Beckham’s comeback moments in his impressive footballing career thus far.

DAVID Beckham might have lost the MLS Cup finals a few weeks ago, but it was still a moral victory considering how he won hearts and minds of the American “soccer” fans who had turned on him.

Beckham stamps his mark as one of the greatest footballers in history.

But it wasn’t the first time Becks has turned things around for himself. Here are some of his most inspiring comebacks:

You’ll never win with what?

Alex Ferguson had sold Mark Hughes,Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis before the 1995/96 season to make room for youngsters like Beckham, and they lost the first match of the season 3-1 to Aston Villa.

A barrage of criticism ensued,including the infamous, “You’ll
never win anything with kids” line from Alan Hansen.

But Beckham and his teammates had other ideas, overcoming an unassailable 12-point lead over Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle to win the league, and the FA Cup.

Seeing red

After his send-off in the 1998 World Cup, many thought that Beckham’s days as a footballer in England were over.

He was turned into a public hate figure, villified at every away match,
and received death threats as the public vented their frustrations at
being dumped out of the World Cup.

Beckham responded on the pitch by winning the historic Treble with
Manchester United, and his performances earned him runners-up spots
behind Rivaldo in the European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World
Player of the Year awards.

He was eventually installed as England captain, achieving hero status soon after thanks to his matchwinning performance against Greece
in 2001.

Fergie’s fury

Beckham’s high work-rate in training had previously made him Fergie’s favourite son, but the latter had enough of Beckham’s growing celebrity obligations and started dropping him in favour of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the 2002/03 season.

When Beckham was finally off-loaded to Real Madrid, many predicted his
career would go downhill. Beckham however, became a fan favourite with tireless displays, topping the league’s assists charts during the 2005-2006 season.

Capello’s humble pie

Sensing his top-flight career was reaching its end at 32,Beckham signed a record-breaking deal with MLS club LA Galaxy though the season with
Madrid was only mid-way through, leaving Madrid coach Fabio Capello fuming.

At this point, Madrid’s Galaticos policy was falling apart, and they hadn’t won La Liga in the three years since Beckham joined.

As the season wore on, Capello was so impressed by Beckham’s attitude in training he went back on his decision and started selecting Beckham for the remainder of the season.

McClaren’s turn

After exiting the 2006 World Cup, Beckham relinquished the England captaincy, and incoming manager Steve McLaren announced he
would not play Beckham anymore.

As McClaren’s Euro 2008 qualification campaign went from bad to worse, he once again called on Beckham.

The man to replace McClaren, Capello, continued to use Beckham throughout his successful World Cup 2010 qualification campaign.

Idolised in Italy

During the MLS off-season, AC Milan agreed a loan deal for Beckham to play with the struggling Italian giants for two months. The deal
was met with skepticism, and the Italian press dismissed it as a publicity stunt.

Beckham promptly showed his value to the side by once again providing crucial assists, as well as scoring several impressive goals.

Most importantly, manager Carlo Ancelotti was so impressed by his application in training and professionalism that he called Becks “indispensable”, and publicly pleading with club management to sign him permanently.

Back in the US

Beckham got an extention to his AC Milan deal, returning to a hostile reception in Los Angeles as Galaxy fans booed him on his first
game at home.

When teammate Landon Donovan criticised Beckham in his autobiography, it seemed like the situation would become
untenable.

However, Beckham decided to do his talking on the field. After reconciling with Donovan, the duo helped fire the Galaxy into the MLS Cup finals where they lost to Real Salt Lake.

Beckham’s trademark free kicks are always a constant threat to opposition teams.

A couple of weeks ago after that defeat, Beckham suggested he wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t selected for the final squad to the 2010 World Cup.

But considering how his career has turned out so far, it would take a fool to write his chances off.