Beckham: Football’s first superstar

When you think about David Beckham, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For me, personally, it is all of the iconic Beckham hairstyles you would see postered across the barbershops in the 2000s.

Even today, a decade after he hung up his boots, you are still likely to find an iconic headshot of the man in question, inspiring many a young boy to copy one of the numerous iconic haircuts he was once sporting.

In the modern era of social media and the internet, footballers—particularly the ones who play for the biggest and most popular clubs—are superstars. But just think about it for a minute, David Beckham was a superstar long before the internet was a household thing.

Perhaps the first instance when Beckham became the talk of the town was when he scored his halfway line goal against Wimbledon in 1996. And that is exactly where Netflix's "Beckham", the documentary on the icon, starts off his story.

Only four-episodes-long, with each instalment being roughly 70-minutes in length, the docu-series showcases the journey Beckham made as a player across his entire career. From starting out as a young boy in Manchester United to his eventual retirement at PSG and subsequent ownership of Inter Miami.

Photos: Collected

Now, while I was already a big fan of the former England captain, the documentary helped me realise many things that I possibly took for granted about Becks.

First and foremost, is something I had alluded to earlier: his superstardom in an era where social media didn't even exist. Think about it, football of course had stars back then, but how many of them were consistently gracing the covers of fashion magazines? The fact that Beckham's style and fashion was being followed so obsessively by the media is why he reached a level of celebrity not many others had gone to before.

The next was his acumen for the business side of things. While we are shown that the younger Beckham was irresponsible with his finances and loved living a lavish lifestyle, it was surprising seeing the growth he underwent towards becoming a better businessman, to the point that he now is the co-owner of his own MLS team whose star player is Messi.

Finally, and possibly the most important, was his love for the game. While I have loved watching Beckham play his game and score one iconic freekick after the other, I was never aware of just how passionate the man was for football.

This documentary does an incredible job of showing just how much he loved the game and how obsessed he was when it came to being on the pitch. Only after hearing his personal thoughts about his career, up until the end of his footballing career at PSG, does it make sense why he was so emotional the day he had to give it all up.

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So heartbroken was he when he had to retire, that he wept from the minute he was substituted off till the post-match interviews.

If you're a football fan, this is a must watch. If you're a sports documentary fan, who possibly enjoyed watching "The Last Dance" you should definitely give this a watch.