Sven-Göran Eriksson

[Hot Pepsi]

Beckham bottled a challenge at the start of the move that led to the equaliser, and Sol Campbell was guilty of ball watching as the ball was passed to Rivaldo, not that it's burned into my memory or anything.

This is a reason why I'm glad I didn't have a sports career. I'd spend the rest of my life thinking about moments like this. What could have been.

[ursus arctos]

We all "what if" moments.

They tend not be examined decades later by strangers on talk radio and message boards.

[Toby Gymshorts]

This is a reason why I'm glad I didn't have a sports career. I'd spend the rest of my life thinking about moments like this. What could have been.

I missed the deciding penalty in a cup semi-final shoot out. A penalty I didn't want to take, but which my manager told me I had to. I've never forgotten it and I have never been allowed to live it down.

That's at Sunday League Level. It haunts me.

[NHH]

Beckham bottled a challenge at the start of the move that led to the equaliser, and Sol Campbell was guilty of ball watching as the ball was passed to Rivaldo, not that it's burned into my memory or anything.

Scholes also pulled out of the tackle after that Beckham moment too

[Ray de Galles]

Who was the first one?

I presume the last was Owen Hargreaves.

The first one was Joe Cole.

Yes, last one was Hargreaves.

[Antepli Ejderha]

The first one was Joe Cole.

Yes, last one was Hargreaves.

Cheers, I'd never have got that.

[3 Colours Red]

I can remember thinking at the time that he was merely jumping to allow the ball to go out for an England throw - which of course didn't happen.

I've not really changed my mind about that. (Around 52.20 in...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuXEX8xApV4

I always thought it was a combination of that and wanting to protect his injury - other than the penalty against Argentina (perhaps the least sweetly struck goal he ever scored), he'd been extremely subdued during the tournament IMHO. Seemingly taking things very gingerly.

[Southport Zeb]

Other than the goal, I've never seen the second half. I was in an English Literature A-Level exam at the time.

A football hating teacher told us the score as we filed out at the end.

My school delayed the start of the exam to the latest permitted time, which allowed us to watch the whole game. We were told beforehand that, if the game went to extra time, we would have to miss it to go into the exam.

[Satchmo Distel]

I'm still haunted by a school game when I was 11 that we lost 3-2 due to a goalkeeping error by Yours Truly.

[Jah Womble]

I always thought it was a combination of that and wanting to protect his injury - other than the penalty against Argentina (perhaps the least sweetly struck goal he ever scored), he'd been extremely subdued during the tournament IMHO. Seemingly taking things very gingerly.

Yes, maybe so. Beckham's main achievement that tournament was the penalty that sunk Argentina in the group.

Apart from the metatarsal, he'd probably overexerted in getting us to the finals in the first place. Beckham vs Greece in 'that' qualifier was among the most insane things I've seen on a football pitch.

[Mr Delicieux]

It's not very clear from the angle in that video but I'm pretty sure Roberto Carlos slide in two-footed on David Beckham, so I've always thought it was unfair that he's been accused of bottling the tackle.

Glad you brought up the use the word bottling, which was too harsh and coming from a 20+ year old memory that didn't take that result brilliantly. My main thought - coming from a place that was looking for integrity in all the wrong places - at the time was how Beckham was only being kept in because of how marketable he was, as he was off the pace and that was a big player to not have at their best.

[That Night In Barcelona]

Glad you brought up the use the word bottling, which was too harsh and coming from a 20+ year old memory that didn't take that result brilliantly. My main thought - coming from a place that was looking for integrity in all the wrong places - at the time was how Beckham was only being kept in because of how marketable he was, as he was off the pace and that was a big player to not have at their best.

Same here actually but in the fullness of time I've come to see him as a very good player that put a lot of effort in. Perhaps he could have been a bit cuter in this instance though and not jumped quite so high to avoid the foul, just a little contact to get a free-kick.

[Simon G]

As Jah mentions - Beckham's performance against Greece completely changed my opinion of him. Before I thought he was all style and no substance, but he was imperious that day.

[Mr Delicieux]

For a few seasons there at United he was as dangerous a player as you could ask for. Nailing those two corners against FC Bayern in that, er, night in Barcelona takes some serious nerve. From 1995-2003 he was doing some ridiculous things with his passing, crossing and shooting but my goodness his heart went out of it, and looking back at what a basket case industry it is, I can't blame him really.

[Mr Delicieux]

As Jah mentions - Beckham's performance against Greece completely changed my opinion of him. Before I thought he was all style and no substance, but he was imperious that day.

His performance against FC Bayern in the champions league final deserves credit, and not just for his two corners which won United the match but he was a bit self-indulgent against Greece, lots of shots when he could have passed, iirc 12 attempts from free kicks, he kept leaving the right side of midfield and as a result Greece enjoyed no little space down that side. As for the match, that draw represented Greece's only away point in that campaign, and in watching it back a couple of years ago, one thing that has stayed with me is how many soft free kicks we won in areas a certain David Beckham tended to thrive in, many a YouTube comment section of this match coming with its share of Greek chaps making this same point.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

This is a reason why I'm glad I didn't have a sports career. I'd spend the rest of my life thinking about moments like this. What could have been.

Doug Sanders was once asked how often he thought about the two-foot putt he had to win the Open (and missed) in 1970, and he said something along the lines of "Oh, I don't dwell on that. Sometimes I don't think about it for five minutes".

[Flynnie]

Doug Sanders was once asked how often he thought about the two-foot putt he had to win the Open (and missed) in 1970, and he said something along the lines of "Oh, I don't dwell on that. Sometimes I don't think about it for five minutes".

I'd never heard about this and audibly groaned in the office upon watching it, I had to explain to a coworker what I was watching! It on a slightly sideways slope and windy but my god, that's a gimme. Poor guy.

On a more positive note, Tata Brown said he'd think about his goal to open the scoring in the 1986 World Cup final -- his first and only goal for Argentina -- every day and smile to himself.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

It's not very clear from the angle in that video but I'm pretty sure Roberto Carlos slide in two-footed on David Beckham, so I've always thought it was unfair that he's been accused of bottling the tackle.

He's not jumping out of a tackle, because roberto Carlos isn't remotely near to playing the ball. He's avoiding a fairly dangerous lunge. It's definitely a free kick and a card for roberto Carlos. Then again there a pretty awful foul by cafu on Ashley Cole less than a minute before and no card

That trick by Ronaldinho to create the goal is pure filth though. You can see all the defenders glitch when he does that

Also if you watch that whole game it becomes very clear that that ebgland side is full of half fit players, exhausted players and reserves who aren't great. The gulf between the two teams is a lot bigger than the scoreline would suggest. England weren't going to be able to hang onto that early goal

[danielmak]

Also if you watch that whole game it becomes very clear that that ebgland side is full of half fit players, exhausted players and reserves who aren't great. The gulf between the two teams is a lot bigger than the scoreline would suggest. England weren't going to be able to hang onto that early goal

I thought this general idea was posted upthread but I don't see the post now. Tim Vickery often talks about this 2002 side on the BBC World Football Phone-in. The Brazilian domestic league finished a little earlier so the players could have time to work with fitness coordinators. Of course, European-based players didn't have the same quantity of time but still had the same fitness team. In some sense, this approach was similar to 1970 when Brazil spent a lot of time working together as a team. And if I remember correctly from a documentary about Bilardo, Argentina used the same approach in 1986 (team together, good fitness coaches, adjusting to the local conditions both time and climate).