Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • MARVIN CHOW: Good morning.

  • Good morning.

  • Hello everybody.

  • How are you?

  • [AUDIENCE APPLAUSE]

  • MARVIN CHOW: My name is Marvin Chow, and I'll be your host

  • this morning.

  • We are extremely excited to be welcoming international sports

  • sensation, philanthropist, and global icon David Beckham to

  • Google today.

  • [ENTHUSIASTIC APPLAUSE]

  • MARVIN CHOW: Thank you all for coming out.

  • A special hello to all of our friends from around the world

  • who are joining us by our YouTube live stream.

  • We are coming to you from Google's headquarters in

  • Mountain View, California.

  • I have to say, when David called us and asked us if he

  • could drop by today, excitement doesn't even begin

  • to describe how we felt.

  • He is one of the few truly global sports stars.

  • He is one of the most searched for athletes on Google, and

  • it's amazing how his fans have embraced him across Google

  • Search, Google+, and YouTube.

  • It's unbelievable.

  • But before I bring out the man himself, I want to welcome to

  • Google with this short video.

  • So let's take a quick look.

  • [VIDEO PLAYBACK]

  • FEMALE SPEAKER: Why are you special in the sports world?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Well I won the book chart in soccer school.

  • [VARIOUS VOICES]

  • FEMALE SPEAKER: I love him so much.

  • MALE SPEAKER: No freakin' way!

  • SPORTS ANNOUNCER: David Beckham!

  • [SPEAKING ITALIAN]

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Center.

  • Center.

  • Center.

  • [END VIDEO PLAYBACK]

  • [AUDIENCE APPLAUSE]

  • MARVIN CHOW: Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and

  • gentlemen, please welcome Mr. David Beckham.

  • [AUDIENCE APPLAUSE AND WHISTLES]

  • MARVIN CHOW: Nice to see you, Sir.

  • How are you?

  • Wave.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Morning.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Have a seat.

  • Have a seat.

  • Welcome.

  • Welcome to Google.

  • So let's kick off, no pun intended,

  • with a little soccer.

  • Or, for our international friends, football.

  • You know, you David, you really have had a global

  • soccer career.

  • I mean, you joined Manchester United at the young age of 17.

  • You won 9 major trophies in 11 years there.

  • Very impressive.

  • You then joined Real Madrid where you won another trophy,

  • and then since 2007, you've been here in the U.S. playing

  • for the LA Galaxy, where last year you

  • won yet another trophy.

  • And I think that puts you in a very rare group of trifecta

  • winners of three trophies on three different countries.

  • So congratulations.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Thank you very much.

  • MARVIN CHOW: And then obviously, while preparing to

  • meet you last night, I read even more news last night.

  • The big news that you've decided to stay here in the

  • U.S. and continue to play for the U.S., the LA Galaxy.

  • Congratulations.

  • And I think we're excited that you chose Google as a place to

  • come talk to your fans and the rest of the

  • world about that news.

  • So why don't we start there?

  • Why don't you tell us a little bit about that decision to

  • stay with the Galaxy.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Well, good morning, first of all.

  • I'm excited to be here.

  • To be part of this is exciting for me, and to be here with

  • you all and everyone else watching around the world,

  • it's exciting.

  • Google's one of the biggest companies in the world.

  • So I'm honored to be here today.

  • My decision, obviously, throughout my career has

  • always been about my family, about my career, about my

  • footballing career.

  • And I've been lucky to have played over the years with

  • some of the biggest clubs in the world, some of the best

  • players in the world.

  • And it's been exciting.

  • I've been lucky enough to have been successful in many

  • different clubs that I've played for.

  • And professionally, coming to the U.S. was something that I

  • was excited about.

  • It was a challenge.

  • It was a new challenge.

  • I played in Europe.

  • I'd won everything that I possibly could in Europe, and

  • I wanted a new challenge.

  • MARVIN CHOW: When you conquer Europe, it's

  • definitely the next--

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Like I said, I was very lucky in my career.

  • MARVIN CHOW: You are.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: So then, obviously, coming to America

  • was an exciting thing for me, and I've had

  • a great five years.

  • I met a lot of good people, a lot of great fans around the

  • world, traveled around America, played in different

  • parts of America, which I'd never played in before, and

  • it's been exciting.

  • So this championship at the end of this year was one of

  • the most satisfying in my career, I must admit.

  • To have been here for the time that I've been here, to reach

  • the goals that I'd reached off the field, with raising the

  • popularity of the game.

  • I'd reached those goals.

  • The only goal that I hadn't reached was a championship

  • with the Galaxy, which is the main reason why I came to

  • America and came to the Galaxy as a franchise.

