Passint Shot: Problems? Mend it like Beckham

I am not a David Beckham fan. But nevertheless, this is all about Beckham's moment on Friday.

My allegiance lies with Michael Owen, who with a quick turn of foot and dive, would make Greg Louganis proud.

Louganis, for those who have not yet been initiated into the complex world of sport, is an Olympic gold medalist diver.

For Louganis, it was never a question of how to make the big dive (he was consistent), but when to make it.

Louganis would invariably produce his best when the lights went out. Consistency is another factor.

This is not to say that Owen isn't consistent. He just likes to choose his own cue.

Owen produced his quota of magic on Friday, but the golden moment came when Pochettino brought him down inside the penalty box.

Beckham does not come across as if he is programmed to inflict the maximum damage. Built like a ballerina he pulls the strings that shape England's fortunes. It is his job to orchestrate the moves that cancel out one era in British football and replace it with another, mostly with him in the leading role.

He is football's version of Anna Kournikova, albeit a far more accomplished one. His legs (left one), clothes, hair, cars, diamonds, son, house and weekly wages are all national issues in Britain.

It is in Beckham's brief to look good. Style, as they say, never goes out of fashion and Beckham epitomises the former quality. And he is as much the creation of his agents as he is a talented footballer and to a more greater extent the husband of Posh Spice.

For years (while admitting that he has class) I have seen Beckham as the 'mane' man of English football. But unlike his hair cuts Beckham showed that he is indeed growing.

The maturing of David Beckham started on that fateful day in 1998 when he was brought down by Argentina's Diego Simeone.

The act resulted in a show of petulance from Beckham followed by a red card and a nightmare that took four years to finally wipe out on Friday.

Life writes strange scripts. In Beckham's case even more so. Who could believe that England would be thrown in with Argentina yet again and the script would make provision for a penalty with none other than English soccer's golden boy walking up to take it.

Well, take it he did to send his national stock soaring.

The cleansing process was suddenly complete. The master of the freekick had waited for four long, agonising years. The rasping penalty past Pablo Cavallero had set the clock back again to zero.

It is not easy being David Beckham. While the fans urge him to climb up a pedestal, his detractors cannot wait to see him fall off it. He's got the money and the fame, but the successful penalty illustrated that there was more than just this at the top of the mountain.

Let's hope he doesn't cheat the hangman often enough to get blase about it.

He probably will and he probably won't. But in England they have a new mantra that deals with solving complex problems: mend it like Beckham, they say.