Did I ever mention I was coached by the current England manager? The Roy Hodgson saga

IT was the single, significant fact most people knew little about when Roy Hodson was appointed England manager this week.

The 64-year-old from Croydon started coaching not, as most of his profiles suggest, in Sweden in 1976. He actually began his career a little earlier than that. He was coaching me twice a week at Brooklyn Primary school in Pretoria in 1974, when South Africa was still labouring under Apartheid and the international sports boycott.

When West Brom boss Hodgson, rather than the popular Spurs coach Harry Redknapp, was linked to the toughest job in football last Sunday, my son sent me an email from England. “Isn’t it about time you told the world about Woy  (he pronounces his Rs as Ws) dad? You bored me with that story enough times!”

So, shortly after writing my “Neal and Pray” column for The New Age on Monday (I was about five seconds from predicting every shock outcome this week!), I bashed out a nostalgic piece about my dealings with Hodgson, then playing for Berea Park in the all-white National Football League, nearly 40 years ago.

As a 13-year-old at Valhalla Primary I had been selected for the Northern Transvaal Under 13 Primary Schools squad, along with school pal Noel Cousins – who went on to become South Africa’s most expensive transfer when he moved from Arcadia Shepherds to Moroka Swallows in the 1980s – and Waterkloof Primary’s Roy Wegerle, who played for Jomo Cosmos before going overseas to Rodney Marsh’s Tampa Bay Rowdies, then Chelsea, QPR, Blackburn and Coventry. He even turned out for the USA at two World Cups.

Hodgson was a fine coach. He taught us to pass like Norman “Bite yer legs” Hunter, the Leeds and England star. He urged us to move off the ball, use both feet, keep our eyes open when using our heads. His training methods were firm and exhaustive. He struggled sometimes with the mothers, but then “soccer mums” are the bain of any youth coach’s existence.

At the time, Roy was playing for a very average Berea Park at what was then the local first class cricket ground with racially segregated crowds of around 5,000. I remember him as a cultured but slightly lightweight left-footer, who arrived here billed as a Crystal Palace star.

In truth, and he never tried to hide it, Roy had left Palace and eked out a non-League, semi-professional career in Gravesend, Maidstone and Ashford. Like his fellow Englishmen, Colin Toal and Bobby Houghton, Roy had come to South Africa to rekindle his professional career.

He would occasionally coach me in the Berea junior ranks, but our main link came on that dusty Brooklyn field twice a week for three months, where Hodgson had to trim one last player from his Northern Transvaal squad. There were 15 of us. Only 14 could attend the inter-provincial tournament.

The unfortunate one? Who else? I still remember the tears as Hodgson told me I was unwanted: “I don’t think you’ll be coming Neal, but you’ve got a nice long throw-in.” I went on to play for South African Universities B, Durban City reserves and at semi-professional teams around London before winning the Over-35s FA Cup at the age of 49. But essentially, Roy’s judgement was sound. It always has been.

Hodgson was teaching at Hillview High School at the time, when he wasn’t playing and coaching football. A year later, he left for Sweden with Bobby Houghton, where the pair – less than successful at Berea Park – transformed Scandinavian football.

Houghton coached Malmo to Sweden’s only European final while Hodgson guided Halmstad to heights they have never subsequently managed. Years later, when Sven Goran Eriksson was named England manager, he told us: “Houghton and Hodgson were my inspirations as a young coach.”

You can imagine my surprise when Roy turned up at Blackburn Rovers in 1997. He had a vague recollection of our days together as he struggled to keep the 1995 English champions clear of relegation.

He disappeared overseas again after that, two stints with Inter Milan were the highpoints of his club career, while he achieved moderate success with Switzerland, Finland and the United Arab Emirates as an international boss.

Then he returned to manage Fulham five years ago, did well enough with an average side before a nightmarish 18 months at Liverpool. And this season he calmly guided a weak West Brom squad to Premier League safety.

With his contract about to expire – and Harry Redknapp’s Spurs demanding huge compensation for their coach – Hodgson suddenly became the safe option, the cheap choice, to lead England to Euro2012 after Fabio Capello opted out three months ago.

So it seemed a perfect time to write about “my part in Hodgson’s rise to England manager” on my blog at  http://neal-collins.blogspot.com/2012/04/roy-hodgson-my-part-in-his-rise-to.html . Occasionally, it becomes a major site. Like when I revealed cricket writer Peter Roebuck’s dodgy lifestyle on the day of his suicide and 22,000 people from all over the world clicked on the site and sent me rude messages. Or the time I lambasted the Welsh rugby side and 10,000 angry Welshmen descended on me.

Normally, I’ll get about 500 hits day. You can imagine my surprise when, on Monday, over 2,500 had read my Hodgson story. By Tuesday, it was up to 12,000 and sparks were starting to fly.

Liverpool fans wanted to know why their former boss was allowed to play in Apartheid South Africa when their current star Luis Suarez is under pressure for racist remarks made to Manchester United’s Patrice Evra.

Ordinary England fans – and the notorious tabloid newspapers – wanted to know more. A Fleet Street agency called me, asking if they could have the story and the picture of Hodgson, circa 1973, playing for Berea Park.

The May Day public holiday became a welter of interviews – on Britain’s Channel4 by Skype, on Sky Sports by telephone, with BBC radio late at night. Everyone wanted to know why Roy had decided to play in South Africa of all places in those dim, distant years of darkness. Though football was the first sport under Apartheid to ignore racial segregation and form the old NPSL, I had to explain that only happened in 1978, a full two years after Roy had left for Sweden.

Channel 4’s Keme Nzerem asked me: “Do you think Roy was right to play in South Africa at that time?” I thought hard. I too had emigrated here as a 9-year-old in 1970. My dad, who made the same choice as Roy, was sitting next to me. He’s lived in Centurion for over 40 years. But I had no choice. An honest answer. Would I have come to a pariah state to play in a racially segregated league in my mid-20s? “No,” I said, “But I don’t think Roy was guilty of racism, he was young and naïve. The most you can accuse him of is ignorance. If you’d watched the TV or read a newspaper, you’d have known all about Apartheid.”

They asked if Roy ever tried to bring black lads in to the team. Of course he hadn’t. I told the story of Arthur, a young coloured lad who tried to play with us at Berea Park before being told to scarper. He was better than Noel. I was a bit upset, but nothing happened. In those days, nobody asked questions, nobody tainted the pure white gloss of our sports teams. Black football belonged in the townships.

Searching for the right words, I told the various British interviewers: “Under Apartheid, it was like Germany before the second World War. Nobody asked where the Jews were. They just got on with their lives. It was only when I got to 16 or 17 I realised the black lads loved football too… and things began to change before I left for England in 1985.”

