BECKHAM: “TO RETIRE IN THIS TEAM WOULD BE THE GREATEST”
May 2005

“I´m happy with my football”. This was the sincere and straight talking Beckham in his press conference. The Madrid player talked in English, but also mixed some answers in Spanish, languages that didn´t hide his feelings: “Since Luxemburgo has been with us with us, we have been working more physically and that´s good for me”.

He still thinks that “Barcelona can fail”. He hopes so to happen “this Sunday” but meanwhile he emphasizes his feelings about the future: “I want to retire in this team, it would be the greatest”.

How do you feel personally now that you are going to turn 30?
I´m happy with my football. I feel better than ever. I´ll turn 30 next week and right now I feel very good. I feel great. I can say that I´m in my best form since I left Manchester, along with the four first months I played in Madrid. Regarding my age, I can say that I don´t like getting older, but my wife is 31 and she says I´m still her little boy.

Do you think that your national team-mates will make jokes about it, because you, and Gary Neville, will be the only players who are 30 years old?
have experience and that´s what matters. For me it´s an honour to be the captain of the National team and I always try to offer my work, skills and talent. I think I still have two years more to keep on going to the full.

What has changed for you to feel so at ease?
We are working a lot and I have a lot of confidence in my mates and the coach. I´m very happy with my football. In England the games are more physical and they work more on this aspect in the training sessions. Since Luxemburgo has been with us, we have been giving more importance to this aspect, and for me, that´s very good. Because of this, I´m very happy and I feel pretty good.

Mentally, what has changed for everything to be going better?
The difference is that my family is happy in Madrid. My children and my wife are very happy and all that influences.

Do you feel more free on the pitch now Figo is not there?
No, I don´t think things are like that. For me, Figo is one of the best players in the world. With any team, with Portugal,Real Madrid… He´s one of the best players out there and he makes great central moves. He has been some games without playing, but he is a very important man for this Club and it will always be like that. The coach is the one who takes the decisions and we must obey them. Besides, my performance doesn´t have anything to do with his absence, but with the fact of having trained hard physically and in football.

Was a hard blow for the team, the fact that Barcelona won the game against Málaga?
No. For Real Madrid it´s very important to win all the games, if it´s possible but it´s true that if Barcelona keeps on winning we cannot do anything else.

What do you think of the complaints about the refereeing performance made by the Club through their official media (Realmadrid.com and Realmadrid Television)?
The footballers cannot talk about the referees. It must be the Club.

Can the refereeing performances influence the final result of the League?
No, Barcelona are playing very well. At the end of the season the winner of the League will be the team that have been the best of Spain this year. I don´t like talking about the referees. Last Saturday was a hard game for the referee and some of the cards we received were unfair. I got mine taken back so I´m happy. I didn´t say anything to the referee. I just said: What wrong with you, referees? This is incredible. Nothing else. We realize that the League is complicated. What the Club didn´t like was the cards we received, that´s why they talked. Of course we want to win the League, but we want to do it fairly and playing well.

What do you think of Eto’o´s comments saying that Barcelona will win the League?
Etoo is an amazing person and footballer. Each person has a different opinion. That´s it.

Where do you think Barcelona could lose? Do you think it´s still possible to win the League?
Of course it´s possible but we are aware that it´s very difficult. Barcelona can lose, but I don´t know when, because their game is very good. However, I hope they will suffer some mishap next Sunday.

Rumours still say that you are going to leave Madrid. Do you still have the intention of to comply with your contract?
I have already said that I´m very happy at Real Madrid. My life is complete here. I have been two seasons with this team and I have two more left. I want to keep on here until the end of my career. I want to retire with this team. After having placed for Manchester, one of the best teams in the world, and being captain of English national team, to retire in Madrid would be the greatest.

Would you like to become Real Madrid´s captain?
It would be a dream, but Raúl is an amazing captain. Besides, for that I would have to have been here longer than Guti, Figo, Casillas, Roberto Carlos, Helguera… I´m mean, it´s not very likely that it will happen, but I want to emphasize that I´m happy with the captain we have now.

Thinking about next Saturday´s game, how do you think Real Sociedad will face the game?
It will be a very complicated game, because all the teams playing against Madrid is very important. They all want to give all they can.

How do you see Owen now that he´s part of the main team?
I have a lot of faith in him, because he has been training very hard, he´s a very good footballer and he is capable of scoring important goals.

You say you are going through your best moment, but the English press keeps on talking about your private life, is it difficult to isolate yourself from all these issues in order to play?
When someone talks of selling a story to the newspapers, I find it incredible. I can´t understand that can happen when you invite someone to your place to take care of your children, who are the most important thing for you. You need to trust them and I find it incredible that later they want to sell their story. But I can´t say much about it because there´s a legal case. I´m able to focus on football because my wife and I are normal people. Of course we argue, but I love her a lot and my parents taught me from when I was little how to treat women. If I didn´t my mum would come and have a terrible go at me. REally, we´re very happy and we love each other a lot.

Who would you like to see win in the clash between Chelsea and Liverpool in the Champions?
It´s a very difficult game. I don´t know who could win. There are variuos players that I know and are fellow players of mine for England, such as Ferry, Cole, Lampard… Terry has been voted best player of the Premier and it´s an honour which he deserves, because he has had a very good year, has played very well, is a great perosn and he deserves it. Cole is extraordinary, Gerrard… All of them are mates and friends, and I don´t want to bet for any of them, but it´ll be an interesting match.

Forrás: www.realmadrid.com