David Beckham’s return to form for both Real Madrid and England is perhaps the most remarkable story of the player’s career. It’s been a captivating turnaround, especially when you consider that in January Beckham was forced into the stands by his club after making the decision to join Major League Soccer — making an England recall look all but impossible. And yet four months later, not only is the L.A. Galaxy-bound midfielder once again the hero of his country, he’s just two games away from leading Real Madrid to a first La Liga title in four years.
One thing the 32-year-old has always had is the support of his teammates. At Real, it was team captain Guti who insisted that Fabio Capello consider Beckham when choosing his first team. To his chagrin perhaps, Guti was later replaced by Becks in the starting lineup, after his goal helped save Capello’s job on the very first day of his recall. And the remarkable story continued: after being sidelined for six weeks with an injury, Beckham returned triumphantly again, setting Sergio Ramos up with a game-winning goal against Valencia — the first of series of must-wins if the Spanish giant had any hope of catching Barcelona. The Merengues haven’t dropped a single point since then, and it’s no coincidence the club’s goal tally has increased since Beckham’s return.
Recently for England, the former captain created two goals from world-class crosses in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia and the lone goal in England’s hard-fought 1-1 draw with Brazil. Not only is he back in the England picture, Beckham’s teammates and coaches are starting to talk about his complete indispensability. His remarkable story continues on Saturday against Real Zaragoza (Gol TV: 3 PM ET).