Tony Admas Interview
Tipster
Beckham - The Making Of A Captain
Arsenal's skipper didn't see anything special in the young midfielder
when they first played together for England. In the seven years since
then, he's watched him grow, consoled him at his lowest ebb - and now
sees a great team player who is ready for his biggest challenge
Tony Adams
Sunday May 19, 2002
Sir Alex Ferguson once described me as a Manchester United player in an
Arsenal shirt. I think it was a compliment. In which case, I look upon
David Beckham as an Arsenal player in a Manchester United shirt.
I began my career battling with Liverpool for dominance of the English
game and I am ending it after some titanic struggles with United.
Beckham has been a huge part of those struggles. In him, I see what
Liverpool, again after all these years, ourselves and United are all
about: talent allied to industry. I am often asked the secret of a
Championship-winning team and I always give the answer George Graham
used to give: good players working hard.
I am sure Sir Alex would echo it. It was the ethos I was brought up in
at Highbury and I am sure David has been through a similar system.
There are other similarities: we are both Essex boys who have captained
England, enduring some personal vilification before emerging stronger
people. And though we may be different personalities, I think we are
probably both addicted to football as well.
We share a familiarity with injuries going into a major championship,
too. Everyone may now know what a metatarsal is but I was aware of it
at the age of 19 when I had a stress fracture, which I played through.
So I didn't go along with all the immediate worry that David would not
make the World Cup. Certain breaks heal quickly, especially in a young
man like him. The bone calcifies in about three weeks and will probably
end up stronger than the equivalent bone in the other foot.
I also knew that Sven-GÀran Eriksson would wait as long as possible
for his captain, as Terry Venables did with me before Euro '96. My
cartilage injury meant I had not played since 1 February but Terry said
he would leave it until the last minute if necessary. I finally tested
it on the Far East tour, and England have similar friendlies in South
Korea this month.
Back in '96, one day in China, Terry said he wanted to try out my knee
personally and came at me with a ball, asking me to block-tackle him. I
knocked him flying. 'You're fit,' he said. I'm not sure if Sven will be
trying the same thing on David, but I don't think he will need to.
It took a while for him to enter my consciousness, which I suppose he
did when he scored that amazing long goal against Wimbledon at the
beginning of the 96-97 season. When I looked at United before that, it
was usually with a defender's eye, watching to see how Steve Bruce and
Gary Pallister were playing. Neither were United then the team, it
seemed to me, in the mid-Nineties. Leeds had won the title, Blackburn
as well, and United were only just embarking on the era that set them
apart from the rest, interrupted by Arsenal winning the Double in '98.
Now I can see all the parallels with my own early years at Highbury in
what was going on at Old Trafford. Led by a fiery Scottish manager, a
group of young players was forming a formidable bond that would bring
titles: me, Martin Keown, Michael Thomas, Paul Merson and David
Rocastle; compared to the Nevilles, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and
Ryan Giggs. I have always thought that a crop of talented, hungry tyros
can achieve much together.
But even when David and I first played for England together against
Georgia in Tbilisi in a World Cup qualifier, in the October after Euro
'96, only David's third cap, I did not yet see anything special in him.
I was just getting over injury and in the early months of my recovery
from alcoholism and so, as captain, was single-minded about getting the
job done. There was, too, the issue of Paul Gascoigne. When you have
Gazza in your squad, it takes a sizeable character to overshadow him.
And David was a shy, quiet boy.
Even when Glenn Hoddle left him out of the first 1998 World Cup finals
game against Tunisia in Marseille, I did not feel the same sense of
bafflement that the country seemed to after David had played in all
Glenn's previous games. I still recalled what Darren Anderton had
achieved at Euro '96.
Glenn, who I think was toying with playing them both, David more
centrally in midfield, apparently believed that David was not focused.
Maybe it had something to do with David spending a lot of time on the
phone to Victoria, but that's the way you are with a new girlfriend.
And when you are cut off from family and friends - and we felt even
more isolated at La Baule, on the west coast of France - you frequently
call them, for reassurance and support.
Even though I wasn't captain, I felt and behaved like one. And I was
concerned about him. Though he was not a talkative lad and took the
news fairly calmly, I could sense David's anger at dinner that night.
