A celebrity class of '92
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Nineteen years ago to this day, David Beckham scored what many consider to be one of the finest goals in English Premier League history, exceptionally lobbing Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan from inside Manchester United’s half.
Yet the midfielder had started making headlines in the famous red jersey four years earlier. Then, he was part of an exhilarating side that won the FA Youth Cup – and he was not the only soon-to-be celebrity in the class of 1992, as the above picture shows. ‘Fergie's Fledglings’ also comprised Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, Robbie Savage, Keith Gillespie and Ryan Giggs.
All had stellar careers in the English top tier, while the aforementioned sextet – along with Phil Neville and Paul Scholes, who were in United’s 1993 Youth Cup final-reaching team – won 552 international caps between them.
Butt was described by the legendary Pele as the best player at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™. Beckham became the first Englishman to score in three World Cups four years later. Perhaps his most memorable goal in white came in 2001, when his splendid 11th-hour free-kick snatched England a 2-2 draw with Greece and a World Cup place at their opponents’ expense.