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Coming Top
Becoming a first-team player
United manager Alex Ferguson had a great deal of confidence in the club's young
players. When three of his first-team players left the club at the end of the
1994-95 season, his decision to let youth team players replace them instead of
buying players from other clubs, drew a great deal of criticism. The criticism
increased when United started the season with a 3–1 defeat at Aston Villa, with
Beckham scoring United's only goal of the game; however, United won their next
five matches and the young players performed well. Beckham became a regular
player on the team and helped them to win the Premiership and FA Cup double that
season, scoring the winner in the semi-final against Chelsea and also taking the
corner that éric Cantona scored from in the FA Cup Final. Still, Beckham's form
was not good enough to break into the England squad before Euro 96.
In August 1996, Beckham became something of a household name when he scored a
spectacular goal in a match against Wimbledon. With United ahead 2–0, Beckham
noticed that Wimbledon's goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was standing a long way out of
his goal, and hit a shot from the halfway line that floated over the goalkeeper
and into the net. Beckham was frequently mentioned in the press, and he made his
first appearance for the England national football team on 1 September 1996, in
a World Cup qualifying match against Moldova. He became an automatic
first-choice player at United that season, helping them to retain their league
championship, and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year by his peers.
United started the 1997-98 season well, but their performance deteriorated when
several players got injured. They finished the season in second place, behind
Arsenal.
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