He has to feel really comfortable with people before he starts to talk
properly to them - and I think that is a big reason why you see a much
more assertive David Beckham on the football field where he is really
comfortable - but gradually he began to open up to me about how unfair
he thought it was and how desperate he was to play.
I simply told him to bide his time, that we might well need him soon
and that he needed to be ready, mentally and physically. I had my own
experience to draw on in the qualifier in Italy when I felt annoyed at
not being captain, in Alan Shearer's absence, but decided instead to
make sure I was in the right frame of mind. Sure enough, David's time
came and he scored that goal from the free kick, the only one scored
directly at that World Cup, against Colombia.
That, for me, was the moment that David took off. In a previous era,
pretty much no one would know you if you weren't in the England team.
As soon as I broke through, people began to recognise me in my own
country. Then, to do it at World Cup level, you break through
worldwide, as Michael Owen also did with his goal against Argentina.
Football is such a powerful medium, especially at the highest level,
and can make you an instant star.
I did feel it was wrong that David was asked to go to a press
conference to talk about being dropped. Glenn should have put a block
on that. I know Gareth Southgate felt uncomfortable about going to a
press conference to say he wasn't fit when he was, so I told him not to
do it, so he wouldn't have to be put in that position. But David was
young and impressionable.
It has been well-documented too, how Glenn criticised David during
training, saying he wasn't good enough to do a particular skill.
Looking back, Glenn may regret it. It should certainly be something he
learns from. Becks was a fantastic trainer, as were all the United
lads. That's their thing, how they have got their success. It was a
moment that shocked many players and I think Glenn lost the respect of
some that day, something that may have continued into the subsequent
Euro 2000 campaign when he lost his job.
But then, Glenn was a young manager, too. Perhaps there was a bit of
envy. He was, after all, not long away from playing for England himself
and could still do a lot in training. If he was envious - and that is
understandable and human - he should have made that public. I would if
I was manager and had a good centre-back. I would simply say: 'He
reminds me of me.'
Technically, Glenn was one of the best managers I played for but as Sir
Alex Ferguson once said: 'Never use sarcasm on players. It doesn't
work.' In five or 10 years, when Glenn's man-management skills are
better and he is further away from his own playing era, he will be a
fantastic manager.
After that goal against Colombia, the same as with Michael's against
Romania, Glenn just had to play David against Argentina. Did I think he
was going to be sent off after that incident with Diego Simeone? To be
honest, I just didn't know. The flick looks nothing now. At the time, I
just snapped into professional mode, trying to organise the team.
I was first back to the dressing room afterwards and David was sitting,
head in hands, in his tracksuit. I think I said something about him
being a great player and that I loved him, but I have done a lot of
consoling after games since then. Whatever he said, he must have
appreciated it because he has spoken about it since. I am sure he saw
me as a father figure rather than a contemporary, and not just because
I have the same name as his father-in-law.
There was nothing else to say after that, really. I think he had a bit
of a cry in the safe arms of his family by the team coach outside the
ground and I was impressed by how he coped with the anger and the
sadness. This is where we are different personalities: had it been me
at his age, I would have spent the rest of the summer getting drunk. He
flew to Victoria in New York for a healthier form of comfort.
Where we are similar is in our footballing response. After something
like that, you either go under or come out fighting. After England's
1988 European Championship debacle, I was determined to win the league
for Arsenal. The abuse from opposing fans - the 'donkey' chants and the
throwing of carrots - just served to fuel my fighting spirit. I sensed
David would react in the same way.
So it proved and United were unstoppable in achieving their treble. I
really admired David for the way he responded on the pitch to the abuse
- including some disgusting comments about his wife and later his child
- and he got my vote as PFA player of the year. The problem was that so
many United players really performed that year that the vote was split
allowing David Ginola to come through.
Now David Beckham is the man, the face of English football, and it is
astonishing how far he has come. I have to admit that I never saw him
as a captain, but then nor did Sir Alex Ferguson, and it was a surprise
to me when Peter Taylor chose him and Sven-GÀran Eriksson stuck with
him. But then I didn't see too many standing up for the job. A
24-year-old Tony Adams would have wanted it.
