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BECKHAM STILL SINGLED OUT FOR SPECIAL ATTENTION
Saturday, June 03, 2006

The Becks Appeal

How David Beckham retains his air of serenity as the storm of his life rages all around him is anyone's guess.

On Thursday he was mobbed by 2,000 people in the centre of Manchester as he tried to do some shopping. For a player who grew up at Old Trafford, he admits it is still a surprise to be greeted with such hysteria there.

A female fan even stole his Ł60 Nicole Farhi hat and, after threatening to put it on eBay, eventually sold it to a tabloid newspaper, who last night returned it to him at the Lowry Hotel where England are staying before this afternoon's final World Cup warm-up against Jamaica.

A day earlier he was the subject of a kidnap prank by his team-mate Rio Ferdinand for a television show the United defender is producing for after the World Cup match against Paraguay.

Beckham says he never believed he was being kidnapped but bolted from the car into one of Manchester's roughest districts when he saw he was being followed by a camera crew.

Becks' focused

Beck surprised with great reception

The 31-year-old Real Madrid midfielder has always used football as refuge from the intense spotlight in which he lives and for Beckham this World Cup is likely to be his last real chance of proving his talent is worthy of his superstar status.

At least as he prepares for Germany he knows there are other talents in Sven-Goran Eriksson's side capable of sharing the burden of the nation's expectations.

That does not stop him being singled out for special attention from his fans, however, and it must have reminded him of the reception he received on arrival in Japan four years ago when he was mobbed in Manchester earlier this week.

"It does still amaze me," he said. "I was still a bit shaken from the kidnapping thing, then I went into a shop and there were 2,000 people there so it was pretty amazing. Just to round my day off, someone nicked my hat as well.

"It does still surprise me that when I come back to Manchester, where I spent 15 years of my career and of my life, to get the reception I did.

"Even in London I had the same a few weeks ago. I couldn't get out of the shop. Six policemen had to help me. But it's a nice thing because it shows that people still want to shake your hand, get autographs......or nick your hat.

Great Reception

Becks On Safety

"There is a spotlight there every day of my life, so I am used to it. But I'm relaxed playing football. It's where I feel happiest and where I feel safest - on a football pitch."

Little wonder when your team-mates are trying to kidnap you the minute you leave the training ground.

Ferdinand arranged to have him taken hostage for his ITV1 show, Rio Ferdinand's World Cup Wind-Ups, but Beckham dashed from the car as it pulled up in Moss Side.

He was so desperate to get away that he jumped out while the car was still moving and ran off to try to flag down a taxi.

Beckham explained: "I got in the car and had a driver taking me somewhere and my security guard was telling me how he got arrested that morning and had to go and pick his documents up from the police station, which was the other side of Manchester, the other side to where I was supposed to be going.

"Maybe on another day I would have said: 'not a problem.' But I was rushing around, trying to get the kids some presents and I was getting annoyed and then he wouldn't stop. That's when I decided to make a run for it.

"We were going through Moss Side. We'd gone through some traffic lights when he should have stopped. I was getting more and more annoyed.

"I looked in the car behind and there was a camera crew. That happens every day in Spain. I wanted to get out and run. I saw a couple of black cabs in a petrol station and I thought: 'Here's my chance.'

"The car was still moving slightly and I thought: 'sod it.' I jumped out and then decided to run for a black cab.

"Then I heard Rio's voice shouting at me. I couldn't see him, so I kept running.

"I just started running for a black cab. It was very funny when I realised the joke. Rio had done a few of the lads already and he managed to get me.

"I always thought that I'd know when it was a prank, but not this time.

"It's been a few years since I've got a black cab."