At the time of writing, Sir David Beckham, 50, has recently been awarded a knighthood for services to sport and charity in King Charles’ Birthday Honours List. That decision has proved divisive but, the best part of a quarter of a century ago, in his playing days, his election as BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) 2001 was far less equivocal.
Notwithstanding winning the Premiership for the third season running with his club, Manchester United, in 2000/01, Beckham, then 26, had scored a spectacular, injury-time free-kick for England against Greece at Old Trafford in early October, thereby earning a 2-2 draw and securing the Three Lions’ place in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan the following summer. That effort alone, well-timed as it was, just two months before the SPOTY ceremony, was enough to sway the majority of the three-quarters of a million, or more, telephone voters on the night.
The result was hardly a surprise, but the England captain beat round-the-world yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur into second place and England teammate Michael Owen – who won the Ballon D’Or – into third. Tennis player Tim Henman, boxer Lennox Lewis and triple jumper Jonathan Edwards completed the shortlist of six nominees for the coveted prize.
Fittingly, Beckham was presented with the trophy by his England manager Sven Goran Eriksson. Beckham was quick to thank Eriksson and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, adding, “Most of all I would like to thank my wife [Victoria], who has been behind me all the time and obviously my son [Brooklyn], who watches me, every game.” Earlier in the two-hour television special, Eriksson himself had collected the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award, after guiding the England team to the aforementioned World Cup.
At the World Cup, England progressed to the knockout stages, with Beckham scoring a penalty in a 1-0 win over Argentina at the Sapporo Dome in the second of three group matches. England eventually lost 2-1 to Brazil in the quarter-finals, but Beckham went on to make 115 appearances for the national team, placing him third on the all-time list behind Peter Shilton, with 125, and Wayne Rooney, with 120.