Psychologist: Beckham passion keeps him keen
David Beckham would have walked away from football if he did not still care passionately about the game and his country, according to leading psychologist Cary Cooper.
The 31-year-old announced his resignation of the England captaincy in an emotional press conference following this summer’s ill-fated World Cup campaign in Germany.
That was swiftly followed by the former Manchester United star being axed from the squad altogether after Steve McClaren succeeded Sven-Goran Eriksson as the new national team coach.
Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello believes the midfielder suffered ‘psychological difficulties’ during what has been seen as the most difficult spell of his career.
Although Beckham has stalled on signing a new contract at the Bernabeu, Capello maintains the player is “regaining all his composure” and the 31-year-old is understood to be more than happy with life in Spain.
Professor Cooper, who is Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at the University of Lancaster, feels men of lesser character would have already hung up their boots.
“David Beckham has not just an individual achievement objective. He wanted the country to win and identified strongly with that. If you do not have that passion, then you walk away from it,” Prof. Cooper said.
“If you are just very individually focussed, concerned whether you do well and are not bothered whether the team wins or not, then you would go and not be disturbed by the loss.
“But for guys like Beckham, when the team or the country does not achieve what you believe it should, then of course you are going to be affected by it.
“Not to be selected even for the England team must have had a devastating effect on him, and at the same time he has also been on the bench for Real Madrid.”
Prof. Cooper believes it will not be long before the midfielder bounces back to top form.
“It is like anybody in a job. When you are at the top of your profession and then not picked for promotion, it has a massive impact on your self-confidence and ultimately your self-esteem,” he said.
“This happens a lot to people in jobs where they are getting near to retirement, or younger people are coming up and eclipsing them. You are perceived as having lost your edge. That happens to everyone in their career at some time.
“Then it becomes in a way cumulative. If it affects your self-confidence, it starts to affect your performance and you are on a slippery slope.
“At some stage, you have to regain that confidence.
“He has a young family, also a modelling and media career. He is not just a football player in the sense he has become such an icon.
“Had his other successes in life, like getting sponsorship, been totally contingent on his football, then everything would have gone down at the same time.
“David Beckham is a very talented, ambitious and hard-driven character, who has been thrown a couple of set-backs.
“But he looks to be able to cope very well and although his confidence will be affected in the short term he is a guy who is going to bounce back.”
Beckham’s contract at Real Madrid expires at the end of the season, and he will be allowed to speak to other clubs from January 1 if he does not pen a new deal by then.
Major League Soccer outfit Los Angeles Galaxy have confirmed their interest in signing the 31-year-old, who has set up a football academy in the city.
Prof. Cooper believes a move across the Atlantic may be a natural family choice for the Beckhams.
“Going to the States would take them out of the limelight,” Cooper reflected.
“He would still be able to play football, although not at the highest level, and the lifestyle of the US may suit his family at this stage.
“They will ask the questions: ‘Do I want good quality of life and to invest in my family, without the spotlight on me all of the time and the media on my tail every five minutes?’
“If it is that, then there is only one way to go.”
Cooper added: “Then there is another issue. When football is over, what does he do?
“The academies would be good for him because he loves to work with kids. You can see that.
“He has got a certain charisma and would do well at that.”
