Game Against Real Madrid Beckham example essay topic

This essay focuses on the Manchester United midfielder and England captain, David Beckham and his performance in the Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg against Real Madrid (May 2003). Beckham is an elite footballer who's estimated worth in the game is lb 45 million. This piece will focus on six aspects of Beckhams life, which both affect, and are affected by, his sporting performance. Not only is Beckham a skilled performer but his image around the world is also extremely important to him.

Thanks to his level of skill, his good looks and his marriage to "Posh Spice" he is one of the most famous sportsmen in the world, therefore making him one of the most familiar faces on the planet. This familiarity with the world's public has lead to lucrative sponsorship deals but also media intrusion, both of which issues will feature in this piece. Also world famous is his ability to score free kicks regularly and the muscle action he uses will be scrutinised in this essay. The other side to David Beckham is his inability to control his temper. Behind the face of the boy next door who everybody loves is a cauldron of aggression, which in the past has exploded on several occasions. The concept of Beckham's aggression will be another focal point of this essay.

The first thing to be considered when approaching David Beckham is the game, which he plays. Football is the UK's number one sport but the origins of it are often forgotten. Football started out as a mob game, lacking the structure and rules which today's game is based upon. It was a territorial battle between villages, which included huge scale violence, this might provide the basis for why local derbies are often so reckless, and Beckham himself would have witnessed this in the Manchester derby.

This rivalry even relates to the game against Real Madrid as the world of football is influenced by globalisation, Real Madrid and Manchester United become all the more familiar and therefore their matches result in tense rivalries, Roberto Carlos vs. David Beckham signifies this rivalry personally. This mob mentality was gradually forced out when the game began to be played in public school grounds regularly. Rules developed as a result of public school athleticism enforced by Tom Arnold in 1828 at Rugby School to eliminate the bullying and brutality which public schools were all too familiar with. Although these rules varied from school to school, they mainly consisted of the traditional goal, size of team being limited and boundaries (touchlines) being created. The game itself became official in 1863 when University graduates formed The Football Association. Despite the forming of the sport by well-educated elite's it is obvious today that football is a sport dominated by the working class, both supporters and players, like David Beckham, come from modest, lower class backgrounds.

So why did this transition occur? The University Graduates who formed the sport became employers and encouraged the game amongst workers in an attempt to boost morale, which was low due to poorly paid jobs, and rationalise recreation. This was not the only reason; however, the elite's were keen to instil middle class values and discipline on the working classes. To develop professional clubs working class players were encouraged to play against their gentlemen counterparts as was evident in the 1870 FA Cup Final, where Blackburn played against Eton. Although this appears to have failed, with the working class rebelling through forms of violence and hooliganism, the sport of football has plucked thousands of kids from working class obscurity to world super stardom. So how on earth do these working class lads, with little education and limited vocabulary, cope with the media intrusion?

David Beckham lived his childhood in small terraced house in Walthamstow, East London. He was a shy and nervous boy with no great qualifications. Now he is one of the richest, most famous sportsmen in the world and he has to suffer the consequences. Hardly a day goes by now without David Beckham's name appearing in a British Newspaper. In the build up to this game the media hype around him was quite incredible.

Combined reports of fallout's with his boss Alex Ferguson and prospective moves to Real Madrid culminated on the night when "Fergie" left him out of the team, sparking a media uproar. Beckham's face is everywhere and no one doesn't know who he is. We know everything about him, from his fetish for ladies underwear to his dressing room bust-up with his boss Alex Ferguson. However this information is rarely provided by David himself. The media focus on the Beckham family more than anyone else and sometimes it must feel as though they are living their life through the papers.

This massive interest in David Beckham was sparked when it was announced that he was dating pop star, Posh Spice. Since then every detail of their life has been exposed through the tabloid press. The Beckham's are photographed every time they leave their house, and this creates an enormous pressure on the family. The importance for David to maintain his "squeaky-clean" image is massive, as anything he does wrong will be magnified and exaggerated by the press.

Recently, he featured on the front pages due to a spat with manager Alex Ferguson, which resulted in Beckham needing a stitch above his eye. This innocuous event was front-page news for three days, at a time where Britain was entering a war with Iraq. This intense scrutiny on his life may be unpleasant but the Beckhams definitely know how to exploit the media to their own advantage. By throwing lavish parties at "Buckingham Palace" and inviting photographers and TV cameras to cover the event undoubtedly helped to promote their image. However it appears that Mrs. Beckham needs the media attention more than "Golden balls" himself, who prefers to let the football do the talking.

In summary there are obvious advantages and disadvantages to this media scrutiny but overall it appears to have positive effects. As well as money coming in, the press coverage keeps the Beckham name going which helps him obtain sponsorship and endorsement deals. On the pitch Beckham is critically acclaimed throughout the world for his spectacularly effective technique in taking free kicks. After coming on in the game against Real Madrid Beckham executed one of his greatest free kicks ever which he curled with dip and swerve into the top corner of the net. Under such intense pressure the muscle's Beckham uses are an essential part of this process. Beckham's technique is quite original, he does not use a direct route to goal but aims to first get height on the ball then swerve, followed by dip, and usually followed by a goal.