It is all very well having a captain who leads by the power of example,
by personality and character, but on the field it also requires
organisational ability. At England level, players should be intelligent
enough to carry out the manager's instructions and improvise
effectively when necessary but there are occasions when players need
technical and tactical guidance from within.
For example, a striker might be pulling away from the central defender
to go up against a smaller full-back in the air. Someone needs to read
that and adjust accordingly. Some teams you have to squeeze, some you
don't. The marking at free-kicks may need to be re-arranged. Someone
needs to govern, to say 'you go here, you go there'. I'm not saying
David doesn't have that awareness, it is just that it is difficult to
communicate from wide on the right.
I do understand one reason for the appointment, though. Glenn Hoddle
always used to believe the captain got more respect from referees, that
Alan Shearer might just get awarded more penalties. Perhaps with David,
England will get more free-kicks in the dangerous areas he loves.
He has clearly become more of a talker in the side as his confidence
and status have grown. Against Albania, with England leading 1-0, I
remember him running back to urge on Sol Campbell, who is a quiet
defender. It was the same with Alan Shearer, who would urge the team
on, but shout back to me to get the side organised. But then we had
lots of captains in that era - Gareth Southgate, Paul Ince to name but
two. David needs help now and for leaders to emerge from this talented
group. My hope is that Rio Ferdinand will be one of them.
David certainly led by example in the crucial qualifier against Greece,
though my first reaction was not how well he did but how others around
him looked inadequate. And his last-gasp goal was somehow inevitable, I
thought. What amazed me more was Teddy Sheringham getting a goal so
soon as a substitute. David had had seven chances from free-kicks and I
was sure he had to make one count, given all the work he does on the
training ground.But he is not going to get eight free kicks against a
decent team.
That day re-opened the argument about whether David should play in
central midfield, as I know he himself would like if he is ultimately
to be compared with such as Zinedine Zidane. For me, the answer is an
emphatic no and it has been for Sir Alex Ferguson too. I know he played
Beckham in there in the '99 European Cup final against Bayern Munich
but United's win had more to do with two corner kicks at the death.
With 85 minutes gone, United were losing.
As a defender, I expect central midfield players to offer me
protection. I want them to come back and split the centre-backs, as
Patrick Vieira does for Arsenal, when necessary. It is all very well
creating from there when the team has the ball but you need someone
resilient when a team is running at you. I don't want to see another
England centre-back screaming at his midfield, the way I had to when
Portugal were running through us at Euro 2000.
Again, I am not saying that David could not defend - part of any United
player's game is the ability to get back and work for the team - I am
just questioning why you would want him to in central areas when there
are players, like Steven Gerrard, better equipped. David is best for
the team wide on the right, whipping in those wicked crosses. Why limit
that supply?
Besides, I have always felt when playing against him that you have
partly solved the problem when you force him inside. By all means let
him help out, as he relishes doing, in the middle when needed. And
team-mates love that. I remember speaking to a couple of the Great
Britain rugby league boys and they were moaning about their winger who
simply waited for the perfect pass and never helped with the tackling.
David is not like that.
On the right, he presents teams with a serious problem. If a full-back
goes tight to him, it creates a hole between the full-back and the
centre-back for a team-mate to exploit. A centre-back can be caught in
two minds and a striker can get in front or behind him. If the
full-back sits off, probably my preferred method, you have to be
prepared to get numbers back and swat away the cross.
It does show what a dilemma he sets opponents. Whichever strategy you
adopt, and even when he is not playing well, he occupies much of your
thinking. Which is where Scholes, Giggs and Roy Keane profit. You do
know as well, though, if you can get him drifting inside, you are going
to have more space down the left for your own players to exploit.
As for the question of a suspect temperament, it is four years now
since Argentina, two since that sending-off in the World Club
Championship in Brazil. Anyone who has never reacted badly,
particularly as an inexperienced player, is not human. Personally, I
like a bit of devil in my players; don't overstep the mark but play
hard. If you haven't got fire in your belly, you are going nowhere. I
recall a recent game against United at Highbury that we won 2-0 and I
clattered David quite hard early on. I might even have got a red card
at Old Trafford. He took it without reacting or moaning and later gave
the same out and I took it too. That's how I like football to be
played.
