- David Beckham tours Sydney Harbour
- Says Australia has many talented footballers
- Multimedia: How David Beckham became a superstar
DAVID Beckham can stop a city in its tracks - but for a few seconds yesterday it was an Australian icon that stopped Beckham in his.
A man who has seen, done and endorsed most things in a global lifestyle was rendered speechless for a few moments as his private launch drifted towards and under the Harbour Bridge.
It was a rare moment of surprise and spontaneity for a man whose entire existence is a commodity. There is no respite from his lifestyle - almost any move he makes outside his own home is photographed, filmed, pored over.
There`s an apparatus around his life that would send most of us mad within days - a retinue of advisers who co-ordinate every second. The utterly remarkable thing is that the calmest person at the centre of it all is the man it is all about.
Barely able to draw breath after an intensive training session under his new coach, Beckham is spirited away to a launch at Homebush Wharf. A shower is laid on, sandwiches gulped and another round of interviews begins as the boat takes him toward another sponsor event.
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The move to Los Angeles starts to make sense as he discusses his change of life, uprooting his family to play in a league not known for its high quality.
What it does make him, though, is another celebrity in a city where they`re on every corner.
"I wouldn`t say it`s a normal life but it`s a bit easier as there are so many famous people around in LA, doing things every day," he said.
"So it does give a certain amount of extra privacy. But (being in LA) means we`re putting the kids in a situation now where at the moment they`re really happy, they`re loving the lifestyle and the school they`re in - and Victoria`s happy.
"You look at your career and take it seriously but it`s also so important that your family`s happy - and they come first. It`s just been so frustrating on the football side because I`ve been injured so much and not able to play. But apart from that it`s genuinely been great."
The trip to Australia is fundamentally to play a match and Beckham is keen to praise the nature of the sport here, and generous with his estimation of the Socceroos at the World Cup.
He spent part of the afternoon in a kicking contest with footballers from the other three codes - Mark Gasnier, Matt Giteau and Dale Thomas - and it confirmed his impression of Australian sport.
"We as a nation in England know there are many talented Australian footballers - obviously there are the ones who play in the Premiership," he said.
"They`re viewed very highly - Tim Cahill for instance has done really well at Everton. He scores lots of goals and is a very talented player and (Everton midfielder) Phil Neville is a good friend.
"But I think Australia as a nation is always passionate and driven by a desire to win things so we knew (what the Socceroos achieved) was possible from that team.
"It lifted the entire nation - that`s what football does. It does it in our country as well, when you win big games it lifts everybody`s mood."
Beckham is an eager tourist hamstrung by the inevitability that any attempt to take in the scenery will create an instant circus.
"Once I get more time in my life it would be nice to come over here and visit the whole country,"
Having "more time" in his life means when he finally hangs up the Adidas boots he has worn for years, the sponsor for whom he is doing this interview. He has often ruled out management - instead he has a passion for bringing children into the game. And that absolutely doesn`t exclude his own.
"I`ll always be involved in football in some way - obviously there`s my soccer academies, that`s the big thing I`ll be doing once I stop playing," he said.
"That and other charity work, being ambassador of Unicef is a huge thing, a huge honour and I want to do much more of that.
"Without a doubt, I`d love my boys to go into football and if they do then great. But if they don`t then I`m still going to support them as much I can in whatever they wish to do. Mind you, they already love football."
Asked to describe himself, the response is simple. "Passionate - passionate and dedicated," he said. "And a footballer."
