For millions around the world who worship and believe, today is the day of judgment. At some point in the next 24 hours, David Beckham is expected to respond to the succession of lurid allegations about his private life.
After an eighth day of fresh newspaper revelations -- more girls, more texts, more sex -- he is expected to reveal whether he intends to go to court dragging newspapers with him, or into purdah.
Yesterday followed what has become a familiar pattern for the England captain. While preparing for last night's match against Atletico Osasuna, which was watched from the stands by Mrs Beckham, he will have reflected on the latest "world exclusives" in the London-based News of The World newspaper.
There is no way of knowing in advance of his statement whether he slept with Sarah Marbeck, a barrister's daughter, after they met on a Manchester United tour in Singapore in July, 2001, or whether they traded explicit "sex texts" for more than a year. Only he can answer the claim that during the relationship he was known to Marbeck, 29, by the codename Peter Pan, that she was Tinkerbell and his wife, Wendy.
He alone knows whether he sent "raunchy" text messages to the model Esther Canadas. What will he make of last week's tormentor, his former personal assistant Rebecca Loos, who emerged once again having apparently sold her brand of text and sex to the News of the World for US$350,000? Will he care that Loos feels betrayed?
"I thought I was special to David and the only girl in the world this devoted family man would stray for," she said on Sunday.
"Now I know how wrong I was."
Amid accusations which, if true, damn him for being unfaithful to Loos, Beckham found support from the England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, whose own encounters with the News of The World evoked an unmistakable empathy. "All international players in England realize they have to live with this kind of thing," he told another newspaper. "He is very strong."
The England captain has won acclaim for his footballing prowess since his US$45.8 million move from Manchester United to Real Madrid last July.
Since the switch Beckham has undergone a transformation from being a winger with an ability to take excellent free kicks to an accomplished and respected central midfielder.
And his influence has extended from the sporting arena to literature. Last week he won a special prize at the British Book Awards for his autobiography, My Side.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
RSS