Frustrated Beckham
Monday, March 22, 2004

David Beckham moved quickly to dismiss rumours of a fall-out with coach Carlos Queiroz following Real Madrid's 4-2 defeat at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday night.

Beckham was substituted with three minutes to go and angrily kicked a drinks bottle before taking his seat in the dug-out. He looked far from happy but conceded afterwards his ire was not directed at Queiroz but simply an indication of his frustration at the way the match had gone.

Beckham said: "I was angry when I was taken off and I kicked out at a bottle, but it was not because I had been substituted, it was down to the frustration of going off when the team were losing. We didn't expect to lose and even less to lose so heavily. Athletic played an almost perfect first half and Madrid noticed the tiredness from Wednesday."

Francisco Yeste and Ismael Urzaiz gave Athletic a 2-0 half-time lead only for a Raul double to bring the defending Spanish champions level.

But Asier Del Horno then struck twice in two second-half minutes to condemn Real to their second defeat of the week following their extra-time loss to Real Zaragoza in the final of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night.

"It seemed impossible for us to get anything at half-time, but Raul scored two goals at a vital moment," Beckham added. "Then Athletic got back and scored the deciding goals. We can't worry about this defeat any more."

Beckham may be showing signs of fatigue but he retained the support of Queiroz with whom he worked at Manchester United before the pair were reunited at the Bernabeu.

The Real coach said: "David is a winner and (his anger) is only personal frustration at not winning. This has been a hard result for all of us to take."

View all items