"The moment England forgave me" - Why Beckham's Greece free-kick meant so much

On this day 20 years ago, as he stood over a free-kick, David Beckham needed a moment of redemption.

Most pressingly, England's qualification for the 2002 World Cup was on the line. England were 2-1 down to Greece at Old Trafford on October 6, 2001 and braced for a play-off match against Ukraine to reach South Korea and Japan the following year.

It was the 93rd minute and Sven Goran Eriksson's side desperately needed a goal. They had one last chance.

A free-kick was awarded around 30 yards from goal, in the dead centre of the pitch. Beckham was the obvious man to take it, but he had already failed with five previous attempts from similar situations. The crowd's nerves did not help matters.

Beckham, then aged 26 and sporting a shaven head, put the ball down as Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes backed off, leaving him to it.

You likely know what happened next. Beckham bent a pure strike of true majesty over the four-man Greek wall and perfectly into the top corner to send the Old Trafford crowd wild.

David Beckham's dramatic free-kick meant a great deal to him personally ( Image:

Danny Gohlke/Bongarts/Getty Images)

It was a moment of fantastic sporting drama followed by ecstasy for Beckham and the millions of England fans watching all around the country.

"It's probably the clearest moment that I have in my memory of my football career and it was probably one of the most special moments," Beckham told The Sun recently.

"To represent my country, to captain my country, to score a goal that meant so much to our country and the fans... and to do it all at Old Trafford. For me, it couldn't have been any more perfect."

It doesn't take much brain power to understand the significance of the goal. England were seconds away from embarrassment on home territory.

Qualification for major tournaments is considered the bare minimum for The Three Lions. It would have been considered a national disgrace not to have progressed from a group containing Germany, Greece, Finland and Albania.

And a play-off against a Ukraine side containing Andriy Shevchenko - then in his prime at AC Milan - wouldn't have been a gimme.

But to understand the personal significance of the goal to Beckham himself requires a trip back in time to three years beforehand.

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David Beckham achieved redemption with England fans that day ( Image:

GERRY PENNY/AFP via Getty Images)

The 1998 World Cup means one thing to England fans: defeat by Argentina. And while it was Paul Ince and David Batty who missed in the penalty shoot-out, there was no doubt who the scapegoat was.

The two sides were just two minutes into the second half, with the score at 2-2, when Beckham was sent off for kicking out at Argentina midfielder Diego Simeone. It was to become one of the defining moments of the 23-year-old's life.

At the time, Beckham was England's poster boy for the tournament. He may have only won 15 caps for his country by the start of the tournament, but he was a celebrity in every sense thanks to his carefully managed image, marriage to a Spice Girl and talent.

Those factors were all turned against him in the aftermath of the sending off.

No matter that Simeone had admitted, in his own words, to "transforming a yellow card into a red card" with his reaction. No matter that the score remained the same from Beckham's sending off until the end of extra-time and that the real failing came in the shoot-out.

It was Beckham's fault. His ill discipline was unforgivable to many.

The tabloid press went for the throat and he was chased through Heathrow Airport by a hoard of baying journalists upon his return from France. "How does it feel to let your country down?" one reporter asked him.

David Beckham's red card against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup saw him vilified ( Image:

Mark Leech/Getty Images)

An effigy wearing Beckham's No 7 shirt and a sarong - a piece of clothing which had become shorthand for everything that was considered wrong with him - was burnt outside a pub in south London.

Beckham received death threats and bullets delivered in the post, while he also had to call the police to report a man standing threateningly outside his house all night.

The fallout wasn't just limited to the public either. England manager Glenn Hoddle offered little support for Beckham at the tournament, while his team-mate Michael Owen later admitted he harboured resentment towards him.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say that what David did that day hadn't let every single one of that England team down," Owen wrote in his autobiography, Reboot. "David let us down, and I still hold some resentment about it today."

Beckham's manager at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, later summed up the pervading narrative well: "He could hardly have been more vilified if he'd committed murder or high treason."

Over the following years, Beckham went some way towards rebuilding his reputation. He helped Manchester United win the treble in 1998/99 and finished second behind Rivaldo for the Ballon d'Or and and FIFA World Player of the Year award.

But despite being given the captaincy by Peter Taylor - and keeping it under Eriksson - Beckham still endured plenty of vitriol. He was abused by some England fans during the 3-2 defeat by Portugal at Euro 2000, despite setting up two goals.

David Beckham won 115 caps for England - 58 as captain ( Image:

Danny Gohlke/Bongarts/Getty Images)

The right midfielder was a part of the famous 5-1 win over Germany, but his redemption was not complete until he struck that free-kick into the top corner at Old Trafford against Greece.

"That was the moment that England supporters forgave me for what had happened a few years before," Beckham explained to The Sun.

"For me personally, that was redemption for what had happened, because up until then, there was always that cloud around the sending-off.

"That goal against Greece was when I felt the real England fans, and the fans that disliked me for a few years, all of a sudden were like, 'OK, that's it, we can move on now'.

"That, for me, was a special moment."