Sport - Football   

It's a 'free kick' between Beckham and Carlos

MADRID June 18. Roberto Carlos welcomed David Beckham to Real Madrid but warned the England captain he would face a fight to take the team's free kicks next season.

``I'll let him take some of them — but only some,'' the Brazilian joked in sports daily Marca. ``He's scored some beautiful goals from free kicks but he doesn't have to take all of them.''

Beckham is famous for his free kicks — one last-minute effort against Greece guaranteed England a place in the 2002 World Cup finals. Roberto Carlos is renowned for one spectacular effort against France in 1997 but his strike rate from free kicks is poor compared to the Englishman.

Beckham is the latest in a long line of the game's most popular and successful players who have moved to Real Madrid after the Spanish club agreed to pay Manchester United up to 35 million euros ($ 41 million) for his services.

``Our president Florentino Perez has shown he can sign the biggest players,'' Carlos said. ``Beckham is part of that group and in Real Madrid you can have as many good players as possible.

``I'm sure he'll be well received and he'll settle into the squad well.''

Reuters

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

Cricket

• Pakistan struggles to win
• A tragic end
• Associates' meeting proposes new format
• Gray discusses the grey areas
• Bad day for Dravid
• Carlisle helps Zimbabwe scamper home
  
  Tennis
  
• Sunil goes down to Simpatiaji
• Sluiter surprises Srichaphan
• Hewitt initiates legal action against ATP
• Mirnyi advances
• Divij Sharan does well
• Chanda Rubin storms into last eight
  
  Hockey
  
• The hunt for a sponsor begins
  
  Football
  
• Bengal sails into semifinals
• Indian women psyched out by the Chinese
• It's a 'free kick' between Beckham and Carlos
  
  Chess
  
• Anilkumar keeps crown
  
  Racing : Motor
  
• Ecclestone spews vitriol at Silverstone
  
  Squash
  
• Seeds have it easy
  
  Swimming
  
• Karnataka and Maharashtra will fight it out
  
  Boxing
  
• Bruno applies for return of licence
  
  

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu