Beckham stands down as England captain

Jul 2, 2006, 16:46 GMT

Dejected Owen Hargreaves (L) and David Beckham from England leave the pitch after the quarter final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup between England and Portugal in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Saturday, 01 July 2006. Portugal won by 3:1 after penalty shoot out. EPA/ROLAND WEIHRAUCH

Baden-Baden - David Beckham said on Sunday he is stepping down as England captain.

Reading from a statement, the 31-year-old midfielder announced his decision at a press conference, less than 24 hours after England's World Cup exit at the hands of Portugal.

'On November 15, 2000 Peter Taylor gave me the greatest honour of my career in making me captain of England and fulfilling my childhood dream,' Beckham said fighting back the tears.

'Now after six years I feel the time is right to pass on the captain's armband as we enter a new era under new coach Steve McClaren.'

Beckham, who limped off the field in the 52nd minute of the quarter-final, is five appearances short of a century of caps. Beginning against Italy, he has worn the skipper's armband 58 times.

'It has been an honour and a privilege to have captained my country and I want to stress that I wish to continue to play for England and look forward to helping both the new captain and Steve McClaren in any way I can.

'I came to this decision some time ago but I had hoped to announce it on the back of a successful World Cup. Sadly that wasn't to be.

'This decision has been the most difficult of my career to date. But after discussing it with my family and those closest to me I feel the time is right.

'Our performance during this World Cup has not been enough to progress further and both myself and all the players regret that and are hurt by that more than people realise.'

With his winning free kick in the second round match against Ecuador, Beckham became the first England player to score in three World Cup finals. He opened his account at France 98 with another free kick against Colombia and scored a penalty to defeat Argentina in the group stage at Korea/Japan 2002.

However his sending off in the second round loss to Argentina in 1998 received heavy criticism from press and public alike. An injury (metatarsal) weeks ahead of the 2002 finals affected his performances in Asia, and he has received only mixed reviews for his displays in Germany.

England were knocked out of the European Championship in 2000 at the group stage, while Beckham, then captain, skied one of the penalties in the shoot-out defeat to hosts Portugal in the quarter- finals of Euro 2004.

'I wish to thank all the players for their support during my time as captain, as well as Peter Taylor, Sven and all the coaches.

'I would also like to thank the press and, of course, all the England supporters who have both been great to me and my team-mates. I want them to know for me it has been an absolute honour.

'Finally, I have lived the dream, I am extremely proud to have worn the armband and been captain of England and for that I will always be grateful.'

Eriksson's successor as England's head coach Steve McClaren will decide who will be the next captain.

'He (Beckham) has been a very good captain and very proud to do the job,' said the Swede. 'I was a bit surprised when he told me but you have to respect his decision.

'It is now Steve McClaren's job to decide on Beckham's successor. He has a lot of choices that are more than capable of doing the job. It is very much up to him.'

Beckham, currently under contract at Real Madrid, has mentioned on several occasions he would like to end his club career in the United States.