DAVID BECKHAM trained alone for Real Madrid last night as England’s new era kicked off without him.
The former England captain was missing from Steve McClaren’s new-look team and he was also absent from club duties after his private jet was caught up in the airport chaos in London.
As England faced Greece at Old Trafford, the venue and opponents of arguably his greatest game as England captain, in 2001, Beckham was scheduled to train with his Real team-mates in a session scheduled for 6pm.
Had he arrived punctually, he would have had time to return home and watch England play Greece on television, but his private jet was held up for two hours in London and that meant he stepped on to Real’s training ground at 7.30 and had to train alone as England kicked off at Old Trafford.
A spokesman for Beckham said that he told Fabio Capello, the Real coach, of his late arrival and will hope that he is not fined. But the club are likely to be less than happy that the midfield player allowed himself to be caught up in the flight chaos. He could be fined up to £1,500 and the slip-up will not help his hopes of securing a new contract.
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The Real players flew back to Madrid on Sunday after their tour to the United States and Beckham had two days off before his training session yesterday evening. But he flew straight to France and then to Britain. Real’s legion of international players were absent from the training session, but, with no country commitments, Beckham was supposed to report for training.
His late show will not go down well with Capello, who is a strict disciplinarian, and adds to the pressure on him this season with Cicinho, the Brazilian, pushing for his place in the starting line-up.
Beckham’s solo session lasted 45 minutes and he left Real’s Valdebebas training complex with Ruud van Nistelrooy at 8.05. The Dutchman was also left out of his country’s team this week.