Fired up by this single, controversial chapter in Hodgson’s life – unwittingly exposed by my blog - the question was soon flying across the world to Wembley.

At 4pm on Tuesday, when Hodgson was officially unveiled as England coach, he was asked, much to the chagrin of many conservative football fans: “Why did you go to South Africa under Apartheid?”

It was the question I had raised, put forward by Channel 4. Hodgson, ever the diplomat, handled it with reasonable aplomb. He said: "I was young at the time, and went there purely for football reasons. I was desperate to play football professionally again.

“All the English lads who went out there were anti-apartheid, but there's not much we could have done about it. We all thought it was an evil regime.

“But I think it’s unfair to bring all this up now, after 40 years."

He’s probably right of course. Many others took the same route, cricketers, rugby stars and footballers like George Best and Kevin Keegan all came to South Africa during the FIFA ban and sports boycott.

And while many twittered me to say I had caused an unnecessary storm, this was my response: “Two words. Evil regime. With that Hodgson has established his anti-racist credentials. Given the John Terry situation hanging over England, that can’t be a bad thing.”

The compliments and insults continue to flood in to my various inboxes on Twitter, Facebook and email. Ultimately though, the job is done. The truth of Roy Hodgson’s time in Apartheid South Africa – glossed over by most of the online profiles – is out, the questions have been asked, elderly demons exorcised for the oldest manager ever appointed by the FA.
My old mate Mark Gleeson put out a piece on Reuters which appeared everywhere from the Chicago Tribune to the London Guardian http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/05/02/soccer-safrica-hodgson-idINDEE8410D220120502 while Channel 4 put this out: http://www.channel4.com/news/hodgon-urges-england-fans-to-support-him and I got to mention it on eNews and eTV's Sunrise in my regular Monday slots.

Now all we have to worry about is his ability as an England boss when he takes over after West Brom’s final two Premier League games and names a squad for Euro 2012. Never inspirational with big clubs, but always capable of forging average players in to a cohesive unit, the jury is out. Will he be another Steve McClaren or an inspirational Terry Venables?

The bottom line is, he’s a nice bloke. A superb coach. A thinker. He may not have lit up Pretoria, but 40 years on: good luck Roy. You might need it.

This story first appeared on page 22 of The New Age on Friday... see www.thenewage.co.za.

FACT BOX:

The whites-only National Football League (NFL) was the first pro football league in South Africa. It was established in 1959 during the apartheid era, and no black, “coloured” or “Indian” players were allowed to participate. When NFL folded after 18 years in 1977, it was superseded by a non-racial league. In practical terms, a merger happened between NFL (for whites) and NPSL (for blacks), to become the new common NPSL. “Indian” teams and “coloured” teams gradually came on board. South Africa was banned by FIFA in 1961 but a range of foreign stars – including Gordon Banks, Derek Dougan, Bobby Charlton, Mick Channon and former England stars Alan Ball and Johnny Haynes played despite Apartheid sports boycott. So too did former England boss Kevin Keegan. But his time at Cape Town Spurs was never raised during his tenure. The FIFA ban was not lifted until 1993.

Rooney: a working class hero or has he cheated the lot of us?

SOMETIMES being a football writer requires moral judgement. Tuesday night was one of those rare occasions.

When Wayne Rooney, the current subject of intense media scrutiny, waltzed in to score England’s opening goal in Basel during England’s rousing 3-1 win over Switzerland, we were confronted with a real condundrum.

Here’s a rich young bloke who paid for sex while his wife Colleen was pregnant producing the vital goal in the biggest qualifying game of England’s 2012 European Championship campaign.

Read that again. It’s a long sentence but it’s fact. Does scoring on the field make him a national hero when he paid £1,000-a-night to score off it? Is the man we cruelly call Shrek a brave, unattractive working class lad triumphing in the face of adversity or an overpaid, nasty piece of work waving two fingers at civilised society?

Remember, this is the £120,000-a-week Manchester United star who previously found himself paying a grandmother for sex when he was engaged to the delightful Colleen in 2004. And, apparently beset by fears over the latest revelation, he was a real let down at the World Cup. Oh, he smokes too. And drinks. And urinates in public.

But like it or not, he’d gone out there and done the business with born-again boss Fabio Capello admitting: “The pressure was on Rooney, but he played very well. The players want to play without other things on their minds. They can focus on the game alone. He did that. He and the others were happy at the end."

Of course, there are other less philosophically taxing subjects to dwell on. The emergence of young Manchester City winger Adam Johnson, who scored his second goal in as many games, and has yet to be revealed doing anything immoral. And he’s more handsome than Rooney.

Or Sunderland’s rugged top scorer Darren Bent, slotting calmly the third goal against the only side to beat Spain during the World Cup, despite being over-looked for South Africa. Now there’s a courageous substitute.

But no, God declared we must make a moral judgement on Rooney, proudly beating his drum while Theo Walcott and Jermain Defoe were carted off on stretchers.

Ultimately, the verdict has to be the truth. Rooney’s a talented footballer, but – like John Terry and Peter Crouch – that can never overcome our disgust at his off-field antics. Well played Rooney, now sort yourself out. End of. For your son Kai’s sake.

And then there’s Scotland. Five hundred years of border skirmishes and imperialist guilt leave our northern neighbours with a curious place in our hearts. But when they produced the 97^th minute winner against minnows Liechtenstein at Hampden Park, there was another dilemma.

Do we celebrate their expected 2-1 triumph over a bunch of part-timers who kicked them off the park? Or do we lament the visitors’ inability to complete one of the greatest shocks in modern football?

No dilemma here for me. Well done Scotland, bring on Spain and the Czech Republic. Liechtenstein put the boot in and got nowt for it.

Elsewhere, two sets of minnows did pull it off. Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic with a population of just 600,000, beat neighbourhood giants Bulgaria 1-0 to join England at the top of Group G. Lithuania went to the Czech Republic and won 1-0. Wonderful stuff.

France began their Laurent Blanc-led rehabilitation from internal troubles in South Africa with a 2-0 win over Bosnia, leaving banned-for-eternity villain Nicolas Anelka the only unhappy Frenchman in the world.

Germany continued the form which saw them finish third in the World Cup, crushing Azerbaijan (admittedly, hardly a world force) 6-1 with their ironic blend of Aryans, immigrant sons and foreign born citizens. Love that one.

Fallen giants Italy finally discovered how to score again, crushing the not-so-mighty Faroe Island fishermen 5-0 while Sweden went one better against the principality of San Marino. The Republic of Ireland duly annihilated tiny Andorra to go top of Group B.

And there’s the moral question again. How can we write about huge European Championship performances when your brain is telling you these are just a bunch of big bullies crushing the footballing life out of the poorly-resourced underdogs?