All of this is completed in a series at lightning speed and in order to complete the sequence successfully his muscles contract and act very fast and extremely efficiently. In the case of the free-kick Beckham uses his right leg to create the desired affect and uses the left leg as a balancing aid. In his right leg as he draws his leg back to create power, his biceps femoris in the quadriceps group are acting as the working muscle (agonist) as it flexes and lifts the leg, whilst his hamstring group is aiding the lift by flexing the hip and therefore being the antagonist muscle. This back lift helps to create the immense power in his shot but as he brings his foot in to contact with the ball the gastrocnemius becomes the agonist while biceps femoris is the antagonist.

Preventing any undesired movement at this time is his Achilles tendon, an adductor muscle which acts as a synergist helping prevent any friction at the ankle joint. All of this helps Beckham to take his free kick with maximum efficiency and minimum injury as he did so effectively when he came off the bench to score against Real Madrid. Another concept concerning his performance on the pitch is linked with the type of fitness needed to compete at this level. Football can be graded as to how aerobic or anaerobic it is thanks to the Energy Continuum. This allows athletes to plot along a continuum the relative contributions made by each energy pathway (aerobic / anaerobic ). A sport such as football is about 60% aerobic as it has components of both energy systems.

For example springing to head a ball is an anaerobic component whilst general movement around the pitch is aerobic. Beckham himself is a prime example of why football appears at 60% aerobic on the energy continuum. Not only does he perform anaerobic acts (tackles, shooting etc.) he is a good example of a player who covers a lot of ground, aerobically. During the Real Madrid game, not only did he make forceful tackles, good passes and effective shots, he also ran tirelessly up and down the pitch, tracking markers and with the ball.

Beckham requires both aerobic and anaerobic components in his game and so this identification method is an effective way of choosing how much time is designated to each component in training. In preparation for the game against Real Madrid, Beckham would have undergone around 60% aerobic work, jogging / running and around 40% anaerobic work, sprinting / weights /sit ups / press ups and other power based drills. Such drills would help him execute the kind of tackles he showed against Steve Mcmanaman and Roberto Carlos in the game. A pivotal moment in the career of David Beckham came in the 1998 World Cup. In a second round game against Argentina, Beckham was fouled by Diego Someone and in retaliation kicked out at him whilst lying face down in the turf.

The referee sent Beckham off and sparked a national hatred towards the player as England went crashing out. Beckham had been known for his petulance before but this incident really hammered it home to the English media and public that David Beckham had problems with controlling his aggression. In "Sport and PE" Wesson, Wiggins, Thomson and Hartigan, state that "participating in sport leads to frustration, which leads to violence". Players like Beckham who often show their frustration through violent tackles or off the ball confrontations back up this idea.

Beckham is a master at both. However it is noted that aggression is a key part of sport, if it can be controlled. Over the last few years, since that infamous red card, Beckham has matured and learnt to control his aggression. This controlled aggression which Beckham now demonstrates effectively and has made him even more of a role model to youngsters was highlighted in the game against Real Madrid, he made 7 successful tackles in the match completing only one foul.

Instead he relieved his aggression in more positive ways. For example, goal celebrations (clenched fists punching the air) and hard but legitimate tackles. This change in image has lead to a better public perception of Beckham as a man and he has proved he is worthy of England captain because he has learnt to control his aggression. This transformation from zero (World Cup 1998 vs. Argentina) to hero (World Cup Qualifier vs. Greece) has made Beckham an irresistible prospect for companies looking for sponsors. He appeals to all sections of the global market, kids love him; women fancy him and men want to be him. This has lead to Beckham promoting goods for: o Adidas o Brylcreem o Marks and Spencer o Pepsi o Police (Sunglasses) However it is not only Beckhams ability, which grants him these lucrative deals.

Beckhams image off the pitch is not just squeaky clean but incredibly stylish. With a combination of unique designer clothes and even more unique hairstyles, Beckham is an incredibly compelling human being; just what every sponsor is looking for. For him, sponsorship is a huge source of income and for the sponsors, David Beckham is making their product the stylish, faultless image of himself. This image is hugely important in terms of attracting sponsors. Sponsorship itself is the provision of funds to an individual for commercial return. This return is delivered by Beckham as recently everyone wants to be associated with him.

Whether it be wearing the same sunglasses as him or drinking the same drink, company bosses who have chosen Beckham to represent them reap the rewards as "Beckham fever" grips our nation, and the rest of the world too. The pulling power of David Beckham in terms of audience also has an effect on whether or not companies sponsor him. Over 250 million spectators viewed the Real Madrid-Manchester United match and they all saw David Beckham, the more he can appeal to big audiences like this the more David Beckham's sponsorship revenue will increase. In summary David Beckham appears the complete player. His technique is the best in the world, the game he plays is more popular than ever and he is raking in millions of pounds in sponsorship deals.

Also he has unique opportunities to identify where his energy comes from in order to maximise performance and he has learnt to control his aggression in such a way that he is much more effective. David Beckham is the perfect role model for any youngster and exactly what every sport needs to promote themselves and get young people participating on a mass scale.