  • So that was missing, but now it's not.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Congratulations.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: But obviously, with the new contract now, it

  • was a decision that I didn't take lightly because I

  • obviously had other offers from other

  • clubs around the world.

  • And at 36 years old you don't expect to

  • still get these offers.

  • So that was nice.

  • But it was all about where I felt the future was going for

  • the game here in the U.S., and also where my family was

  • happiest. And my family is happiest here at the moment.

  • We love living in LA.

  • We love living in America.

  • We've adapted the culture, we've adapted everything that

  • this country has, and we enjoy that.

  • So I'm going to continue to enjoy playing soccer here, and

  • my family will continue to enjoy it.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Well, speaking of, kind of

  • away from the Galaxy--

  • I saw when you came in 2007, you made a very public

  • statement that you wanted to help grow the game of soccer

  • in the U.S. Can you talk a little bit about how that's

  • going and some areas around growing the game here?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Well that's the thing.

  • It's one of the reasons why I came to this country.

  • It's because, for me, soccer is the number one sport around

  • the world apart from America.

  • Don't get me wrong, the other sports, American football,

  • basketball, baseball, they're all great sports and have

  • great athletes in these sports.

  • But the number one game in the world is soccer.

  • So I want to get soccer to a different

  • level in this country.

  • And I think that we've done that in the last--

  • I've felt it change in the last couple of years.

  • And that's why I didn't want to walk away from it because I

  • felt the change.

  • And to walk away at this point would be disappointing because

  • I've been part of that growth, and I want to continue to be

  • part of that growth.

  • So it's an exciting time.

  • And it's great for the family as well, great for the family

  • to be here.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Well, speaking of the family, I think we've all

  • read how important family is to you.

  • So what role did Victoria and the kids have in decision, in

  • making this decision?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I mean, they have the final answer.

  • It's as simple as that.

  • That sounded wrong.

  • No, obviously, when you're married, when you have

  • children, your priorities totally change.

  • 10 years ago, when I was playing at Manchester United,

  • at Real Madrid--

  • obviously, we were married, but it was a lot easier for us

  • to make decisions based on our careers.

  • Whereas, we've got three amazing boys now and a little

  • girl that we have to look after, and

  • it's all about them.

  • So our priorities are about our children.

  • But like I said, in the question before, the growth of

  • the game is growing.

  • And to see when I first arrived there'd be 12 teams in

  • the league, now there's 19.

  • There are stadiums being built around America solely for

  • soccer, which is a big thing.

  • And that's the exiting part of why and one of the reasons why

  • I wanted to stay.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Yeah, well I think the impact of your

  • presence on the game has been very clear over

  • the last five years.

  • I think one of the other questions that I'm sure is on

  • a lot of people's minds with this decision is really, why

  • come to Google to tell the world and talk to your fans?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Why not?

  • Why not?

  • MARVIN CHOW: So simple.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Like I said, it's one of the biggest

  • companies in the world, and it reaches so

  • many millions of people.

  • And I felt that it's something that you always see when you

  • open your computer.

  • MARVIN CHOW: We like that.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: And something I was really excited about.

  • So like I said, I'm honored to be here with everyone, and

  • thanks for coming out because there's a lot of you.

  • Thank you.

  • [AUDIENCE APPLAUSE]

  • MARVIN CHOW: So in getting ready for this visit we saw

  • that you posted a video callout for questions on

  • YouTube, which is fantastic.

  • And I'd say from that video we've

  • collected tons of questions.

  • We've gone through them and we've curated them, and

  • obviously we'll go through some of those today.

  • I think, just also so you know, your Google following is

  • also very strong.

  • Obviously, you can see the people here in Charlie's, but

  • in addition to this group there are about 26 other

  • offices from around the world dialed in to watch this and

  • ask you questions as well.

  • And I think, if it weren't so late in some of the other

  • parts of the world, we'd have even more than that.

  • So congratulations on building a following here

  • at Google as well.

  • So let's dig in to some of the questions right away.

  • We'll start with football.

  • Tou Moo Yee from California wants to know, what is the

  • biggest difference between playing football in America

  • versus Europe?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I mean, there's not a huge amount of

  • difference.

  • One of the biggest differences I'd say is just the travel.

  • It's literally the travel.

  • In Europe we only have to travel about an hour to a

  • game, or two hours at the most. Whereas, when we play

  • East Coast and we're playing in New York, it's a 5, 5 and

  • 1/2 hour journey.

  • So that's a big difference but on the field, the level of

  • play has definitely gone up in the last three or four years.

  • And I think that it's at a stage now where this game is

  • starting to attract the interest of some big names and

  • big players in Europe.

  • And I think there has to be a certain change with some of

  • the things that goes on throughout the league.

