TOP CELEBRITY OF DAVID BECKHAM

WE'VE never seen David Beckham crack under pressure - but his Easter Egg version just might

This decorated version of the crocked England star is among a set of celebrity specials.

Ferguson believed that the Beckham's life of celebrity and Victoria's rising influence over David, evident in his frequent hairstyle changes,

David Beckham celebrates his famous last-minute equaliser against Greece in 2001 that sent England to the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

The Hollywood story of David Beckham looks to have reached an unhappy ending. The 34-year-old was seemingly heading for a fourth World Cup finals appearance after accumulating 115 caps but his hopes of sharing in success for England in South Africa this summer have been dashed.

Behind acres of tabloid newsprint and obscured by celebrity obsession and vast wealth, Beckham's desire to play his best football for the best club that will have him has remained.

When Beckham gave up the Tinseltown life with LA Galaxy to sign an initial short-term loan with Milan the message was clear: it is not over yet. But his second spell in Serie A, taken in a desire to prove his competitive ability for South Africa, has resulted in the end of his World Cup hopes and possibly his career.

Whether Beckham would have made the final 23-man squad will now never be known but he offered a different option to Fabio Capello, a man whom he won over at Real Madrid after he announced his move to California.

Beckham's resurrected ambition will have come as no surprise to the England manager Capello, who has always viewed the player purely as a footballer rather than a celebrity.

Brought up in the best possible environment at Old Trafford, Beckham was a member of the famous Manchester United youth team that swept all before them and provided the backbone for the club for generations to come. Back then all he was interested in was playing alongside team-mates like Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers, Gary and Phil. A future first-team place appeared inevitable.

By 1995 Beckham had graduated into a first-team regular alongside stars such as Eric Cantona and on the opening day of the 1996-97 season he gave the first glimpse of his talent by scoring from the halfway line against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park.

By then he had also had his first taste of international action, making his debut in a World Cup qualifier against Moldova in 1996, having been named the Professional Footballers Association's Young Player of the Year.

But in the ill-fated 1998 World Cup campaign Beckham attracted headlines for the wrong reasons when he was sent off for lashing out at Diego Simeone in the last-16 match against Argentina, and he was widely blamed for costing England the game.

It took some time for Beckham to win back the England supporters but on the red side of Manchester it was a different matter as he helped Sir Alex Ferguson's team win an unprecedented treble in 1999.

Beckham finished second in the World Footballer of the Year awards behind Rivaldo and, to the irritation of Ferguson, had begun blossoming into a fully fledged celebrity due to his relationship with Victoria Adams, aka "Posh Spice".

The impact of that relationship upon his playing ability was keenly analysed when Beckham became embroiled in a row with Ferguson over his decision to miss training while his wife was away at a fashion shoot. In 2003 his tempestuous relationship with Ferguson came to the fore again when the United manager kicked a boot that struck Beckham in the face after his side's FA Cup defeat by Arsenal, requiring stitches.

Capello banished Beckham to Real's reserves but the midfielder's hard work prompted a recall and he justified the Italian's faith. Beckham was initially overlooked by the new England manager, Steve McClaren, although he was subsequently forced to backtrack.

But Beckham seemed set to suffer the same fate under McClaren's successor and his former Real manager, Capello, when he was left out of the squad for the Italian's first match in charge against Switzerland. Yet, just when it looked as if Beckham might never achieve such lofty international heights again, his seemingly slumbering instinct for football at the highest level tore free of its celebrity shackles.

He surpassed the record number of outfield caps won by Bobby Moore, England's World Cup-winning captain, with a sequence late-substitute appearances and was moving up on Peter Shilton's all-time cap record. But far from merely accumulating caps, Beckham had a dream of emulating Moore and the class of 1966. Now the dream is ove