Happy Birthday Beckham: FIFA pays tributes with a free-kick Tweet

Bengaluru, May 2: FIFA paid rich tribute to celebrated England footballer and former captain David Beckham who turned 45 on Saturday (May 2), by tweeting a compilation of his free kicks including the famous 30-yard one against Colombia in the 1998 FIFA World Cup group tie at the Felix Bollaert stadium in France, which literally signalled his arrival on the international stage.

Though Beckham was part of England's World Cup squad, he was left out of the first two games against Tunisia and Romania as manager Glenn Hoddle was apparently not convinced about his commitment to the team.

However, Beckham got his due finally and started in the third match against Colombia in which the Three Lions needed just a draw to guarantee them a place in the round of 16.

And not the one to look a horse in the mouth, the rising England star made most of the opportunity with that free-kick, which later became a trademark of his game.

⚽️ has produced some extraordinary free-kick takers. Very few could bend it like Beckham ⤴️💘

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @England's curl king has 45 candles to blow out today (really!). Happy birthday, 'Becks' 🎂 pic.twitter.com/q8x4uOUexB

— FIFAWorldCup (@FIFAWorldCup) May 2, 2020

The grapevine was that the day before the match, Beckham spent almost two hours on his own on a small practice pitch, practising free-kicks while listening to Tupac on a big stereo.

Beckham played for the England national team from 1996 to 2009 scoring 17 goals from 115 matches and his mastery of curving free kicks later inspired the movie title "Bend It Like Beckham."

The ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid star, currently owns the Inter Miami club, which is expected to compete for top honours in the next season of Major League Soccer (MLS).

Beckham called it quits in 2013 after a 20-year career that saw him win league crowns with Manchester United in England, Real Madrid in Spain, the LA Galaxy in North America and Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1) in his farewell matches.

Beckham is married to ex-Spice Girls' Victoria and they are one of the most sought after celebrity couples in the world.

In 2005, he was appointed a goodwill ambassador of the UNICEF, with special focus on Sports for Development Programme.

The Twitteratti was flooded with a flurry of wishes from fans and aficianados alike as the free-kick master turned 45.

Happy birthday to our Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham.

Thank you for supporting our work #ForEveryChild. 💙 pic.twitter.com/7xFEEzoRqU

— UNICEF (@UNICEF) May 2, 2020

Becks turns 45 today! Happy birthday, David Beckham 🎉

Tanti auguri per il tuo 45° compleanno, David Beckham! 🎉#SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/onsNfoVKn0

— AC Milan (@acmilan) May 2, 2020