  • But I think it's a league now, where European teams, big

  • European teams, are coming over for their pre-seasons and

  • they're playing against us.

  • So five years ago, the Galaxy had been heard of but I think

  • now, with the interest of the players that have come over,

  • such as Robbie Keane and obviously London Donovan as a

  • U.S. star, we've had that interest and it's exciting to

  • be part of.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Yeah, I think it must great to see the growth,

  • see the change year over year, and the speed and the power of

  • the players.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I think that's what you always want.

  • You want to see something grow.

  • If you sit still so long-- you know this better than anyone

  • with Google--

  • if you sit there too long then things change around you.

  • And to see the growth, to see the change, I'm proud to be

  • part of that.

  • MARVIN CHOW: That's great.

  • Another question.

  • Mahin Zarra asks, what is the first thing you do, think, or

  • notice when you step onto the field initially?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I think just the excitement.

  • I'm still--

  • I'm 36 years old, and every time I step on the field I'm

  • like a little kid.

  • And I know once that changes then that's when I'll feel

  • I'll have to stop playing.

  • But until that changes, I'm going to continue to play as

  • long as possible and as long as teams keep

  • offering me new contracts.

  • MARVIN CHOW: But it seems like that love of the game, that

  • childhood joy of just playing the game, is what drives you.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I've always been driven.

  • Even at a young age, all I ever wanted to do was become a

  • footballer or soccer star.

  • And that was my only ambition.

  • I know it's different these days with kids.

  • There's obviously this fame, this fortune.

  • And it might be easy for me to say that because, obviously,

  • I've done very well at the game, but I'd still be playing

  • this game even if I wasn't being paid for it.

  • Not that I don't want to be paid for it, but I still would

  • be playing this sport.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Very good.

  • Very good.

  • Another question.

  • Christina Greenwood asks, do you ever listen to music

  • before a soccer game to kind of get yourself pumped up?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Always.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Always?

  • The Spice Girls?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Spice Girls, of course.

  • I mean, one of them always gets me going before a game.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Everybody.

  • I think, who doesn't?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Always.

  • Yeah, so no, Spice Girls is not on the playlist. It's on

  • my iPod but it's not on the playlist. That's for a

  • different time with the kids.

  • But no, I always listen to music.

  • I'm a huge Jay-Z fan.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Excellent.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Huge Stone Roses fan, as well, who are

  • getting back together in June.

  • Just plugging them.

  • And no, at different clubs it's strange.

  • Before games we always listen to music, but there are

  • certain managers at certain clubs that don't like music

  • before a game in the change room which, in the end, most

  • players end up listening with their headsets.

  • MARVIN CHOW: That's good.

  • Min Koh wants you to give up the secret.

  • How do you train for the perfect Beckham kick?

  • We've seen it.

  • How does it happen?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I mean, it's just that people have asked me

  • that over the years.

  • How do I curl the ball?

  • Or how do I bend the ball?

  • And it's something that just happened.

  • It's not something that I thought, OK, I want to bend

  • the ball better than anyone else so I'm going to kick the

  • ball in this certain way.

  • I just worked on my striking of the ball.

  • I just practiced every day.

  • It's something that I've done from a very young age.

  • Even after every training session, I'd take balls on my

  • own and just go and kick and try and find new ways of

  • getting the ball in the net without anyone touching it.

  • I've been lucky enough to have done that over the years with

  • the way I kick the ball, and I know that it's a unique style.

  • And I know it's a unique style just because my back hurts a

  • little bit more than it did when I was 15 years old.

  • But it's something that I practice, of course.

  • That's one thing I tell kids.

  • Unless you practice you're never going to

  • get better at something.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Well I think there's not a goal keeper in

  • the world who is not terrified when you line up

  • for that free kick.

  • So whatever you're doing, keep doing it.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I'll try.

  • MARVIN CHOW: And so we have a couple questions live from

  • London, actually, from our office in London, which we

  • wanted to have your homeland people--

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Good evening.

  • MARVIN CHOW: --ask you.

  • Why don't you go ahead?

  • MALE SPEAKER: Hi David.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: How you doing?

  • MALE SPEAKER: My question is, who's more likely to win a

  • World Cup in the future, England or the USA?

  • [AUDIENCE LAUGHS AND CLAPS]

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Oh my God.

  • That's a terrible question to ask me while I'm set here.

  • I'm going to have to say England.

  • I'm really sorry.

  • I'm sorry.

  • I've got a lot of respect for the U.S. players and the U.S.

  • team, and they've got some very talented players.

  • But I believe, at some point, England are going

  • to win a World Cup.

  • Because we have got a lot of talented players in our

  • country, and we're very passionate, and it's where the

  • game began.