Back in 1990, I remember Bobby Robson saying before the World Cup that
Gazza had the world at his feet. I don't see it the same way with
David. He is not a Gazza, Maradona or Zidane who can win a game
single-handed. He knows he is part of a team, and it is more than ever
a team game; more like a Robert Pires.
Put him in a great team, though, and he is a great player. He works to
make his talent count, is technically very gifted, is an amazing
dead-ball specialist and is fairly decent in the air. He may not be the
quickest but has a speed of thought and delivery, which is why he is
usually a focal point for United's fast breaks. He has energy,
enthusiasm and a fantastic attitude. He has courage to keep wanting the
ball and loves his football. All those attributes should make him a
significant figure at the World Cup, if not necessarily the significant
figure. He is too much of a team man for that.
Those attributes are perhaps why he also seems to have remained so
grounded. The dedication to the game and the knowledge that he is part
of a team, make him a balanced individual. It is probably also why he
appears to cope so well with the excess of publicity he attracts as a
celebrity. He has the priorities right: family and football and the
rest is froth.
In that he is probably a little like me. I saw a glimpse of it when I
was going out with the model Caprice. To be honest, I quite enjoyed the
celebrity for a while but then I am the same person no matter who I am
going out with and I think David probably feels the same. When you are
top of the tree, it is relatively easy to handle, even being
criticised. You are out there doing it, unlike the critics or
spectators.
As for any top professional who has hit the heights, I do have concerns
for David when the career comes to a close; that drug of football is
removed. You can buy another house, buy 20 CDs in a day - and I know
David loves his music - but the buzz is short and empty. As Ian Wright
was telling me when talking about his new television career, you need
something to get the same adrenaline rush of before a game and elation
after it. It might seem to many people that you've got enough money and
can just afford to relax but for the best, it's never all about the
money. It is about the stimulation and fulfilment.
So far, though, David does appear to have all the tools and network of
support to cope. I have heard it said that he is thick: perhaps people
listen to that squeaky Essex voice and judge the book by the cover. In
my book, he has an emotional intelligence. He seems at peace with
himself.
When I was in prison for drink-driving, then plain Alex Ferguson wrote
to me saying that he was sure I had the character to survive, because
the qualities a man shows on a football field are what you get in his
private life. David Beckham can't switch off all that drive and courage
and will demonstrate it whether triumph or disaster befalls him. He
even has it in him to be an Arsenal player. M
Beckham on Adams
After the penalties that put us out of the World Cup, I went back into
the dressing room as the rest of the players came back in. They were
obviously all totally gutted and most of them just slumped down. The
only person who came and spoke to me then was Tony Adams.
I needed it at that point. I was on the opposite side of the dressing
room from him, just sitting on my own in my tracksuit and he came up
and said, 'Don't you ever think you have ever let us down. You're a
great player and I love you to bits.'
It meant a lot to me and I will always remember it. It especially meant
a lot because everyone knows what Tony has been through, how he has
handled himself and what he's achieved. He's got perspective in his
life so for him to come up and say what he did was brilliant. Apart
from that, nothing was said. I was sitting next to Alan Shearer and I
just said, 'Sorry.' That was it. There wasn't a lot more I could say
and most of the players were in their own worlds.
>From 'Beckham: My World', published by Hodder & Stoughton
Adams and Beckham: playing for and against each other
Adams and Beckham have faced each other eight times at club level,
since their first encounter at Highbury in November 1995 when Beckham
replaced Scholes after 64 minutes and still found time to get booked.
Adams has had much the better of their encounters, with Arsenal winning
five of those eight games, including a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford in
March 1998 as part of Arsenal's 10-match winning streak that was
pivotal in their Double triumph that year.
Six of those games have been in the Premiership, the other two were in
the 1999 FA Cup, the semi-final which United won after a replay -
Beckham's only victory over Adams - on the way to the Treble. They have
not played against each other since October 2000, when Arsenal won a
Premiership encouter at Highbury 1-0.
The two have played in the same England team 15 times, the first being
in a World Cup qualifier in Georgia in September 1996 when Adams
captained the side and Beckham earned his third cap.
Big games they have both played in include the 0-0 draw against Italy
in Rome, that secured England's place at France 98, the defeat by
Argentina at France 98, and the defeat of Germany at Euro 2000 - their
last game together before Adams retired as an England player.