JAPAN: DAVID BECKHAM INTERVIEW (SHORT VERSION).

Record ID: 645945

  • Title: JAPAN: DAVID BECKHAM INTERVIEW (SHORT VERSION).
  • Date: 3rd August 2003
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (AUGUST 5, 2003) (REUTERS) DAVID BECKHAM IN INTERVIEW SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) DAVID BECKHAM SAYING: "The players have sort of accepted me straight away which has been good for me because there is a time where I need to sit down and settle in and enjoy it but it seems to have happened straight away." CUTAWAY BECKHAM'S HANDS SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) DAVID BECKHAM SAYING: "The stuff outside the football is great and its a great bonus to see the fans and the people that love to come and watch me personally and me as a Real Madrid player is a great honour but then when I'm on the pitch then I'm a professional and when I'm on the pitch nothing distracts me."
  • Embargoed: 18th August 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: General,People,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAAFPY4KABEKQ3GMMMY4SBBQNJQ
  • Story Text: Real Madrid's latest signing David Beckham takes time out from his busy schedule for a one-on-one interview with Reuters Real Madrid's marquee summer signing - David Beckham - took time out from preparations for Tuesday's (August 5) exhibition game in Tokyo to talk to Reuters in a one-on-one interview.
    "The players have sort of accepted me straight away which has been good for me because there is a time where I need to sit down and settle in and enjoy it but it seems to have happened straight away," Beckham said of his new team mates.
    "For me I'm comfortable already in this team. I feel like I've been here for a few years already so that's important to me to feel as if I belong in this team and the players have made me feel like that so of course there was a lot of money spent but I feel that I'm a professional footballer and if I can perform well and do well then great and thats what I'm looking to do," he said.
    "The stuff outside the football is great and its a great bonus to see the fans and the people that love to come and watch me personally and me as a Real Madrid player is a great honour but then when I'm on the pitch then I'm a professional and when I'm on the pitch nothing distracts me," said the star who Real bought for $40 million over the summer - a price tag they hope to recoup with Beckham's huge marketing clout in Asia where he is extremely popular.
    "Man United are a massive club and Real Madrid are a massive club so the media interest is always gonna be a massive amount. Wherever we go, whoever we play, whoever Real Madrid buy its always going to be of interest to the media so thats always going to be there. It's not surprised me at all because big clubs always get a lot of big coverage and thats the way it is," he added.
    David Beckham has been a Real Madrid player for just over a month but the England captain already feels like he has been at the club for years.
    Beckham, who joined the Spanish champions for $40 million on July 2, has adapted so quickly he is already relishing the chance to meet former club Manchester United in the Champions League.
    Beckham, who made his Real debut in a 4-0 win over a Chinese select team in Beijing at the weekend, said that former Liverpool player Steve McManaman and Portuguese midfielder Luis Figo have smoothed his transition.
    A relaxed-looking Beckham insisted Real Madrid -- with a wealth of riches such as Figo, Ronaldo, Raul and Zinedine Zidane -- could cope with the extra pressure his move to the Bernabeu is bound to bring this season.
    The man who launched a thousand mohicans in Japan during the 2002 World Cup has already broadened the appeal of Real Madrid in Asia, where Beckham-mania has exploded over the past year.
    Beckham played in his usual position on the right of midfield against the Chinese select team, the first match of Real's pre-season tour of the Far East, with Real's regular right-sided midfielder, Figo, on the left.
    The London0born Beckham, who inspired a three-metre high chocolate sculpture of himself on a promotional visit to Tokyo last December, may be committed to his new life in Spain but he still has no intention of missing England's friendly with Croatia on August 20.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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