Saturday in Gelsenkirchen was a multi-themed exit. Portugal beat England. On penalties. Becks played. Posh applauded. Becks was substituted, writes Tom Humphries in Gelsenkirchen
Posh was baffled and Becks wept. All photogenically of course.
Wayne Rooney, whose celebrity may soon eclipse that of Beckham, got sent off. The only time in this World Cup he made a clear connection in the area turned out to be when the area was most private and sensitive and belonging to the Portuguese player Ricardo Carvalho.
Rooney looked horrified at the red card he was shown and in going to his martyrdom thus followed the path first trod by Beckham eight years ago when England went out of the France '98 World Cup, on penalties, on a night when Beckham got sent off.
What we will really miss is the luminous glow of Beckham's celebrity. Beckham retired from the English captaincy yesterday, a step back into the shadows which presages a time when English football will have to live without its most overrated player and most overpaid clothes horse.
"It has been an honour and privilege to captain my country," he said tearfully before borrowing a phrase from Celebrity Big Brother winner Chantelle: "I have lived the dream. For that I will always be grateful."
And with that he was gone, leaving the world with one handsome face fewer to stare at, leaving sportswriters with one fewer overhyped England player to chuckle at.
It is of course Sven Goran Eriksson who will be stockaded this week by the English tabloids - his pinched features paraded that the populace may toss turnips his way.
For his timidity, his placidity, his sly spinning and the ineptitude of his squad selection before coming to Germany he deserves the bulk of what's coming. The £24 million he pocketed over his five-year tenure will surely help him to endure the humiliation.
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