He took a skillset with two real outstanding attributes – an exceptional range of passing and superb stamina over middle distances – and completed it with maniacal application and professionalism.
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At both Real Madrid and AC Milan he set about proving the naysayers wrong, and succeeded. They thought they were getting a superstar because that was the packaging. Instead, what they got was a very useful cog-in-a-machine capable of the odd game-changing moment (as most good professionals are). At both clubs, the pattern was the same. Derision at the "vanity purchase", pseudo financial journalism about his "economic impact" and then the realisation Beckham was useful. He worked his rear end off, rarely made mistakes, was a great team-mate, and – eventually – was loved everywhere he went.
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But if praise for his work-rate and right foot was always forthcoming in football circles, his adaptability is sometimes overlooked and that deserves to be singled out. It's not just the fact you can count on one two fingers the number of players who have gone abroad and been successful in the past decade, the other being Steve McManaman.
It's the way Beckham adapted to four different and very distinct non-English cities: Milan, Madrid, Paris and LA. And, by all accounts, LA really was another planet. He found himself staying in three-star airport hotels and playing with guys making £9000 a year who bunked together three-to-a-room.
