Beckham turns Australians on to football

Nov 27, 2007, 22:06 GMT

Sydney - Superstar David Beckham delighted 80,000 Australian football fans Tuesday by playing a full 90 minutes against Sydney FC and adding the bonus of a trademark banana into the back of the net from a spot kick.

The 35-metre blinder showed Beckham was a cut above most of his LA Galaxy teammates, who faded in the second half and went down 5-3 to the local team.

Dutchman Ruud Gullit, making his debut as Galaxy coach, would have reveled in the gritty performance of the former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder.

Injuries limited the 32-year-old to just five appearances in his first season in the US Major League, and he hobbled after a hard tackle, but he thrilled spectators at the Olympic Stadium with centimetre-perfect passes and swinging corners.

Beckham, who flew to Sydney in a private jet from London, put on his party trick a minute before half time to compensate the crowd for his team's concession of three goals in the first 30 minutes.

Earlier in the week Beckham proved his celebrity pulling power by attracting the nation's A-list to parties put on in his honour.

'I never actually realized how big a fan base that I had over here,' Beckham said. 'It's been remarkable I must admit since I arrived, and even since the game was announced, the reaction that we've had not just from the media but the fans.'

It was the magnetism of Beckham that persuaded a local television station to become the first in Australian history to show a club football match in its entirety.

Fans wanted to see as much of him as possible and were not disappointed when a heavily tattooed torso went on show after the traditional jumper swap.

Galaxy move on to New Zealand later in the week where they play in Wellington before a capacity crowd of 35,000. New Zealanders are even more rugby-centric than Australians but the pull of Becks is irresistible.