  • So for me, definitely, I think England are going to win a

  • World Cup at some point.

  • MARVIN CHOW: America's just pacing themselves.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: The U.S. is a few years behind us, but a few

  • years after.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Exactly.

  • JT?

  • JT: Hi David.

  • This is JT over in London.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Morning, afternoon,

  • evening whatever it is.

  • JT: Morning.

  • Well yeah, evening here.

  • So I've seen you play a couple of times.

  • One of them was a tsunami charity game you played in

  • Barcelona with loads of superstars.

  • And I just wanted to know who was the greatest player you

  • played with or against?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: OK.

  • Again, I've been lucky enough over the years to have played

  • with some of the best players in the world.

  • Obviously, being at Manchester United, being at Real Madrid,

  • being at AC Milan, these are three of the biggest

  • clubs in the world.

  • So, obviously, there's some great players there.

  • Being able to play with Eric Cantona, I think, that was a

  • great thing.

  • He's a Manchester United player.

  • Being able to play with a player, Bryan Robson, that was

  • my hero and I wanted to emulate.

  • But I think the best player I've ever

  • played with is Zidane.

  • He's a player with a lot of passion, a lot of skill, and

  • he's not just an amazing player, he's a

  • great person as well.

  • The hardest player to have played against was Roberto

  • Carlos, who's now actually one of my best friends.

  • But even when I didn't know him as well as I do now, he

  • used to kick the hell out of me, the whole game.

  • But he had this cheeky smile which--

  • you couldn't hate him in any way possible.

  • But he's definitely the most, the toughest, player I've

  • played against.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Claudine.

  • CLAUDINE: Hey David.

  • So my question is, if LA Galaxy were to play in the

  • English premiere league, how would they stack up against

  • the competition?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: We'd win it.

  • [UNINTELLIGIBLE]

  • was that.

  • I think the Galaxy have been great in the last two years.

  • We've been really successful with, obviously, being close

  • to winning the championship over the last few years.

  • But then, obviously this year winning the championship,

  • we've got a lot of good young players coming through.

  • Players that teams in Europe are interested in.

  • So I think we'd do well in the premiership.

  • It'd be interesting.

  • MARVIN CHOW: I think you never know.

  • That's the beauty of the game.

  • I mean, I think, you work hard, you train hard.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I mean, that's what soccer's all about.

  • It's all about upsets.

  • It's all about teams that you don't think are as good as

  • other teams going in and beating them.

  • That's what the FA Cup is all about in England.

  • Lower league teams go in and they beat some of the best

  • premiership teams in England.

  • So that's what it's all about.

  • But I think we'd do well over there.

  • MARVIN CHOW: That's good.

  • Maybe one day.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: It's might be a bit cold for a few players in

  • December but we'd do well.

  • MARVIN CHOW: That's great.

  • JT mentioned the charity game that you played, and I think

  • we've seen you do a lot of philanthropic work throughout

  • your career.

  • I think we touched on it in the UNICEF work in the

  • highlight video, and recently we saw that you were in

  • Afghanistan visiting some troops there.

  • Can you tell us a little bit about what that trip was and

  • what you did there?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I mean, I know it sounds kind of a cliche,

  • but charities are one of my biggest passions.

  • I've been lucky enough to be involved with UNICEF as an

  • ambassador, and that's something that

  • I'm very proud of.

  • But I want to do more.

  • Obviously, with my job, with my travel it's very difficult

  • to go into the field and to do different things, but I've

  • been able to go to places like Sierra Leone.

  • And going places like that, and seeing the change that

  • UNICEF are making to so many people around the world,

  • that's one of my biggest passions.

  • That's why when people say to me, after my career am I going

  • to go into coaching?

  • I need to be passionate about something that

  • I'm going to go into.

  • And coaching, I love coaching kids, but I'd prefer to go

  • into the field and see the kids in Sierra Leone or in

  • different parts of Africa and around the world and coach

  • them because it's making a huge difference.

  • Going to Afghanistan was something that I'd always

  • wanted to do to see the troops, of course.

  • When I ruptured my Achilles two years ago, I had some time

  • off, obviously.

  • And I thought OK, I need to put that to do something good,

  • and I had the chance to go to Afghanistan.

  • It was a secret at the time but then, obviously, by the

  • time I got there it was out.

  • But it was a huge thing.

  • The job the troops do over there in Afghanistan is really

  • incredible to see.

  • The conditions that they work under, they're putting their

  • lives at risk every single day.

  • And it must be gut-wrenching for their families to see

  • their loved ones, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters.

  • It's so many different levels that it's difficult.

  • To go to Afghanistan was one of the best things I've done

  • in my life.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Well I think it must be.

