed with 100 caps because it is only a friendly, and then the issue
will go away. Distilled, the argument is that Beckham is past it, but he was
good once and seems a decent bloke, so let him achieve his milestone and
then he can toddle off to Los Angeles a happy man. If Beckham really wants
that as his send-off, he truly is a dumb blond.
Not likely. Beckham is smart enough to understand Capello’s thinking and, it
must be hoped, driven enough to make it work. He turned McClaren’s head from
afar, and he can turn Capello’s, too. Football is about passing the ball and
he still does it better than anybody in England’s midfield. His fitness is
the issue and that is what must now be proven if he is to return to the
squad for the matches in May and June (the friendly in France on March 26
will also come too soon for him as the Los Angeles Galaxy’s first
competitive fixture of the season is not scheduled until March 29).
England play Scotland on May 28 and then travel across the Atlantic for an
away match on June 1, with Trinidad & Tobago the likely destination, and
by then the MLS season will be in full swing.
Capello’s encouragement to Beckham is that he may not only win his 100th cap,
but also his 101st and more next season, providing he meets the standards
required. Can a man stay fit for international football in Europe in the
backwater of the MLS? Many think not, but Capello will decide, and this
glimpse of his methodology at least indicates that he will always call it as
he sees it. When the more emotional elements of English football have grown
up and wiped the tears from their eyes, they should realise that Beckham,
and his public, deserve no more.
Preliminary squad to face Switzerland
Goalkeepers: D James (Portsmouth; 37, 35), S Carson (Aston Villa; age
22, caps 2), C Kirkland (Wigan Athletic; 26, 1).
Defenders: W Bridge (Chelsea; 27, 27), W Brown (Manchester United; 28,
14), A Cole (Chelsea; 27, 61), C Davies (Aston Villa; 22, 0), R Ferdinand
(Manchester United; 29, 64) G Johnson (Portsmouth; 23, 5), L King (Tottenham
Hotspur; 27, 19), J Lescott (Everton; 25, 4), M Richards (Manchester City;
19, 11), N Shorey (Reading; 26, 2), M Upson (West Ham United; 28, 7), J
Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur; 28, 6).
Midfield players: G Barry (Aston Villa; 26, 16), D Bentley (Blackburn
Rovers; 23, 2), M Carrick (Manchester United; 26, 14), J Cole (Chelsea; 26,
47), S Downing (Middlesbrough; 23, 16), S Gerrard (Liverpool; 27, 63), O
Hargreaves (Manchester United; 27, 39), J Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur; 24, 17),
S Wright-Phillips (Chelsea; 26, 18), A Young (Aston Villa; 22, 1).
Forwards: G Agbonlahor (Aston Villa; 21, 0), P Crouch (Liverpool; 27,
24), E Heskey (Wigan Athletic; 30, 45), M Owen (Newcastle United; 28, 88), W
Rooney (Manchester United; 22, 40).
— Teams watched by Fabio Capello or Franco Baldini 5 times: Manchester United.
4: Tottenham Hotspur. 2: Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Chelsea,
Arsenal, Reading. 1: Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Wigan Athletic, Bolton
Wanderers, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Luton Town.
— Barclays Premier League clubs not watched: Birmingham City, Derby County,
Fulham, Manchester City, Sunderland, West Ham United
— Clubs represented in 30-man squad 5 players: Aston Villa, Manchester United
4: Chelsea 3: Tottenham Hotspur 2: Liverpool, Portsmouth, Wigan Athletic. 1:
Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United,
Reading, West Ham United.
— Players whom neither Fabio Capello nor Franco Baldini have watched in action
in the flesh Matthew Upson (West Ham United), Micah Richards (Manchester
City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool – because he did not play away to Luton
Town in the FA Cup), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur). They have
watched Ashley Cole only for a couple of minutes as a 90th-minute substitute
against Everton.
