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| England midfielder and former captain David
Beckham gives the thumbs up prior to the World Cup 2006 quarter
final between England and Portugal at Gelsenkirchen stadium,
Germany, in July 2006. Beckham said there was a possibility he may
never play for his country again.
[AFP] | Former England captain David Beckham
said there was a possibility he may never play for his country
again.
The high-profile Real Madrid midfielder, who had a poor World Cup
earlier this summer and then decided to give up the captain's
armband, added he would be
trying to get back into the reckoning.
Beckham, 31, who was left
out of the first England squad selected by Steve McClaren, told BBC radio
Monday: "When I've had knocks
before I've always wanted to prove people wrong, and I want to do that
again.
"If I never play for England again then I've played 94 times and
captained England for six years and have had an amazing time playing for
England. I don't want it to end, I want it to carry on. If I was a betting
man I wouldn't bet on me playing again - but who knows?"
Despite not being part of the McClaren era, Beckham insists there are
grounds for optimism under the new regime.
McClaren, who coached Beckham at Manchester United before the
midfielder moved to Real Madrid, told Beckham he was a 'casualty' of the changes being implemented
following Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign.
Beckham described the day he left out of the squad: "It was
out of the blue, I had a few
phone calls before from him asking about my fitness, I thought everything
was good.
"He came on the phone and said 'you've had an amazing time as an
England player and captain, I want to move forward'. He said there will be
casualties on the way and that 'you are one of the casualties'. It
surprised me and I'm gutted.
"At the end of the day he has a decision to make, when I got off the
phone I was angry and disappointed but I want to play again."
Beckham added: "You need things like that to spur you on and prove people wrong. He
(McClaren) came to United in 1999, we won the treble that year, he's a
good coach and I've sure he'll be a good coach for
England."
(Agency) | 
