ENGLAND captain David Beckham begins his week of destiny today with a vow to lift the hearts of a nation.
"I want to be the new Bobby Moore," he said. "I know I'm following in the footsteps of captains like him. Bobby's my hero."
With his 50th cap against Sweden this morning and a monumental match against Argentina on Friday effectively deciding the team's future, Becks knows exactly what it takes to be the new Bobby.
It was Moore who lifted the World Cup at Wembley in 1966 as England hammered Germany 4-2.
Man United hero David, 27, wasn't born until 1975, but added: "When you think about Bobby Moore you just think, ‘Legend'.
Aura
"My dad told me an awful lot about him, my grandad did too. The biggest thing about him was that he was a gentleman. What a captain he was.
"I want to be liked like Bobby Moore was liked. And he was liked by all generations. There are certain players that have got that certain aura. Bobby Moore walked into a room and people stood up and clapped."
And with a growing conviction that Moore, who tragically died of cancer in 1993, is smiling down on him, David added: "I have a feeling my time has come. Leading out this England team here in the World Cup will be my proudest moment in football."
Becks, who pays his homage to the 1966 captain in a video called Hero, The Bobby Moore Story, also revealed this weekend how he considered leaving the country or quitting football altogether after his World Cup nightmare against Argentina in France '98.
His kick at midfielder Diego Simeone, and England's penalty shoot-out defeat without him when he was sent off, infuriated fans and made him fear for his family's safety."There were times when I felt I could have walked away," said Becks, speaking in Saitama, Japan. "So many threats were coming through to me and my family."
He decided to carry on playing because, "though the most important thing in my life is my family, without my football I'm a lost man." He confessed: "It went through my mind to play abroad because people were saying I wouldn't be able to go into certain grounds at home. You can head home and cry, which I felt like doing, or you can come out fighting.
"And that's the most rewarding thing, that I did it with my football on the pitch. I could have done interview after interview to try and talk my way out of it. But I worked hard at my game to get to where I am today."
Bobby Moore would have been proud.
Hero, The Bobby Moore story, a documentary produced by Sir David Frost, is out on general video release now.
"There's no reason out team should fear anyone and plenty of reasons others should fear us..." Prime Minister Tony Blair
"Though I was once captain of Wales, I'll be rooting for England along with everyone else..." Film star Vinnie Jones
"In 1966 we had Banks, Moore and Charlton. Now it's Seaman, Becks and Owen. We could do it..." 1966 hero Sir Geoff Hurst "I wish the lads well. A fit Becks is a huge boost. You can't overstate how it lifts the team..." Ex-captain Alan Shearer
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