  • I mean, with your work with UNICEF since 2005, it must be

  • amazing to see, you as an international football star,

  • how the game can bring such joy or change people's lives

  • in these kids all around the world.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: That's what's great about soccer.

  • I've said it so many times, that when I was in Sierra

  • Leone, these kids are walking about with literally no

  • clothes on.

  • But you arrive, you put a soccer ball in front of them,

  • they play like my kids play.

  • And that's what soccer can do for you and do for kids and do

  • for families.

  • For that 90 minutes, you're driving along the street and

  • like I said, there's kids with no clothes on and running

  • around with no shoes on.

  • And then you look over and then kids are watching

  • premiership games on the side of the street.

  • It can change people's lives.

  • It can, for that 90 minutes of a game, it takes them away

  • from the life they've got every single day.

  • And that is the power of soccer.

  • It's the power of sports.

  • It's something that's one of the reasons why I love being

  • involved in sports.

  • MARVIN CHOW: It is amazing.

  • So moving on a little bit, as we looked through all the

  • questions that we got coming to you, I think

  • unsurprisingly, there were a lot of questions from people

  • who are curious about your personal life.

  • I think, when you marry a Spice Girl,

  • I guess that happens.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Yes, it does.

  • MARVIN CHOW: But I think, before we get to all of those,

  • one of the more overarching questions that everyone had

  • and everyone wants to know, what was it like to be at the

  • wedding of the decade?

  • The royal wedding last April, what was it like to be there?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I mean, we had to pinch ourselves when we got

  • the invite.

  • I've become friends with Prince William and

  • he's a great guy.

  • And obviously, Harry as well.

  • And I was brought up around the royal family to love the

  • royal family.

  • My grandparents were big royalists.

  • And so we were brought up to love the royal family.

  • And I think when, obviously, Princess Di was around, the

  • love for her and for the royal family was incredible.

  • And she was loved by millions and millions of people, not

  • just in our country.

  • And then obviously, you watch the lives of William and

  • Harry, and you see everything about them, and it's kind of

  • like the Truman Show.

  • They're growing and growing and doing different things and

  • being part of different charities, and growing up from

  • young boys to young men and to grown men.

  • And it makes you proud to be English to see that happen.

  • You watch their lives.

  • You watch what they've been through, and then you watch

  • them grow into the people that they are today.

  • And they're very special people.

  • The royal wedding was a huge thing for our country.

  • To have a celebration like that, it was very special.

  • It gave our country a huge lift at the time, and it's

  • continued to do that.

  • But being at the royal wedding was incredible.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Any stories?

  • Any favorite parts?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I mean, one of the best things about it for

  • my wife, she was eight months pregnant and she was worried

  • about where we were going to be sitting, as she needed to

  • be as close to the restroom as possible.

  • And our seat was perfect because we could see,

  • obviously, William and Kate walk in.

  • But then, obviously, Victoria could then-- she was like five

  • steps away from the restroom, which was perfect.

  • So it was an amazing day, and I'm proud to be a part of that

  • as an Englishman.

  • MARVIN CHOW: That's great.

  • Well, speaking of Victoria and being pregnant, Nur Ikisi has

  • a question about Harper.

  • The question is, has Harper spoken her first word yet?

  • What was it?

  • And if not, are there any playful competitions between

  • you and Victoria to see if she'll say

  • mommy or daddy first?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I mean, I think naturally the first word is

  • going to be mama.

  • And she's close to it already.

  • She's saying a few things, but I've obviously got three

  • amazing boys.

  • And with boys--

  • I'm sure people that have children know, or people who

  • have been around children know--

  • with boys you can throw them up.

  • They drop and they get up and they just run around.

  • And with boys it's like that.

  • But it's obviously my first experience of

  • having a little girl.

  • And still, I'm changing her diaper and I'm thinking, I

  • can't believe I've got a girl.

  • So everything about her is feminine.

  • The way she moves, the way she eats, the way she smiles, the

  • way she looks--

  • you know, everything about her is feminine.

  • And I know it sounds obvious, but it's an amazing thing

  • having a little girl in the family now after

  • having three boys.

  • But the best thing about it is she's

  • got three older brothers.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Well I have to say she--

  • DAVID BECKHAM: And a dad.

  • MARVIN CHOW: --I have to say she is an impeccable dresser

  • from what I've seen.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Her wardrobe is ridiculous already.

  • I'm glad I got a two-year contract.

  • [AUDIENCE LAUGHTER]

  • MARVIN CHOW: Very good.

  • Well, staying with that, I mean, obviously, with three

  • boys and now a girl and Victoria, Andreas Rubio

  • Barigga asks, how do you keep the balance

  • between work and family?

  • Obviously, you've got a hectic life around the world.