So let’s turn to the world champions. Spain, fresh from their World Cup success at Soccer City, found themselves trumped 4-1 by Argentina. At last, a result without the need for a moral philosophy. Spain scored a record low of seven goals to conquer the world in June and July. Glad to see them beaten.

Mind you, those Dutch cloggers from the final, Holland, saw off Finland 2-1. Hmmm.

Okay let’s finish with Norway. Unfashionable, chilly, beset by dodgy fjords, woeful winters and ice bergs. But they were one goal better than Portugal’s sun-tanned millionaires.

Another great night of European qualifiers. And being fickle sports lovers, all England will rejoice at Rooney’s success. It’s a man’s game, football. We know that much now. But somehow, I can’t help feeling he’s cheated on all of us.

A bit like those Pakistan cricketers really.

Rooney Exposed As England Head For The Swiss Hills... Who's Next?

ONLY one thing shocks me after the marriage-wrecking Wayne Rooney revelations over the weekend. It’s this: How come everyone's acting so surprised?

Before England’s squad departed for the World Cup in South Africa in June, the news was out and about. Three rumours were doing the rounds. One of them (and not the biggest one): Wayne Rooney had been seeing a prostitute while his wife Colleen was pregnant. The Mirror finally overcame the lawyers and published the details on Sunday, leaving Rooney’s place in tomorrow night’s Euro 2012 clash with Switzerland in Basel in jeopardy.

Truth is, Rooney wasn’t the only one who spent the World Cup sweating, awaiting the call from home. You an imagine them sitting in the middle of nowhere, waiting to hear the news that their nefarious activities had been exposed at last. England’s Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus near Rustenburg was awash with nervous footballers.

John Terry, of course, had already been stripped of the captaincy by then after the News of the World revelaed he had been having an affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the mother of former Chelsea team-mate Wayne Bridge’s son.

Three weeks ago, England striker Peter Crouch was exposed by the same Sunday tabloid over his relationship with a prostitute despite being engaged to Abbey Clancy.

Ashley Cole’s “quickie” divorce from celebrity wife Cheryl Cole went through last week after months of revelations from various women who knew he wears y-fronts (and had pictures to prove it).

Two further “super-injunctions” remain in place, preventing the voracious British tabloids from exposing the full, sad story surrounding the current England squad.

As I said before and during the World Cup, having seven or eight players hovering over their mobile phones fearing devastation in their private lives is no way to win the greatest footballing event on earth. Taken away from their comfortable, cosseted lives at home, they were isolated from their minders and advisors in Africa, and it got to them.

That’s what Fabio Capello had to deal with in South Africa. A nightmare epitomised by Rooney’s behaviour after the appalling 0-0 draw with Algeria in Cape Town, when he played like a has-been and mouthed off at the booing fans.

Yet the English press have turned on Capello since an appalling World Cup which culminated in a 4-1 defeat against Germany in the first knock-out round. They were lucky to get that far.

As Capello moaned last week: “You have turned me from a god into a monster.”

What I can’t understand is this: the entire press corps in South Africa knew all about the sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of several England stars. They must have realised Rooney’s moodiness, Terry’s rebellious Sunday press conference, Cole’s lack of spark, not to mention that infamous training ground scrap between captain Gerrard and former captain Terry was sparked by events Capello couldn’t hope to control.

The poor bloke has just landed in Switzerland where he is trying to cope with the Rooney revelations. No football manager should have to deal with this kind of thing.

But Capello, after the glorious World Cup qualifying campaign, found himself at the long-awaited finals in South Africa surrounded by players living on the edge.

He has returned determined to do his job once more. To get England to the tournament in Poland and the Ukraine in two years’ time. He started the campaign in style with a 4-0 win over Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday night, with Rooney playing a starring role as the architect of Jermain Defoe’s hat-trick.

Now Capello must decide if Rooney is psychologically fit to play Switzerland tomorrow night. And hope neither of the other two super-injunctions fails before then. No names, but blimey, if the other stuff comes out, Capello will be struggling to name a team.

And here’s the point. Knowing now what Capello was trying to cope with in South Africa, will the media apologise to the proud Italian? Will they accept it wasn’t Capello’s fault half his side played like dunderheads at the World Cup?

And if he inspires a second successive qualifying win in Basel, will they agree (as they did before the World Cup) the Italian is the best man for the job despite his lack of fluency at press conferences?

I hope so. Fabio, forget the broken English, you’re fab. Not your fault you are in charge of a bunch of over-paid philanderers.

There is another view. If the press weren’t allowed to publish these stories, England could be world-beaters. Luckily, we live in a nation where the press is relatively free.

To see exclusive revelations about England’s off-field problems before and during the World Cup, simply scroll through early entries at www.neal-collins.blogspot.com.

England's World Cup exit over-shadowed by Gerrard rumours: 150,000 million good reasons why we should know more

Nearly a week after their dismal exit from the World Cup, the truth about Engalnd’s dismal display at South Africa 2010 is beginning to emerge.

On Sunday morning, when four million copies of the News of the World hit the doormats across the green and pleasant land, we may know more.

But for now, we must content ourselves with rumour and innuendo – gossip which goes back THREE MONTHS, to the fateful day I emailed the Daily Express with a snippet of information on Steve Gerrard which seemed almost unbelievable had it not come from a good source.

The Express refused to print – rightly so given our lack of hard facts – but the Daily Mail did catch Gerrard’s wife Alex Curran out and about without her wedding ring two days later... and ran the story. And reports that Gerrard had moved out of the family home to the Vincent Hotel in Southport were rife.

The great irony of all this is that Gerrard was made captain of England’s abortive campaign in South Africa when Rio Ferdinand was injured in his first training session at the Royal Marang hotel.

John Terry, stripped of the captaincy over his affair with former team-mate Wayne Bridge’s partner Vanessa Perroncel, was understandably miffed. His attempt to gain an injunction against the story had succeeded for two weeks, then fell apart. He had argued that the story would have ruined his World Cup campaign. Apparently the Gerrard story – involving several other characters including a player from a less fashionable club - stays hushed up for exactly those reasons.

And if you have a quick squint at today’s Sun – the News of the World’s daily stable-mate – you’ll read how David Beckham was forced to make the peace when Gerro and JT went head-to-head before the 4-1 capitulation against Germany in Bloemfontein last Sunday.

Journalists aren’t supposed to operate on rumours, but when injunctions are flying and google provides a clearer picture of what’s actually going on than our newspapers can, something has to be said.

