Chinese Fans Appalled at Beckham's Broken Foot

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 12, 2002

Chinese Fans Appalled at Beckham's Broken Foot

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CHINESE

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DAVID BECKHAM

Birthplace: Leytonstone, UK, 2 May 1975

Height: 180cm - 5ft 11in

Weight: 67kg - 10st 8lb

Full International: England (49 caps, 6 goals)

Position: Midfield

Squad Number: 7

Debut: 23.09.1992

Appearances (1992-2002): 340

Goals: 74

Further Information

Sources from http://www.manutd.com

David Beckham's left foot was broken, and so were the hearts of Chinese soccer fans. The ankle injury that may rule the stylish Englishman out of the World Cup finals came as a blow to Chinese fans in China, where the Manchester United free-kick specialist is immensely popular.

"Many Chinese girls are very, very sorry about the news," said Cecilia Ying, a Chinese scholar who had studied in a London university. "I hope he will recover soon enough to make the World Cup finals."

"The man who injured Beckham should go to hell," a self-styled Super Fan of Beckham writes on a Chinese website.

Beckham limped off after a rough tackle from Aldo Pedro Duscher17 minutes into Wednesday's Champions Cup second-leg quarterfinal against Deportivo La Coruna.

Manchester United said Thursday that Beckham had broken a metatarsal bone in his left foot and would be out of action for six to eight weeks.

"Wednesday is the blackest day for Beckham and his fans," said Ma Zhendong, a computer engineer in Beijing. "To me, Beckham represents England and he is the soul of the team. He is the reason that I love the Premier League and Team England."

Wang Dong, a 34-year-old Manchester United fan, said: "I was shocked. Beckham is unlucky. He was sent off for losing temper in the 1998 World Cup and now he is likely to sit out the South Korea and Japan World Cup."

England's opening World Cup game is on June 2 against Sweden in Saitama, Japan, but FIFA requires each participating team to name their 23-man squad by May 21.

English Football Association chief executive Adam Crozier allayed Beckham injury fears on Thursday, saying he understood the England captain would be out for six weeks.

An eight-week layoff would rules Beckham out of England's three World Cup group games. But a six-week rest would mean he should befit in time for the opening game.

In China, Beckham is more popular than his wife "Posh Spice" Victoria. The name "Beikehanmu", as he is called in China, regularly appears on Chinese sports pages - whether it be for his changing hairstyles, his new advertisements and his talk about his family.

The Shanghai girl Ling Ling, who claimed that Victoria doesn't "fit" Beckham, questioned the singing star's ability to take care of her husband.

"I heard Beckham does more housework than his wife. Can his wife take good care of him when he was injured?" Ling writes on a website message board.

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