  • What's that like?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I mean, obviously, as a

  • family we're very busy.

  • As a couple we're very busy.

  • Victoria's got a collection that is, obviously, doing

  • unbelievably well.

  • But there's a lot of pressure that

  • comes with that, obviously.

  • I'm working every day.

  • I play and train every day, so it's difficult.

  • But like I said before, our number one priority is our

  • children and our family.

  • Nothing else gets in the way of that.

  • When I'm away, Victoria's at home with the boys and Harper.

  • When she's away, vice versa.

  • So we're very hands-on parents.

  • I take the kids to school every day.

  • I pick them up every day.

  • We go to Taekwondo.

  • We go to soccer.

  • We got so many things that we do with the kids.

  • And like I said, we're very hands-on parents.

  • So our lives, our busy lives don't affect the

  • children in any way.

  • But the children understand that we work

  • very hard as well.

  • We've got a very good balance there.

  • MARVIN CHOW: It's amazing to see people as busy and hectic

  • as you and Victoria can still take your kids to Taekwondo

  • and be as hands-on.

  • I think it's--

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I mean, it sets the kids up for life, I think,

  • the way you are with them at a very young age, and we've got

  • very special kids.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Earlier you were talking about, obviously, the

  • travel with the Galaxy, and you've lived in

  • Italy, Spain, the UK.

  • Carolina Ramos asks, where is your favorite

  • place in the world?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Favorite place in the world?

  • I would have to say--

  • funnily enough, I love Paris as a city, funnily enough.

  • And that was, obviously, one of the offers that I got to go

  • and play there.

  • But I love Paris.

  • As a city it's very romantic.

  • It's this amazing culture, amazing food and wine.

  • But I'm very proud to be English, and London--

  • there's not many better places in the world than London.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Very good.

  • I'm sure our London Googlers will be very

  • happy to hear that.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I hope so.

  • MARVIN CHOW: So while we're on the personal life topic stuff,

  • I have to say, I promised some fellow coworkers I would ask

  • you this question.

  • Please don't be embarrassed.

  • But I think a lot of people are interested in what's up

  • with the new underwear campaign.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I knew this was coming.

  • MARVIN CHOW: You know, I mean, how big is it?

  • I heard Superbowl ad.

  • I mean, how big is this thing going to get?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Another pun.

  • [AUDIENCE LAUGHTER]

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I mean, sorry.

  • I need some water.

  • Obviously, I was part of Armani, a campaign for a

  • couple of years.

  • And that was a huge success.

  • And then, I was interested in doing something along the

  • lines with my own range of underwear and body wear.

  • So I got together with a few people and part of my team and

  • we designed and made everything.

  • And we had the product already to go.

  • And then, H&M came in and they said look, we can make this

  • better for you, and they did.

  • They're taking it to 1,800 stores, 40 different

  • countries, and it's something that I could've--

  • probably it would have taken a few years, but it wouldn't

  • have reached that level of distribution.

  • So I'm very proud of it.

  • The pictures are good, which I'm happy about.

  • The product looks great.

  • MARVIN CHOW: That's the most important, of course.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: So that's exciting.

  • I'm launching on February 1st, so it's going to be exciting.

  • That's in London.

  • MARVIN CHOW: So Superbowl ad?

  • No?

  • Can you say?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: There's a Superbowl ad, which is very

  • exciting because the amount of people that watch the

  • Superbowl, actually, is going to see the advert.

  • MARVIN CHOW: The worlds of football colliding.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Which I just thought about.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Very good.

  • Very good.

  • A couple more questions on the personal side.

  • Ntiaz Adjaz asks, I was wondering, are you considering

  • starring in a film with Tom Cruise?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I would love to star in a

  • film with Tom Cruise.

  • Who wouldn't?

  • People have asked me over the years, especially when I first

  • moved to LA, they were like, he's obviously going over to

  • become an actor.

  • And I can't act.

  • It's as simple as that.

  • It's something that I've never done.

  • I've been involved with, obviously, adverts and

  • different--

  • I was involved in a couple of movies that were about soccer.

  • But not major parts.

  • Not much talking involved.

  • So that was great.

  • But who knows?

  • Something might happen in the future that someone comes up

  • to me and says you know, we want you to play this person

  • and maybe it will happen.

  • But I don't think so.

  • It's not something that's an ambition of mine.

  • MARVIN CHOW: You heard it here first. Something might happen

  • in the future.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Exactly.

  • Never say never.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Never say never.

  • Because you guys are neighbors, right?

  • You live near.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Yeah, we live five minutes away.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Five minutes away.

  • So no banter around the recycling bin?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: There's banter.

  • But not banter that I could say live on Google.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Gotcha.