Around 30,000 England fans made the 12-hour flight to South Africa to watch England under-perform. Each of them spent in the region of £5,000 as the Three Lions failed to roar against the US, Algeria and even Slovenia. And then went out with barely a miaow against the Germans. I make that 150 million good reasons to fill you in a little on the rumours which have surrounded the England camp for weeks.

I’ve said repeatedly on air and in my written reports during this World Cup that it is hard for Fabio Capello to manage a side where so many players are racked by domestic upheaval. Ashley Cole and his wife Cheryl are going through a painful divorce, Frank Lampard has set out on a high profile relationship with a television presenter after he split with Elen Rives, the mother of his children. Robert Green’s girlfriend was pictured with another man during the tournament while Terry and Carragher seethed over their cornflakes for a month at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus. Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and others have also had their tabloid embarrassments.

With that sort of bad feeling eating away at the squad, is it any wonder they underperformed? Remember, the £100,000-a-week stars are well known in South Africa – and around the world. Every week they produce football of the highest standard in the Premier League. England qualified for this tournament in fine style under Capello’s stern eye. Yet they could barely raise a gallop against modest Algeria when the Barmy Army turned up in Cape Town to cheer them on.

And when it came to the crunch against Germany, they had only the Lampard disallowed goal to fall back on as an excuse. In truth, when Lamps scored his equaliser, they could have been 4-1 down such was the dominance of German’s young guns.
An unhappy Terry stands as the main character in this story. I wrote this at the time: http://neal-collins.blogspot.com/2010/01/story-theyve-finally-allowed-us-to.html.

His discontent spilled over into the public domain when he gave an astonishing press conference in Phokeng two Sundays ago. He complained about not being allowed a beer after the Slovenia debacle, he said boredom had become a factor at one of the world’s best-equipped high-altitude training camps... and bemoaned the non-selection of his Chelsea pal Joe Cole.

His direct attack on Capello’s authority was quickly slapped down. An apology of sorts was issued through the Daily Mail’s Matt Lawton, the man who had leaked the news of Green’s axing for the Algeria game after his Phokeng awful blunder against the US. Lampard was wheeled out to paper over the cracks. By then England’s campaign was doomed.

After the Slovenia game, Terry called the players into a huddle, challenging Gerrard’s captaincy. Beckham, the statesman and newly-appointed assistant coach, was forced to broker a fragile peace which kept things out of the public domain until after their embarrassing exit.

But that cease-fire will be blown asunder if – make that when – the Gerrard allegations are made public. Then Terry, a man who lives beyond his means despite his £140,000-a-week wage at Stamford Bridge, will be able to say “I told you so” and claim he should never have lost the captaincy and his major source of extra income.

Losing the armband came only months after his minders had put a poorly-spelt colour brochure around, touting Terry as a leader worth investing in. This is how it looked: http://neal-collins.blogspot.com/2009/11/john-influencial-terry-england-captain.html. On top of that, Terry’s mum and his mother-in-law had been caught shop-lifting. His father was pictured in the News of the World dealing drugs. The man has huge problems despite – or perhaps because of - his status as one of England’s senior professionals.

I suspect Gerrard will join the Liverpool exodus to find refuge with Rafa Benitez at Inter Milan or elsewhere. Roy Hodgson knows full well the impact that will have on Anfield after last season’s dreadful performances, which may also have had something to do with the Gerrard situation.

Today the Sun bides it’s time. News International, owners of Sky, the Sunday Times, the Times and the News of the World, lulls us into a sense of well-being. We see Frank Lampard kissing his girlfriend Christine and drinking wine on holiday. Rooney, who is also believed to be under scrutiny, is reported to have flown first class to Barbados to escape the England inquest.

And we even have a picture of Alex Curran, Gerrard’s wife, having her hair done.

The calm before the storm. Prior to the World Cup, I said leave these people alone, let them get on with the business of righting 44 years of hurt since 1966. Now I’m not so sure. England’s long-suffering fans deserve an explanation. Let them have it.

Neal Collins is in South Africa to mourn for England and promote his first novel A GAME APART. See www.nealcollins.co.uk.

To see him perform at the National Arts Festival on July 4, go to http://www.computicket.com/web/event/neal_collins_a_game_apart/148367625.

Capello opts for Upson and slams Terry as tensions rise before Slovenia showdown

England coach Fabio Capello has bowed to the pressure and agreed to name his side early before the must-win World Cup clash with Slovenia on Wednesday – and he has already confirmed West Ham’s Matthew Upson will replace Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher at centre-back.

Capello has also slammed former captain John Terry for his comments at a press conference on Sunday. The Generalissimo, reasserting his authority in an increasingly tense camp, said: "When you speak, you have to speak privately. This is a big mistake - you have to speak with me and the players."

With Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand ruled out just before the tournament and Tottenham’s Ledley King injured in the opening Group C clash against the USA, Capello has little choice other than Spurs Michael Dawson, who arrived as a late replacement for Ferdinand.

Carragher, who reversed his international retirement to be here, was booked after coming on during the 1-1 draw against the US and picked up a second booking in the awful 0-0 draw against Algeria in Cape Town on Friday.

His suspension left Capello confirming: "Upson will play because he always played with John Terry and I probably will change some others."

Capello has come under pressure from the media and players – notably former captain Terry – over his decision not to name his side until two hours before kick-off in South Africa. Curiously though, the Daily Mail found out 24 hours before the Algeria game that Portsmouth veteran David “Calamity” James was to take over from West Ham’s Robert “Phokeng” Green in goal.

That suggests the players have always known the team some time before kick-off – and it was just a matter of plugging the leaks.

Capello, who has been unusually animated on the sideline throughout, could be seen to have bowed to the pressure after Terry spoke of “arguments” in the camp on Sunday. The Italian has also spoken of the “pressures” of this World Cup, and fears he has “wasted two years” of preparation.

Capello’s mood won’t be helped by former England full-back Paul Parker coming out in support of Dawson rather than Upson, who struggled with the Hammers in the relegation fight last season. Parker said: "God knows why Dawson wasn't in the original squad - but he should replace Carra against Slovenia without a shadow of doubt.

"Michael Dawson was playing well for his club at the end of the season yet he picked (Matthew) Upson, who just hasn't been playing well."

Critics are also calling for the end of Frank Lampard’s ragged World Cup campaign. Though he scores 20 goals a season for Chelsea, he struggles to make an impact next to Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard for the Three Lions. Others argue Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry, rushed back into the side after injury, is still not 100 percent.

Alternatives include James Milner, give just 32 minutes to prove his worth against the US, Michael Carrick, the Manchester United central midfielder who likes to sit deep and spray it around, or Chelsea’s Joe Cole, curiously over-looked on the left throughout this tournament.

Neal Collins is in South Africa to promote his first novel A GAME APART. For more details see www.nealcollins.co.uk .

