David Beckham Stands Down as England Captain

David Beckham has announced that he is standing down as England captain in the wake of the defeat in the FIFA World Cup™ quarter-final against Portugal in Gelsenkirchen.

Beckham made the announcement in an emotional statement during a press conference on Sunday morning. He said that after almost six years in the job he believes the "time is right to pass on the armband" as England enter a new era under Steve McClaren, the successor to Sven-Goran Eriksson whose last game in charge coincided with England’s departure from the tournament.

Reading from a statement he said he had written on Saturday night, Beckham, 31, said: “I have lived the dream and have been extremely privileged to have worn the armband and been captain of England and for that I’ll always be grateful.”

The Real Madrid player, who was forced off with a knee injury during Saturday's game, stressed that he intended continuing as a player for his country. The decision to relinquish the captaincy, he said, had been made “some time ago” but he had hoped to announce it on the back of success in Germany.

“This is the most difficult decision of my career to date,” added Beckham, who was captain for 58 of his 95 appearances for England. “I have discussed it with my family and those close to me and the time is right.
“Our performances in this World Cup have not been enough to progress further and all the players regret that and are hurt by that more than people realise. I wish to thank all the players for their support during my time as captain, Peter Taylor, Sven and all the coaches.

“I’d also like to thank the press and of course the England supporters who have been great to me and my team-mates and for me it’s been an absolute honour.”

Beckham’s first game as captain came on 15 November 2000 in a friendly game with Italy while Taylor was in temporary charge, prior to the appointment of Eriksson.

Under him England reached the quarter-finals of both the 2002 World Cup - losing to Brazil - and UEFA EURO 2004, where they lost, as on Saturday, to Portugal on penalties.