How GOOD Was David Beckham, Actually?

What do you think of when you hear the name David Beckham? Model? Businessman? What about cultural icon? Well, when I hear his name, I can only think of one thing. David Beckham, the footballer. When I was a kid, literally as early as I can remember, before I even learned to love the game, the first footballer I've ever known was David Beckham. Even in my youth squad days, all the kids wanted to be like David Beckham. Heck, even the girls in my middle school who have never played football before knew the name David Beckham. But for some reason, the football community seems divided between the view that David Beckham was either overrated or greatly underappreciated. No in-betweens and one of the most polarizing careers ever. You'll see some say that he was a genius and others say he was nothing but a dead ball merchant. Well today, let's truly look at how good the footballing icon actually was and if he was really a great footballer or just overrated. David Beckham has had one of the most interesting careers so far. Probably one of the only players who could have the stages of his career bookmarked by his iconic different hairstyles. But before David Beckham became the man he would be today, he started off as a skinny Man United youth player who had quite the potential. But as skilled as David Beckham was at passing, taking set pieces, and making incredible crosses already at an early age, there was some concern over his potential career. Beckham already had a health issue that could have potentially stopped him from pursuing a professional career. He was diagnosed with asthma, a condition that affects the lungs and can cause breathlessness, tight chest, and overall a weaker physical output due to the lungs not having the normal capacity and easily tiring out. Luckily, they were able to treat his condition early because if they hadn't, no matter how good he was, fitness is always the top priority in football. And if you don't have the stamina and capacity to move around all game, especially as a midfielder, it just isn't possible to play at a high level. But thanks to today's sponsor, Let's Get Checked, you can help diagnose yourself with potential health problems at home and make sure you can catch them early and get treatment as soon as possible. Let's Get Checked makes professional health testing easy by letting you get tested without having to visit a healthcare provider. Simply choose your test online and a testing kit will be delivered to you in discrete packaging in 2-5 business days. And once your test samples arrive back in the laboratory, confidential results will be available from your secure online account within 2-5 days. These results will then be reviewed by a clinician and a member of Let's Get Checked's nursing team may call you to review your results. 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He played an English legend in former Ballon d'Or winner Bobby Charlton's youth camp, was trained in Tottenham's early youth programs, and was even named England's under-15 player of the year in 1990. He was notoriously scolded by his youth coaches and other training staff for doing what was back then seen as flashy and completely unnecessary long balls and crosses. But despite the discipline his coaches and even some teammates continued to give him, he never once stopped. But the flair and genius was always there, and his ability to precisely play the ball with such vision despite being reckless surprised everyone who watched him. If you watched a small and skinny middle schooler make such long-distance crosses with precision, you'd think, how in the hell can such a small kid kick the ball that far with that accuracy? He had so much potential that although he lived 200 miles away from Manchester, he was already constantly in the radar of Sir Alex Ferguson himself. So much so that immediately when he became old enough at the age of 14, Sir Alex Ferguson didn't waste a single second in signing him with Man Utd's youth squad right away. The legendary manager was truly fond of Beckham, placing him into the men's team at just 17 years old and even giving him a debut in Man Utd's Champions League run the very same season, where he scored and assisted in two goals in a win over Galatasaray. And many of you think that it's almost comical how English players are hyped up in today's footballing market. But going way back, it was David Beckham that started it all. The only difference was Beckham lived up to the hype. Ferguson would then make him a regular starter for the club. And immediately in that first season with Beckham as a starter, they would go on to win the Premier League and FA Cup title, having a serious impact on his squad with amazing playmaking, passing, vision, and dribbling. Beckham shocked football fans from all over the world with his style of play. His crosses, set pieces, and long balls were truly breathtaking to watch. And even as a fan of the opposition, you couldn't help but be amazed at some of the things he did. And I know you'll see a lot more of the amazing plays by Beckham in the video background, but this one in particular that just made Beckham blow up into a star. One of the most iconic goals in Premier League history that I know a lot of you will recognize. But in the 1996-97 season was really where Beckham took off and became a global superstar. It's not like he was doing outrageous numbers or anything. He had 12 goals and 10 assists in 49 appearances. But it's how he did it that really made him fun to watch. His goals and assists were nothing but beauty. And one aspect that really started to become world-class that season was his passing and vision. For some reason, many of my followers say that Beckham was overrated and that players like Kevin De Bruyne, for example, were much better. But in reality, it's not as far as you'd think. I found an interesting stat from Analysis ID that compared the number of goals and assists combined per 90 minutes between midfielders from Beckham's era up until today. And Kevin De Bruyne is pretty high up there with .71 goals and assists per 90 minutes. But David Beckham? He was slightly higher with .78 goals and assists per 90 minutes. So if that fact surprised you, then you have to leave a like on this video. By far, the peak of Beckham's career was in the 1998-99 season. In the Premier League, Arsenal and Man Utd were neck and neck for the number one spot at the table. All the way up until the very end of the season, Man Utd had to win their final match against Tottenham to win the Premier League title. And another part about Beckham was that he was clutch. In the final match of the season, he scored an equalizing goal while United was down 1-0 and played beautifully to help the club go on to win the match 2-1, becoming Premier