He is also appearing at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown next month. For tickets, see http://www.computicket.com/web/event/neal_collins_a_game_apart/148367625

England 1 USA 1 and Robert Green is Phokeng awful

Robert Green, you will never make a bigger mistake. Emile Heskey, you will never miss an easier chance. Fabio Capello, you are pushing yourself to an early grave.

Two days gone in South Africa and already this World Cup has done for me. England’s 1-1 draw with the USA was held in Rustenburg township Phokeng. That’s roughly the word used a lot by England fans during an absorbing, unbelievable 90 minutes.

It started so well. Steve Gerrard, the captain, slotted home from Emile Heskey’s neat pass after just four minutes. Pandemonium in the 44,000 Royal Bafokeng Stadium, where England fans outnumbered the Americans despite inferior ticket sales, boosted by the vast ex-pat community in South Africa.

Flags, vuvuzelas, drums. But American clawed their way back. James Milner, picked on the left ahead of Joe Cole, looked uncertain and took an early booking on 26 minutes. Capello, never more animated than last night, whipped him off and brought on... Shaun Wright Phillips. Yes, ignoring smoking Joe, he went for the littlest man with no left foot after just 32 minutes.

Then the blunder of all blunders. Green, who has had a mediocre season at relegation-threatened West Ham, went down to collect a weak, bobbling shot from Fulham’s Clint Dempsey after 40 minutes... and let it slip right through him.

It’s perhaps the worst mistake I’ve ever seen from an international goalkeeper, and God knows we English have seen a few. Ask Paul Robinson about that divot, or Scott Carson what happened to his international career.

According to statistics experts Opta’s man on Twitter, Green made more goal-leaking blunders than anybody else in the Premier League last season. Poor bloke, what could they say to him at half-time? Still, I’m no sentimentalist. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho6U_KRQWBk. And come to that, what did Capello say to Frank Lampard, who barely touched the ball for 45 minutes?

We’ll never know. What we do know is that Tottenham’s Ledley King, with the dodgy knees, disappeared during the interval to be replaced by Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher, who reversed his international retirement for the sake of the nation.

Booked for a typical mis-timed scything tackle, Carro let Jozi Altidor, Hull’s former one-goal-a-season striker, slip past him, allowing Green to redeem himself slightly with a good near-post save.

At the other end Emile Heskey, Aston Villa’s non-scoring striker, produced a blunder ever bit as damaging as Green. Totally clear in front of goal from Aaron Lennon’s astute ball, he fired straight at Tim Howard. By then, after 52 minutes, England had every right to say they should have been 2-0 up. It wasn’t so much an open goal as a yawning chasm.

It goes on. The anonymous Lampard had a good effort saved, Wright-Phillips ditto. Again and again England piled forward. And weary England fans sat waiting for an American winner on the break, just like in 1950 at Belo Horizonte.

There was time for a Landon Donovan effort which flew just high. Then they all trooped off. England robbed? No, England doing their normal. In 1966 they opened with a 0-0 draw against Uruguay at an unhappy Wembley.

This is normal. I’m telling my shredded nerves that. I told BBC Radio 5 last night I’d be happy with a draw. They said I was defeatist. No. Just a realist. Both these sides should qualify. I’m off to see the other two Group C teams, Slovenia and Algeria, play in distant Polokwane tomorrow just to check.

Afterwards Gerrard said: “It was a difficult game. The most important thing in your first game is not to lose. Unfortunately we’ve let a poor goal in and we couldn’t go on to get the winner.

“It’s one of them freak things. You can’t criticise the goalkeeper. We have to get behind Robert and support him. I’m sure he’ll live. He’ll make a big save for us to win a match down the line. It shocked us a bit.

“Took us a while to get over it but I thought we finished the game a bit stronger.”

PS: I didn't mention Wayne Rooney, the erm, English Pele. He's not. He did nothingPS: Forgot to mention Wayne Rooney, England's Pele apparently. That's because he didn't do anything.

World Cup injury crisis: Stricken Rio doesn't want to go home

ENGLAND captain Rio Ferdinand is refusing to go home after being ruled out of the World Cup on Friday.

The Manchester United centre back injured his knee during England’s first training session in South Africa on Friday. But he has decided to “stay on and help” as England prepare for tomorrow’s friendly against local side Platinum Stars at the nearby RoyalBafokeng Stadium.

My man in the camp says: "Rio’s devastated but Fabio Capello has spoken to him. He’ll have Rio around for as long as he wants to stay. Rio is a popular man in the camp. Fabio thinks it would be good to have him around in a similar role to David Beckham.”

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is apparently happy with the arrangement, given the high quality of the brand new medical facilities at England’s Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus near Rustenburg. Ferdinand, 31, has been diagnosed with a “grade two cruciate ligament strain” by England’s former Arsenal physio Gary Lewin but no rupture was found. He has already been replaced in the squad by Tottenham’s Michael Dawson, who arrived yesterday morning.

With the injured Beckham already filling the role of team liaison officer, Ferdinand'sadvisor Jamie Moralee said: "Rio is absolutely distraught. He worked so hard after the back injury that had troubled him for much of the season and he was feeling extremely fit and very sharp.

"I know how proud he would have been to lead out England in their World Cup Group C opener against the United States next Saturday. It would have been the proudest moment.

"So to suffer this freak injury in training is just a nightmare for him. He is so upset he can hardly speak. It's a crying shame."

With some players admitting they heard a crack when Ferdinand went down after a clash with Aston Villa’s Emile Heskey, Frank Lampard – the new vice-captain behind Steven Gerrard in Rio’s absence – said: "I spoke to Rio and he’s very down. He is such a good mate and for this to happen made me feel sick to my stomach."

England are not the only ones with injury problems. Holland are fretting over ArjenRobben’s hamstring after their 6-1 thumping of Hungary, Chelsea’s John Mikel Obi is out of the tournament after hurting his ankle and re-inflaming his knee in the Nigerian camp in Richards Bay and Tottenham’s Wilson Palacios hurt his shin during Honduras’ the 3-0 defeat against Romania in Austria last night .

Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba is likely to miss the tournament with a broken arm despite "successful surgery" yesterday, while Mexican Guillermo Franco, Italy playmakerAndrea Pirlo and United States striker Jozy Altidore are all struggling.And those big name blows come after the withdrawal of Beckham, Germany captain Michael Ballack and Ghana midfielder Michael Essien.

But England boss Fabio Capello appears to be unfazed by the spate of World Cup injuries and insists he will field his big name stars – including injury-prone pair Wayne Rooney and Ledley King – in Monday’s friendly. After lacklustre wins over Mexico and Japan, he said: “Sure these are friendly games, but you have to prepare for the game against the USA.

