|
 "The thing I miss most is playing for England," Beckham told
Reuters ahead of Friday's premiere of a Showtime documentary,
"David Beckham Into the Unknown," that follows the footballer on
a journey of self-discovery in the Brazilian rainforest.
"Playing for England, representing England, for me was obviously
was my dream," he said.
Retiring from professional football in 2013 after 22 years on
the field, the 39-year-old British celebrity athlete decided to
travel with three friends on motorcycles across Brazil,
traversing the Amazon to meet an indigenous Brazilian tribe and
mulling over his life post-retirement.
"I think people will expect if I was making a documentary, that
it would be solely about football," he said. "What we wanted to
do is do something different, and also introduce people to
Brazil who didn't know the parts of Brazil where we were going
to, in the way that we did."
Born and raised in East London, Beckham quickly became a star
soccer player at Manchester United and on England's national
team, cementing a glittering career on the field with stints at
Real Madrid and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Off the field, he and his singer-turned-fashion designer wife
Victoria have become one of the world's most recognizable
celebrity couples, building a franchise with advertising deals
and endorsements.
In the documentary produced by CBS Corp's Showtime, the
footballer mused on his retirement as he travels from Manaus to
the Brazilian rainforest, camping out in hammocks and sleeping
in shanty farm houses.
"Out of my comfort zone would be not showering for six or seven
days," he said with a laugh.
Throughout the 90-minute film, Beckham often contemplates his
celebrity status, wondering if he'll be recognized in remote
areas they are traveling through.
"I bought it up so much because it hardly ever happened, and I
think that's what surprised me about traveling to those places,"
he said. "I didn't think that I would be known once we got deep
into the Amazon and the tribe, and obviously I was right because
I wasn't and that was refreshing."
[to top of second column] |
Family crops up regularly throughout the trip for Beckham, who has
been married for 15 years and is a father to four young children. In
the film, he reflects on the "selfish" choices he made during his
career that took him away from his family, such as playing on loan
for AC Milan while he was with LA Galaxy, and whether he might come
out of retirement.
"Any athlete that has ... played the game at the highest level for
so many years, once you stop, there's always going to be a few
moments where you feel you can come back," he said.
But the footballer said he's happy to be on the sidelines now, with
most of his efforts currently going into establishing a soccer club
in Miami, and being a dad.
And as for England's chances in the upcoming World Cup, Beckham
thinks the team is facing a strong challenge in its first game with
Italy on Saturday, but one that they can handle.
"Italy is an experienced team and talented team, so it's going to be
a hard game and obviously any first game in a world cup is difficult
but we've got a lot of young players," he said.
"The advantage of young players, they're not scared, so they will be
going in and they'll be playing with the freedom that they should be
playing with ... I think having young legs in there and having
talented young kids that have played in the premiership is an
exciting prospect."
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Lisa
Shumaker)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
