Beckham vows to banish the demons

Monday, 20 May 02, 12:41 PM · Comments(0)

David Beckham is determined to banish the 'demons' which have haunted him since his dramatic sending-off when England last faced Argentina in the World Cup four years ago.

England's captain says he knows exactly what is coming his way when he leads his country in what most observers believe will be the key clash of Sven Goran Eriksson's World Cup campaign.

And this time, says Beckham, he will not fall for any of Argentina's tricks.

At France 98, Beckham was sent off for a retaliatory kick at Argentina's captain, Diego Simeone. Suckered into the red card offence by Simeone's stifling attentions on that balmy night in St Etienne, Beckham carried the can for England's exit from the finals.

Public vilification, including having his effigy strung up in a London street, followed.

Now, in a revealing interview on the eve of England's departure for their South Korean base on the island of Jeju, Beckham talked candidly about the Simeone incident - and England's forthcoming showdown with their old foes in Sapporo, Japan, on June 7.

'I'm sure they'll try to wind me up,' he said. 'But there will be a bit of that on both sides. It's part and parcel of football these days - but I believe I'm above all that now.

'I feel I can get over situations like that - things that I've been through in the past - and I'm glad I've been able to prove that to people. It was hard for me at the time, but I'm looking forward to putting all those demons to sleep.'

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