League champions by a single point. Then, for the Champions League title against Bayern Munich, with some of United's best players like Paul Scholes and Roy Keane suspended for the match, Man Utd were down 1-0 until Beckham's two perfectly placed assists from the corner that would help Man Utd win the Champions League title. This season would also see them win the FA Cup to complete Manchester United's iconic treble, resulting in David Beckham finishing second in balance or voting behind Rivaldo and above Andriy Shevchenko, finishing the season with 9 goals and 19 assists in 55 appearances. Easily, Beckham's most dominant year was in the 2000-2001 season, where he scored 16 goals and had 7 assists in 43 appearances, while winning the Premier League title and being placed into the UEFA Team of the Year. So Beckham is without a doubt a Premier League legend. In just under a decade, he's won 6 Premier League titles, 2 FA Cups, 2 Charity Shields, 1 Intercontinental Cup, and 1 Champions League title, while also leading the Premier League assists for 3 seasons and being included in 4 PFA Team of the Years. Thierry Henry, arguably the greatest Premier League player of all time, has praised Beckham, saying, Above all, to score when the team is in need, Beckham can always achieve results when it's in an emergency. And indeed, Beckham has had very clutch moments in his career. I already talked about the 1998-1999 season, but also in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, England needed a win against Greece to secure a spot in the tournament. And of course, it was no other than David Beckham from 30 yards out who scored a beautiful free kick to secure England's qualification. So personally, if you ask me, between a prime David Beckham and Kevin De Bruyne, I would choose Beckham any day. I mean, Beckham has had just about the same number of goals in only his Man United days than Kevin De Bruyne has had in his entire club career. Sure, KDB is overall the better passer and directly is better at giving assists, especially when he plays the ball on the ground. But Beckham's set pieces, long balls, crossing, which he was arguably the best in history in doing so, and goal scoring is better. So for the majority of you that believe KDB is a far better player, objectively, that just isn't true. But don't get me wrong, KDB is still an amazing player. And I know that they don't play at the same position. KDB is more of a central or attacking midfielder, while Beckham played more of a right mid. But I just see the two being compared way too much these days, so I thought I had to mention it. You also have to consider the fact that during Beckham's time, there was a lot more talent going around for each club. There were a handful of all-time greats in every league and in many different clubs during this era. Today, I'd argue that overall there are a lot less world-class talents than there were in the late 90s and early 2000s. So when David Beckham was asked to join Real Madrid to Galacticos, it was all the confirmation you needed to know that David Beckham was indeed a world-class player. Many people liked to downplay his career because he became such a global celebrity, fashion icon, and famed businessman. It was clear that Beckham had lost his pace when he joined Real Madrid and wasn't necessarily as focused on footballing as he once was, opting to look more towards a career outside of football. But still, his fellow legendary teammates had immense praise for Beckham and his unique talent. Luis Figo once said, The image he has is totally different to what he's really like as a player and a person. And despite many Beckham haters saying Roberto Carlos was the best free kick taker on that squad, Carlos himself has said, Beckham takes free kicks better than me. It is a joy to watch him take free kicks and he has proved that free kicks are not all about power. And probably the highest praise he could have ever received, in my opinion, was from Ronaldo himself. Beckham is one of the best of all time in the center. The way he touched the ball, the way he could put the ball wherever he wanted, and without looking at me, the ball would come. I should thank him for the many balls he gave me. And funnily enough, Ronaldo has also said that he and the Brazil national squad would say that if there were ever any English players who could play for Brazil, it would have been Beckham. And another thing that people don't quite realize is that Beckham had incredible dribbling as well. He was never the primary focus of the attack or quite as ball dominant as other legends. But the man had a very smooth touch and could attack or push the ball all by himself if needed. It's another aspect of his career that many seem to have forgotten. His overall game was quite complete. There was nothing that you could really say that Beckham lacked as a footballer, especially for his position. And since many of you love the quotes from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, I just thought I'd drop this final one that he said about Beckham himself. The person who has negative things to say is either jealous or hates Beckham, because there are no negative things to say about him. Overall, I think Beckham is quite possibly the best set-piece taker and crosser in history, and was truly a great footballer in his prime. Although his best years didn't last too long and his career was shortened by injuries, Beckham is one of the most legendary midfielders of all time. Many people like to say he's overrated, but objectively, because of all the negative views surrounding Beckham today, I dare say he was actually underrated for how good he was. I feel like his career outside of football and lack of passion for the game towards the end of his career, especially moving to the MLS to open up new career opportunities after football, really altered the image of the once world-class midfielder for many. But it remains a fact that Beckham's global superstardom led to millions of new football fans, including myself. I even remember the old FIFA games where Beckham was on the cover. So even if you hate him, his impact on the game is one of the biggest of all time. And for that, he will forever be a legend. But that's all for me today, guys. What do you think about Beckham? Was he overrated or is he a legend? And do many of you think that players like Kevin DeBruyne are still quote-unquote so clear? Let me know in the comments below. I'm really curious to see what everyone thinks on this topic. But if you enjoyed the video, please leave a like as it really helps the channel out and is the best way to support to keep making videos like this. Lastly, subscribe to watch more weekly videos like this. I love all of you guys and appreciate all your support. And I'll see you in the next one.