The almost meteoric rise to fame of David Beckham had humble beginnings. His father, David Edward Beckham, known as Ted, was a gas fitter's mate and Sandra West was a hairdresser when they married in 1969 in Hoxton, east London, and spent their honeymoon in Bognor Regis before returning to a terraced house in Leytonstone. Three children followed - Lynne in 1972, David in 1975 and Joanne in 1982. His father had dreamed of being a footballer as a boy; now the dream would be passed on to David.

By the age of eight, Beckham was scoring more than a hundred goals over three seasons for his team, Ridgeway Rovers of the Enfield District League; at 11, watching Blue Peter, he saw a piece about Bobby Charlton's Soccer Skills Tournament. He won, with the highest score ever, and he won at Old Trafford, the home of the tournament and of Manchester United. The lifelong devotion of Beckham to United - "There was never another team for me" -handed down from his father, was a source of some puzzlement to his resolutely southern friends and team-mates.

His exceptional talents were quickly in demand by the time he reached his early teens.When the Manchester United talent scout finally came knocking on the door, and he signed the contract on his 14th birthday, it is safe to say that the last thing this modest young man felt was surprise.

Aged only 16, Beckham set down the road towards stardom but fame and fortune were still several years away. Silverware however was much closer at hand as within 10 months of moving north Beckham helped United's youth team win the F.A. Youth Cup in may 1992. Many of the members of the winning team were tipped for big futures, among them Scholes, Butt and the Neville brothers. but Beckham was singled out by Alex Ferguson as possibly the most promising of the lot......