My wave 'was not a goodbye,' Beckham says
Star says he's not leaving English team after 100th int'l appearance
 | England's David Beckham competed in his 100th international appearance in an exhibition against France on Wednesday. |
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PARIS - David Beckham has no intention of waving farewell to the English national team after reaching 100 appearances.
The Los Angeles Galaxy star, who reached the milestone Wednesday night, maintains the wave he gave when he walked off during England’s 1-0 exhibition loss to France was just an acknowledgment of the standing ovation that even French fans gave him.
“I don’t know where the rumors came from, but they weren’t from me,” Beckham said. “It is 100 not out as far as I am concerned. The wave at the end was not a goodbye, just a thank you.
“The reception when I came off from both sets of fans was amazing. You obviously expect it off your own fans and I thank them for that, but from the French people as well it was an amazing standing ovation.”
Although Beckham didn’t even have a shot on goal and collected a yellow card for a foul on French goal scorer Franck Ribery, he was satisfied with his performance.
“The most important thing for me was to prove my fitness and I felt that I did that. I felt very fresh and a lot better than I thought I would,” he said after playing 62 minutes at the Stade de France. “As much as you work hard in preseason, there is nothing better than playing in games, and I enjoyed it.”
Even though he had been replaced, Beckham was the last England player to walk off the field. At the end of the game, he walked back on, hugged France defender William Gallas, and had a long talk with the Arsenal player before again waving and applauding the fans.
“If there was another place I would have liked the game after Wembley, it would have been in Paris because it is where (Zinedine) Zidane played,” he said in reference to his former Real Madrid teammate. Zidane scored two goals in the 1998 World Cup final at the same stadium where France beat Brazil 3-0.
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Beckham, who turns 33 in May, believes he will still be fit enough to play at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, assuming England qualifies.
“I want it to carry on,” he said. “It doesn’t stop here for me.
“I still feel I can perform at the highest level. The 2010 World Cup remains an ambition for me. I am quite a stubborn person, so it is something I want to reach. I’d love to be part of the squad in 2010.”
English coach Fabio Capello also was pleased with Beckham’s performance.
“He played like I know he can play,” Capello said. “I only substituted him because I know how he can play and I wanted to see other players.”
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