  • Very good.

  • Very good.

  • One more question on this.

  • Deena Koh asks, are you feeling nervous about your

  • first Google+ hangout?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I'm not nervous.

  • I'm excited.

  • being here today, I was excited.

  • I woke up at 6 o'clock this morning.

  • Gave the kids breakfast just before I left and I was

  • excited about it.

  • It's something that I was really looking forward to.

  • So not nervous.

  • MARVIN CHOW: That's good.

  • I think--

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Why?

  • Should I be?

  • MARVIN CHOW: No.

  • I think--

  • I think you're doing fine.

  • I think afterwards it will be easy.

  • I mean, it's just video conferencing with a bunch of

  • your fans, talking face to face.

  • It seems like something you'd really enjoy.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: It should be fun, then.

  • MARVIN CHOW: And for those of you who would like to watch

  • that afterwards, David will be talking with some fans at

  • 10:30 Pacific Time, right here on his Google+ profile.

  • So I think now, we're going to take some questions from

  • Googlers around the world.

  • I think we'll take a couple questions live from here in

  • the audience, and some preselected questions.

  • So any Googler that has a question, please

  • begin lining up.

  • But we'll start with a question from Michael

  • Complidger from London.

  • And he wants to know, did you have a role model as a child,

  • and who was it?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I had a role model in football.

  • In soccer, sorry.

  • That was Bryan Robson.

  • He used to play for Manchester United.

  • He was captain of Manchester United.

  • He was captain of England.

  • He wore the number seven for Manchester United and England,

  • and everything that he did I wanted to do and become and do

  • exactly what he was like as a player.

  • And I was lucky because I wore number seven for Manchester

  • United, wore number seven for England, and captained England

  • and Manchester United.

  • So I was very lucky to have done that.

  • So he was a role model that I looked up to.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Why don't we take a live question over here?

  • AUDIENCE: Hi David.

  • With everything that you've accomplished in your career

  • and your life in general, what would you say is the most

  • meaningful accomplishment that you've had?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: My family.

  • My family is--

  • [AUDIENCE APPLAUSE]

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Aw.

  • It really is.

  • Obviously, I've done a lot in my career and I've been able

  • to be successful in different countries and different teams

  • and different leagues.

  • And I'm very proud of that, but my proudest

  • possession is my family.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Why don't we take one on this side?

  • AUDIENCE: Hi David.

  • I wonder if you could talk a bit about the London Olympics.

  • Obviously, you were involved in the bid at the time.

  • So are you hoping for a place in Team GB and what would it

  • mean to you to play at the Olympics?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I mean, it's exciting for our country to

  • host one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

  • I think it's really exciting.

  • I think the buzz around England and around London,

  • especially around East London, where obviously, I was brought

  • up, it's exciting.

  • So yes, I would love to be part of Team GB.

  • I've never been involved in an Olympics, and when the team

  • came to me and said, we want you to be involved in the bid

  • to get the Olympics to our country, into

  • London, I wasn't skeptical.

  • But I was kind of nervous because I'm not an athlete

  • that has performed in the Olympics.

  • So I was worried what I was going to bring to the table,

  • and what I was going to do to help bring it to our country.

  • But to be there and to be part of a successful bid to bring

  • it to London, I was very proud.

  • It's one of the proudest moments that I've been

  • involved in.

  • Especially, to be sat there one side and then, the Paris

  • side was sat at the other side, and all the media,

  • actually, had moved to in front of the Paris team.

  • So we all of a sudden got worried, and then we expected

  • Paris to be called out.

  • And then London came out, and it was an exciting time.

  • It's going to be an amazing game.

  • We're going to make it proud.

  • MARVIN CHOW: That's great.

  • We have a question from Anushe Ganda from London.

  • And going back to the proudest moment--

  • in your footballing career so far, what would be the

  • proudest moment?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Proudest moment in my footballing career?

  • It would have to be winning The Treble

  • for Manchester United.

  • The year '99 was a great year.

  • I got married, I had my first son, and we won The Treble.

  • So it was a big year.

  • [AUDIENCE APPLAUSE]

  • MARVIN CHOW: We'll take a question on this side.

  • AUDIENCE: Hi David.

  • Since moving to California, what's the funniest

  • misunderstanding you or Victoria have had because of

  • your accent?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I'm not sure we've had a funnier one then

  • as our children had the other day.

  • We were sat there in the kitchen.

  • Well, in our first year, and Brooklyn was writing on a

  • piece of paper or drawing or doing some sketching, and he

  • said, Daddy, I need some rubbers.

  • And I started looking around and I looked over and we had a

  • couple of friends there from the U.S. and

  • they looked in shock.