"Of course we have to be careful about injuries but we have to prepare for the opening game against the USA on June 12. So, yes we do have to play our best players.

"I have to play all the players that will play against the USA for 45 or 60 minutes.”

The US, fresh from their impressive 2-1 win over Turkey in the final match of their send-off tour, beat Australia 3-1 in Ruimsig near Johannesburg yesterday.

England's other Group C rivals Algeria saw off the United Arab Emirates 1-0 while Ghan did the same to Latvia. Serbia edged Cameroon 4-3 and Slovakia beat Costa Rica 3-0. Italy's poor form continued with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland while South Africa's unbeaten run continued with a 1-0 win over Denmark.

Neal Collins (nealcol on Twitter) is in South Africa promoting his first novel A GAME APART, dubbed the book you must read before the World Cup. For more details, go to www.nealcollins.co.uk. To see his uplifting video of yesterday's South Africa friendly, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAZhxAVIwLU

Rio's bed barely cool as Dawson touches down in South Africa, ready to train

MICHAEL DAWSON is here. He touched down at Johannesburg’s Oliver Tambo Airport this morning ready for the greatest month of his life.

Yesterday he was 5,000 miles away contemplating a summer holiday and how he was going to persuade the missus to let him watch England’s World Cup campaign on the television.

Then England captain Rio Ferdinand’s knee gave way during England’s first training session at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Complex after a challenge involving Emile Heskey. The injury-prone Manchester United star – who played started 13 Premier League games last season as he struggled with back and thigh problems – was rushed to hospital, underwent scans and was ruled out.

While we wrote the footballing obituary for a 31-year-old who is unlikely to feature at Brazil 2014, Dawson was fielding the call from Fabio Capello. I imagine the conversation would have gone something like this from the Italian Generalissimo: “Michael, your country needs you. Get to Heathrow, pronto!”

Dawson, 26, who flew in on the same plane as several reporters, has had to miss today’s wedding anniversary... but his bags came off the aeroplane first.

Part of the original 30-man squad, Dawson has yet to win an England cap. He heard on Tuesday he hadn’t made the cut, last night the dream was back on line. This afternoon he will be training with the squad before the opening Group C game against the USA in Phokeng on June 12.

Apparently he told a passenger on last night’s flight that he really felt for Rio after the “sickener” of a last minute injury.

And Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, who spent the middle part of the week insisting Dawson should have joined White Hart Lane pal Ledley King in South Africa, found himself saying yesterday: “You can rely on Michael Dawson, no problem. Rio will be a big miss, but Fabio could not have a better man to call on if he has to.

“It really won’t be a problem for Michael, he will get on a plane, deal with it and just give his all. He will also be a great character around the camp because he is always smiling and is a tremendous lad. “At the start of the season, he was not my first choice at Tottenham, he was third or fourth choice, but he did not sulk. He just worked hard, got his head down and grabbed his chance when it came. I’m sure he will do exactly the same with England. He’s had an absolutely wonderful season and proved he is one of the best central defenders around.”

Redknapp believes Capello will no go with a centre-back pairing of King and Terry, adding: “I don’t think people need to worry too much about Ledley possibly getting injured as well. Six days between games is fine for Ledley.”

The challenge on Didier Drogba which changed the World Cup forever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXF8s3BCpwc

Falling stars at the World Cup: England captain Rio Ferdinand out, Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba highly doubtful

RIO FERDINAND joined the growing list of major names ruled out of the World Cup last night when he was left writhing on the ground with a twisted knee after clashing with controversial striker Emile Heskey.

Ferdinand joins the Ivory Coast's free-scoring Didier Drogba, who broke his arm against in the 2-0 unfriendly win over Japan, German captain Michael Ballack, crocked during Chelsea's FA Cup final triumph, South Africa's top scorer Benni McCarthy, Ghana’s talismanic Michael Essien and of course, England's former captain David Beckham, who ruptured an ankle tendon playing for Milan in January.

Rio's problem first broke after England's first training session at the magnificent Royal Bafokeng Sport Complex. After the cheering news that Manchester City's Gareth Barry joined the session, coach Fabio Capello revealed: "The bad news happened in the last moment of the training. Rio has just gone to hospital.”

Ferdinand, on crutches, was rushed for a scan. Then came the news confirming his elimination from the tournament. Capello said: "It is obviously bad news and everyone with the squad is very disappointed and sorry for Rio."

Last night, England’s odds on winning the World Cup for the first time since 1966 lengthened to 15/2 from 7/1, though older cynics point to Jimmy Greaves’ injury 44 years ago as a sign that such set-backs are not catastrophic.

Tottenham's Michael Dawson will now fly out to replace the Manchester United centre-back, who started just 12 Premier League games this season after severe back problems. Even Tottenham's Ledley King, with his notorious cartilage problems, managed 17.

Ferdinand admitted two months ago: "I was walking like a 60-year-old, this is my worst ever season" but insisted the back trouble had cleared up. But thigh and groin injuries continued to dog him. At 31, he is unlikely to appear in Brazil 2014 but there are those who already feel he is "too involved" with his online magazine and film directing hobbies.

John Terry, stripped of the captaincy, has not been asked to resume duties, official deputy Steven Gerrard gets the armband despite rumoured problems at Liverpool this season. Terry and King are likely to start for England, with West Ham’s Matthew Upson, Liverpool’s out-of-retirement Jamie Carragher and Dawson in reserve at centre-back.

Drogba’s agent, Thierno Seydi, insists the Premier League’s top scorer will could play a role in the tournament. He said: "We all got scared. The fracture is real, but I think any medical decisions have been put on hold I am not a doctor, but it looks like he will have an operation. We'll see, but there is still a chance. But there are no guarantees yet.
"When a player like Drogba says he will play, it is reassuring. In his mind he's still available."

The Ivory Coast FA said: "He was taken urgently to a medical centre in Sion, where X-rays revealed a fracture in the player's right forearm area. Didier Drogba's state of health is the object of all the attention of the Elephants' medical staff and of distinguished specialists.
"The Ivory Coast Football Federation stress that the striker Didier Drogba has not, for the moment, been ruled out of the 2010 World Cup."
But the 32-year-old will need a miraculous recovery to make it. Medical experts suggest a plate or pin in the injury will be dislodged by a heavy fall.

See the horror challenge which may have changed the 2010 World Cup forever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXF8s3BCpwc

Who is Neal Collins (nealcol on Twitter): Exclusive video of England's World Cup base: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAousno69rI

England Have Landed, With All Eyes on "Coach" Beckham

WHEN it came it was exactly what we expected. A bit of an anti-climax. These brief words from Fabio Capello: “I’m very pleased to be here, my team is happy to finally be in South Africa.

