Fabio Capello laughed off David Beckham's Man-of-the-Match award in yesterday's 3-0 win over Belarus as comparable to Barack Obama being given the Nobel Peace Prize after only nine months in office
Fabio Capello laughed off David Beckham's Man-of-the-Match award in yesterday's 3-0 win over Belarus as comparable to Barack Obama being given the Nobel Peace Prize after only nine months in office.
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England star David Beckham. pic/Getty Images |
But the Italian nevertheless dropped his strongest hint yet that the midfielder will be on the plane to next year's World Cup finals with a ringing endorsement of the 34-year-old's ability to come off the bench and influence the course of matches.
Beckham's short corner led to Shaun Wright-Phillips scoring England's second goal a minute after he had come on as a second-half substitute, and the LA Galaxy player also struck the post in the closing minutes. But the decision to name him the game's outstanding player would have come as a surprise to Peter Crouch, who scored England's other two goals, and the impressive Gareth Barry, who created both of the Tottenham forward's strikes.
"I was a bit surprised," Capello admitted with a smile. "It was like Obama winning the Nobel prize after nine months as President, Beckham being man of the match after 30 minutes."
Milan deal sealed?Beckham, meanwhile, was quoted by The Guardian that his loan move to AC Milan for the second half of this season is almost 95 per cent sealed and seeks regular football in an elite league in order to cement a place in England's World Cup squad.
