USA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: David Beckham breaks silence on not being named to the Great Britain Olympic squad
Record ID:
330844
USA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: David Beckham breaks silence on not being named to the Great Britain Olympic squad
- Title: USA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: David Beckham breaks silence on not being named to the Great Britain Olympic squad
- Date: 12th July 2012
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JULY 12, 2012) (REUTERS) DAVID BECKHAM ON PRACTICE FIELD (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID BECKHAM, SAYING: "Yeah I'm very proud to be an ambassador and I have been for the years that have lead up to this and getting the Olympics was one of the proudest moments to be involved in with the team and the bid team. It was an incredible moment. And obviously all the talk of me possibly performing in the Olympics, it would have been a very proud moment for me. Everyone knows how proud I am of representing my country and to do it in my hometown on such a big stage would have been incredible, so of course, I'm disappointed but life goes on. My family are healthy, I'm pretty healthy, so at the end of the day, I'll be there to support the GB team. We've got some incredible athletes all the way through every event. It's going to be a proud moment to be there and know that I was part of bringing the Olympics to the East End of London." DAVID BECKHAM ON PRACTICE FIELD (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID BECKHAM, SAYING: "I've had an incredible amount of support. And that's why I obviously want to thank the British public, more than anyone, for the support that they've given me throughout, not just this moment, but throughout my career. The support has been incredible, the letters that I've got, phone calls that I've got. Of course I've had support from my family and friends, they're the ones that care and know how disappointed I am and I was at the time. Like I said, life moves on and I hope the GB team go to the Olympics and win as many medals, as many gold medals as possible." DAVID BECKHAM ON PRACTICE FIELD (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID BECKHAM, SAYING: "I've always said, lighting the torch in the stadium is something that should be done by an Olympian. An Olympian that has done incredible things for our country and won gold medals. I'm sure that whoever decides that will be an Olympian, but we'll have to wait and see." DAVID BECKHAM ON PRACTICE FIELD (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID BECKHAM, SAYING: "Yeah, you know Ryan, obviously, he's had such an amazing career with Manchester United and also with the Welsh team. He might not have made a major competition but for the amount of time he's played for Wales and the way he's represented Manchester United over the years, he deserves to be there. He deserves to play in a big competition like this. It would have been great to have been there with him because we've got a lot of great memories from playing with Manchester United and I hope he gets a gold medal." DAVID BECKHAM ON PRACTICE FIELD (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID BECKHAM, SAYING: "They're the jealous ones unfortunately. They're the ones that like to sit in front of the TV and discuss even my life when I'm not playing the game, maybe I'm at a tennis game, they like to discuss that. But that's people that maybe like to get in the limelight a little bit too much." DAVID BECKHAM ON PRACTICE FIELD
- Embargoed: 27th July 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA7R94D5UHH25J09WX1MYV9DPWU
- Story Text: David Beckham finally broke his silence on being left off the roster for Great Britain's Olympic soccer team. Coach Stuart Pearce left England's most capped outfield player off the squad to much controversy. Beckham had pushed hard to be in the British team as an over-age player and had been seen as a strong driver for ticket sales early in the process.
On Thursday (July 12) Beckham talked about how he is moving forward and how he might be involved in the upcoming Olympic games in London.
"All the talk of me possibly performing in the Olympics, it would have been a very proud moment for me," Beckham said, following L.A. Galaxy practice. "Everyone knows how proud I am of representing my country and to do it in my hometown on such a big stage would have been incredible, so of course I'm disappointed but life goes on. My family are healthy, I'm pretty healthy so at the end of the day, I'll be there to support the GB team. We've got some incredible athletes all the way through every event. It's going to be a proud moment to be there and know that I was part of bring the Olympics to the East End of London."
The former Manchester United player had high praise for his former teammate Ryan Giggs and his new title of captain of Great Britain's squad heading to the Games.
"You know Ryan, obviously, he's had such an amazing career with Manchester United and also with the Welsh team. He might not have made a major competition but for the amount of time he's played for Wales and the way he's represented Manchester United over the years, he deserves to be there," said Beckham "He deserves to play in a big competition like this. It would have been great to have been there with him because we've got a lot of great memories from playing with Manchester United and I hope he gets a gold medal."
Beckham is coming off a two game suspension from the LA Galaxy and was criticized for appearing with his wife at Wimbledon for the men's singles final at the same time as one of his missed Galaxy games.
The 37-year-old laughed off those comments, saying "They're the ones that like to sit in front of the TV and discuss even my life when I'm not playing the game, maybe I'm at a tennis game, they like to discuss that. But that's people that maybe like to get in the limelight a little bit too much."
Beckham also said that he is working with Sebastian Coe, the chairman of the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games to see how he can fit in to the country's presentation of the games. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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