"I hope this World Cup in South Africa is good for this country and of course for England. We now have to concentrate on the tournament and prepare well for the event."

Thank you, Generalissimo. And we’ll hear from you again tomorrow when you have been suitably impressed by the Bafokeng Royal Sports Campus about 70 miles away outside Phokeng, seven miles from Rustenburg (get the map out).

Strange to think John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and the like are travelling the N4, with platinum mines to their right, the magnificent Magaliesberg mountain range to their left. And the occasional jarring image of shacks to mar the view before they enter the rich Mafokeng kingdom.

Like it or not England’s stars represent the biggest arrival of the World Cup at Oliver Tambo International airport. Forget the Brazilians and Argentinians, this nation is pumped to overflowing with Sky News and live Premier League football.

One thing I did glean before my “unavoidable detention” by the South African Police in Potchestroom last night – they never did call back and show me their wonderful High Performance Centre - is that the Spanish are flying straight in to the local airport.

And interest peaked at the usual point. A bloke called David Beckham strolled through. The Achilles tendon the former England captain snapped three months ago means he’s coming as an “assistant coach” and an ambassador – but the ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder (and his wife Victoria) will always be the major talking point for foreign fans worldwide who pore over the British newspapers and websites. Imperialism is not dead, just roaming the information super highway.

Captain Rio Ferdinand pales by comparison. But there he was, lugging a bag, leading the household names cavalry towards Group C and the tricky opening clash against the United States at the Royal Bafokeng Palace Stadium on June 12. Yes, that’s the one two miles down the Boshoek Road from the perfect training camp they picked out over a year ago. Very strange. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26B6civ-8qk

Astonishingly lucky draw for England. Keeps the fans clear of the big cities, keeps things quiet for the Generalissimo, whose wife is apparently the only female allowed inside the abstemious England base.

After the USA they travel nearly a thousand miles to face Algeria, battered recently by Ireland, in Cape Town. Bafokeng offers warm, clear days and near-frost at night, not to mention the little matter of 5,000 feet of altitude. Cape Town in winter is nearly British with rain and gales. And it’s very definitely at sea level, same as the third qualifier against Slovenia at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth, the windy city.

It’s about now people start realising this is a nation of many climates (and Vuvuzelas). The Highveld (there was frost on the windscreen in Potchefstroom this morning), sub-tropical Durban (swim in the sea and get a winter tan) and Mediterranean Cape Town (whip the brolly out darling).

Which is why this World Cup could provide even more shocks than usual. The Americans have been based in Irene Lodge beneath the circling security helicopters for a couple of days already. It may give them a vital head-start.

But in South Africa, take nothing for granted. Even Algeria.

My visit to the England base at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAousno69rI

Exclusive: England's World Cup base is ready and waiting... with hardly any deadly snakes lurking!

ENGLAND’S World Cup base is ready and waiting for Fabio Capello’s Lions – a week before the 23-man squad is due to land in South Africa.

Despite headlines just three months ago in the British tabloids suggesting the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus was “a dump” and “a building site”, the Platinum-rich local tribe have produced, in less than two years, a high-altitude training camp fit for a king.

That’s King Leruo Tshekedi Molotlegi, the 36^th recorded monarch of the Bafokeng people. No African tribe offers a stronger lineage. The unmarried 41-year-old’s visionary “Grand Plan” does not stop with a five-star hotel, state-of-the-art-and-beyond gymnasium and the only FIFA Grade 1 rated training pitch in the country, it goes way beyond that, to a dream state which will come to fruition around 2035.

But for now, England and the Football Association should rejoice. They gambled on the tribe who fought to gain their own shares in the local platinum mines... and won. I last visited the site in January during the England cricket tour. When the British press turned up en-masse six weeks later, they slaughtered the place.

But I said exclusively in the Daily Express then that King Leruo would not let them down. I hate to say I told you so but, blimey, you’ve got to see this place to believe it.

Quite how England managed to get drawn in Group C, with their first game on June 12 played two miles down the road at the nearby Royal Bafokeng Stadium against the US (and they return there for their first knock-out game if they top the group on ), we shall never know.

But one thing is for certain. If England don’t win the World Cup after the clichéd 44 years of hurt, they won’t be able to blame the preparation.

Martin Bekker, the amiable Chief Executive of the Royal Marang hotel in the grounds of the campus, took me on a fascinating tour. As I arrived he sent me a jokey text saying: “I’ve cleared all the snakes personally”, a reference to yet anothing knocking story in The Sun this week, suggesting England were under threat from deadly serpents. As it happens, it’s winter. They’re hibernating. And they’re no threat anyway.

As we drove in, the staff were shouting “I feel it”, as World Cup fever spread among the works. Here are just some of the major points of interest:

1 The “typical five star” bedrooms are fitted with sensors which automatically turn on a night light when a player gets out of bed.

2 Televisions in the rooms are linked to a network allowing Fabio Capello to communicate with his players even while they are watching a re-run of Eastenders.

3 The gym offers facilities far beyond anything on offer elsewhere in Africa – including a rehabilitation pool with an underwater window for the physiotherapist to monitor his injured patient.

4 The two main training pitches boast exactly the same kikuyu-rye surface as the nearby Royal Bafokeng Stadium and earned a FIFA Grade A rating on May 5. It’s like playing on a carpet. I tried it. Much better than Wembley, and I’ve played on both.

5 At 1,300m the high-altitude, totally secure facility is already gaining the attention of foreign rugby, cricket, athletics and football teams eager to produce a squad of supermen at sea-level.

Look, I’m not pooh-poohing the other wonderful training bases I’ve had access to, but here England have – with shrewd judgement – ended up with the perfect World Cup hosts. Their base goes way beyond anything on offer elsewhere.

While the Germans languish at the luxury Velmore Estate 60 miles to the east in Erasmia, their training pitch looks like something from Hackney Marshes in mid-winter. They only started work on the field in January.

The Italians at Leriba Lodge in Centurion have to decamp to the nearby Southdown College to find a field to play on, while the Americans in nearby Irene Country Lodge have no obvious gym facilities and their training pitch is even further away.

The Dutch, Australians, New Zealanders and Brazilians all find themselves in non-purpose-built facilities with training pitches at local schools some miles away. Even the hosts, South Africa, have to share the Wits University grounds with the Dutch.

Only Argentina, based at Pretoria University’s High Performance Centre, can boast anything approaching the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus. And Diego Maradona has had to have special toilets installed to ensure his comfort. The Spanish, at Potchefstroom University, are probably in third place with their training camp, used by South Africa’s cricketers.

