England v Azerbaijan: Sven-Goran Eriksson championed his captain yesterday. The England manager was even slightly resentful that there should be a need to reassert David Beckham's worth. The midfielder himself might for once regret that he stands out from the crowd. No one else would be so widely castigated after a 4-0 victory over Northern Ireland.
This is grassroots antagonism. It thrived on Saturday night's phone-ins and, back at his old club, the ingrates in the Manchester United support now have a chant that acclaims Cristiano Ronaldo by making an insulting comparison with Beckham.
Eriksson, therefore, had to be forceful in his claim that the midfielder not only will be wearing the armband against Azerbaijan in tonight's World Cup qualifier, but can expect to keep it for years to come.
"I think he is still an extremely good football player," said the manager. "He is very important for us. I feel embarrassed always to be talking about whether he should be in the squad, whether he should be in the team, whether he should be the captain. He's in the squad, he's in the team, he's the captain, and that's it.
"The expectation we put on him is extremely high. I thought that on Saturday he did a very good job for us. But of course if you look at some games we've won, he almost took the whole team on his shoulders. Against Greece, for example. I don't think it's fair to expect that every time.
"To go from there to saying that he shouldn't be in the team or in the squad is to go a very long way. He's not in the starting 11 for any reason other than football reasons, absolutely not. He's a good captain." The only threat to Beckham seems to be his ageing body. While he will lead out an unchanged line-up tonight, he has been troubled by a back problem that is becoming a factor, and he will reach his 30th birthday in May.
Eriksson referred to the 2-2 draw with Greece in 2001, when a display of ceaseless activity and inspiration from Beckham ensured England's place at the World Cup finals. It may be impossible for him to perform like that again and the limitations of age seem to be frustrating fans more than they do the player. Beckham was slightly undisciplined against Northern Ireland when he strayed from the right flank and, despite coming close to a goal with a free-kick, it was a moderate outing. Eriksson has not received any indication that Beckham has a retirement date in mind.
Despite that bad back, Beckham ought not to feel his age at St James' Park. Eriksson bridles at the suggestion that Poland have set a benchmark with their 8-0 trouncing of Azerbaijan and he treats that game as a freak for Carlos Alberto's team.
England, in dreadful weather, won 1-0 in Baku.
Eriksson believes that, with an improvement in their ability to hold possession, England are starting to ready themselves to compete with technicians like Brazil. Expertise is one thing but, whether he likes it or not, tonight's crowd will expect a generous helping of goals as well.
ENGLAND (Probable): Robinson (Tottenham); G Neville (Manchester Utd), Ferdinand (Manchester Utd), Terry (Chelsea), A Cole (Arsenal); Beckham (Real Madrid), Gerrard (Liverpool), Lampard (Chelsea), J Cole (Chelsea); Rooney (Manchester Utd), Owen (Real Madrid).
