8 Footballers Who Proved Everybody Wrong

A petulant kick of an Argentinean shin. An arcing comet past despairing Greek eyes. These two events, which described the trajectory of David Beckham's career from public enemy number 1 to hero and saviour to the masses, were just three years apart.

World Cup '98, and the English media, ever benighted by their self-defeating bluster, reckoned, so soon after the Euro '96 near-miss and with the emergence of budding stars Michael Owen and Beckham, that this really could be the one to end the hurt. Obviously, it wasn't - and no thanks to the Manchester United winger. An act of retaliation on Diego Simeone - which saw the midfield hardman drop like a sack of spuds - produced a red card for the youngster. Owen's wonder goal had been for nought; the Parisian dream was up in smoke.

Inevitably, Beckham bore the brunt of the post-exit post-mortem. The Daily Mirror printed a dartboard with his face as the bullseye, as an effigy of the 'villain' was seen hoisted up in London. Abuse in the stands, and worse, death threats at home, followed. In the great English tradition, an idol had been erected, only to be felled.

Beckham's public image did little to assuage enmity on the terraces. In particular, his high-profile wedding to Spice Girl Victoria Adams, the pair pictured on golden thrones during the ceremony, reinforced the belief that the celebrity circus was distracting from a promising career. Echoes of another United number 7, George Best, reverberated - minus the admiration.

But there was always the sense Beckham was a complaisant passenger in the fame game. The media had took so much away - now he was letting them take back. Yet he never forgot why he was famous, nor the dedication that brought him there. Such was the diligence with which Beckham worked on his game, little by little restoring his shattered reputation, that he earned the nickname 'Golden Balls'.

Apotheosis, appropriately, came at Old Trafford. With England trailing Greece 2-1, and needing a last minute equaliser to head to the World Cup, up stepped Beckham. Improbably but impeccably, redemption was complete with a 30 yard curve of the ball. Arise, Sir David.