Bekker, an old boy from the local St Stithians College public school in Johannesburg, has become an honorary member of the Bafokeng tribe. His brief history of the people is stunning. From their roots as a displaced Nguni clan 800 years ago, the current monarch’s ancestors have always been innovative standard bearers for the African folk.

The first indigenous people to own their own land, the cultivated German missionaries and dug diamonds from the Big Hole in Kimberley to create their early wealth. They befriended the legendary Oom Paul Kruger, first president of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek, who farmed the land England’s hotel now stands on.

And during the Apartheid years, they survived the noxious homeland system before badgering the big platinum mines for a share of the profits they deserved. Way back in 1989, when South Africa was in a state of emergency, plans for a massive football stadium were put in place... and sneered at by the white Government.

Bekker explains: “The Bafokeng are not your ordinary African tribe. We have a grand plan. Already the Leopards, Potchefstroom’s rugby team, have agreed to use our facility. And the Silver Stars football team have become the Platinum Stars and base themselves in Bafokeng.

“The kingdom covers 14,000 square kilometres, we have a Grand Plan covering education and development. The King gives every child in our 48 schools a free meal every day. And already we are seeing the benefits.

“We ask every one of our children to play one of five sports every day. Cricket, football, martial arts, athletics and netball. And our people dominated the recent national championships in cross-country and judo. Our local footballers are being recognised, we have the largest junior league in the country.

“This is all part of the Grand Plan. To be honest, we weren’t going to build the Sports Campus for another 30 years. But after the Confederations Cup was played here, we were approached by a European Football Association – I’ll leave you to guess which one – and we began work.

“It won’t end here. We have had specialist advice from around the world on where to go, what to do. We want to go all the way. And yes, we have European football teams eager to train here... and we have an Olympic plan too.”

Bekker has that glint in his eye. So too do the staff you come across, busily adding the final touches to a sportsman’s paradise.

There are no deadly snakes, no bloodbaths, no earthquakes, no muggings. The Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus could – should – provide the perfect launchpad for England’s World Cup bid.

Now it’s up to Fabio Capello and his Lions. They can ask no more from the Bafokeng people.

See the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAousno69rI and there's plenty more if you subscribe to my YouTube stream. Vuvuzelas plus the other camps, from the USA to New Zealand, Greece to Italy...

Beckham must go... and so say all of us

THE football-speaking world will forever remember March 15 as Becksout Day. And this morning, the Achilles tendon expert Dr Sakari Orava, explains from the now-famous Mehilainen clinic in the Finnish town of Turku: "David Beckham will be able to walk with the help of crutches this afternoon. The operation was done, it went well but it will take many months for him to recover."

According to the counter on FIFA.com, the World Cup is now 86 days and a few hours away. Just not enough time for Becks, who has walked on water occasionally over the last 25 years, to recover in time for that record-breaking fourth World Cup tournament.

Instead, he must languish on three with the great Peter Shilton and the late Bobby Moore. And, barring miracles, he will also remain stuck on 115 England caps, ten short of Shilts.

Ironic that a Finnish bloke should announce Beckham's career is finished. There were screaming fans and paparazzi to go with the pre-op preparations in Helsinki yesterday, but then everything Beckham has done is accompanied by such scenes.

By now we've all seen the last on-field scenes from the San Siro on Sunday night. Milan are 1-0 up against Chieva, Becks goes to kick the ball, his left leg won't move. He hesitates, looking confused. Then tries again. Collapses. Shouts: "It's broken, it's broken."

Awful moments. But, and this is my point, far better it should end like that, four days after a standing ovation at Old Trafford, than he should struggle on at 34 trying to impress England boss Fabio Capello.

The Generalissimo is not a sentimental chap. He would have been hard-pressed to include Beckham in his 30-man squad on May 11. And with Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips, James Milner, Aaron Lennon and Joe Cole all clamouring for the wide-right berth, it would have been impossible to keep him in when the squad is reduced to 23 on June 1.

Everyone knew that after the friendly against Egypt a fortnight ago. Walcott went off for SWP and the game turned around while Becks sat gloomily on the bench. International career over. The very best he could have expected from his record-breaking fourth World Cup would have been the occasional shot of him sitting on the bench in that huge Kalabash of a stadium at Soccer City on July 11 while his young team-mates celebrate ending 44 years of stiff-upper lipped hurt.

But everyone was in denial yesterday, ignoring the evidence of the 3-1 friendly win over African champions Egypt. Sky News, Sky Sports News, the newspapers... even Adrian and Darren Gough at talkSPORT when I spoke to them. All insisted Becks would have been a glorious impact sub for England. An impact sub? At 34? Beckham doesn’t waltz past players like SWP. He doesn’t have the raw pace of Walcott, the engine of Milner. He’s a crosser, a deadball expert, a leader, a talisman.

For Beckham, it was always a starting place or not at all. And, secretly, Capello must be breathing a sigh of relief that he won’t have to make that awful decision on May 11 or June 1. Had he dropped Becks, the world would have savaged the Italian for his heartless axe.

Now we can remember Becks for what he was. The boy who scored from the halfway line against Wimbledon in 1996, who became a man in the aftermath of the red card against Argentina in 1998, who joined Real Madrid and helped them to the title in 2004, who led a new American revolution with LA Galaxy and faded from the scene with dignity on loan at Milan.

Today a “source close to the family” tells The Sun: “This is probably the lowest point he has ever encountered in his professional career. Words cannot express how devastated David is.

"Mentally this is disastrous. He thinks he's being punished for something he must have done wrong in life, which of course is ridiculous."

As wife Victoria turns up to comfort her man, the source adds: “David has been crying and is in deep shock.

"Football is his life and he feels like it has been unfairly taken away from him. He's just so low.”

Yes, he must be low. But in time he will realise fate has dealt him a hand which he can cope with, even thrive on. And as I said to the Sky News crew here at home in Chalfont St Giles on Sunday night, the perfect conclusion is this: Capello invites Beckham to join the squad on June 1. To add his expertise, his statesmanship to the mix.

I received twitters and Facebook messages from all over the world yesterday saying: “Beckham must be at the World Cup.” In South Africa, I told 702 radio listeners: “Don’t worry, David Beckham will be there. He will still be our figurehead.”

No, he won’t be there as a player, but he should go as football’s celebrity talisman. It would ease the pressure on Capello and the players, particularly Wayne Rooney, our spearhead.

On the field, Beckham’s departure was sadly inevitable. Off the field, he can remain a vital ingredient.

And we haven’t even talked about the 2018 World Cup yet, when he will be Capello’s right hand man as they attempted to make it a global hat-trick. We can dream, can’t we?

Now let’s move on. Jose Mourinho and InterMilan are at Chelsea tonight in the Champions League. Should be a special occasion.