In a small sports hall attached to the Hotel du Golf International, the retreat on the outskirts of the Brittany seaside resort of La Baule that was England’s base during the 1998 World Cup, we sat in five or six semi-circular rows in front of a table, waiting for David Beckham.
Beckham was only 23 then but he already had superstar quality. He had already announced his talent with his outrageous goal from the halfway line for Manchester United against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park a couple of years earlier. He had already started dating Spice Girl Victoria Adams.