  • And I didn't understand it at the time but he now calls them

  • erasers, anyway.

  • [AUDIENCE LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE]

  • MARVIN CHOW: That is awesome.

  • We'll take one on this side.

  • AUDIENCE: Hi David.

  • Thank you for coming.

  • Actually I don't have an accent.

  • I just really like yours.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: That's a great accents.

  • AUDIENCE: Thanks.

  • Yeah, so thanks for coming.

  • I'm wondering, after today's hangout, do you have plans on

  • how you'd like to use hangouts in the future, in terms of

  • engaging with your fans all over the world?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Well, I'm hoping it goes well.

  • Then, there will definitely be more.

  • I think-- this is the first time I've done it, so it's

  • exciting to be able to hang out with fans that have

  • supported me over the years and throughout my career.

  • It's special, and obviously it gives them a chance to ask me

  • questions that they've, obviously, never been able to.

  • So I'm excited and hopefully there'll be more.

  • AUDIENCE: Can I get a quick picture with you?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Of course, you can.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Oh, it's starting again.

  • AUDIENCE: You look handsome by the way.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Thank you.

  • You look very lovely.

  • MARVIN CHOW: All right, ready?

  • 1, 2, 3, cheese.

  • There you go.

  • AUDIENCE: Thank you.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: No problem.

  • Nice to meet you.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Thank you for coming.

  • Thank you David.

  • Back to the questions.

  • Darminder Singh from the San Francisco office asks about,

  • throughout your career you played against many teams.

  • Which particular team or set of players

  • has left you in awe?

  • I think you talked about players, but maybe you could

  • talk a little bit more on the team side that you've played

  • against.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I think teams that I've played against that

  • have left me in awe--

  • I'd have to say the Barcelona team.

  • Every time you come up against the Barcelona team, they play

  • the game in such a great way.

  • But I think the one team that I played against that were

  • amazing, it was where Ronaldo, the Brazilian player, got a

  • standing ovation from the Manchester United fans.

  • And that team, watching that team, the way they played, for

  • me- it left you kind of in awe of the players, of the setup,

  • of them as a club, and the players that played there.

  • They had Zidane, Raul, Roberto, Carlos, Ronaldo.

  • Little did I know I'd be playing with

  • them the season after.

  • So that was exciting.

  • But they're definitely the team I was in awe of.

  • MARVIN CHOW: That's great.

  • That's great.

  • Why don't we take a question on this side.

  • AUDIENCE: Your wife's been known to wear some pretty

  • ridiculously tall shoes.

  • I was wondering what your opinion is

  • on your wife's footwear.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I think taller the better.

  • Put it this way, I've not worn them.

  • She said over the years that I wore her underwear, for some

  • unknown reason.

  • She said that live on TV, by the way, which is not true.

  • But the shoes are great.

  • I love a pair of high heels on a lady.

  • I like them.

  • MARVIN CHOW: Another high heel question on this side or a

  • different question?

  • AUDIENCE: Hi David.

  • I have a question.

  • So if you were to pick a team to beat, let's say, Barcelona,

  • so which one do you want to choose?

  • And do you already have some ideas to beat them?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I think to come up against a

  • Barcelona team is exciting.

  • You can never be worried about playing against a team.

  • As great as Barcelona are, as great as Real Madrid and

  • Manchester United are, we're a team that's growing.

  • And we've got some very good young players in our team.

  • And we've been able, like I said earlier about the

  • interest in this league and our team around the world,

  • we've had some of the biggest players in the biggest teams

  • come over and want to play against us in preseason games.

  • So we've come up against AC Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid.

  • I was going to say Manchester City but--

  • we've come up against some great teams and it's great to

  • have that interest. So you should never be worried about

  • who you're going to play against.

  • MARVIN CHOW: We'll take one final question over here and

  • then I'll--

  • AUDIENCE: One more, please?

  • AUDIENCE: Thanks for coming, David.

  • I know you've been around the league.

  • You've been around various different leagues.

  • Where would you like to finish your soccer career at?

  • Would you like to go back to Manchester United?

  • Do you want to stay in America?

  • Or, do you want to tackle a league that

  • you've never been to?

  • DAVID BECKHAM: I mean, my next birthday in May I'll be 37.

  • AUDIENCE: Still really young.

  • It's really young.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: In soccer years it's not so young.

  • AUDIENCE: But in Beckham years it's really young.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: In life it's young.

  • And I still feel young.

  • So I'll continue to play the game as long as can.

  • I love it.

  • Every single day I enjoy going to training.

  • I enjoy playing in games.

  • I enjoy being part of a team.

  • And my contract's now for two years, so it will take me up

  • to almost 39, almost. And then, we'll see.

  • I think people expected me to move away from the Galaxy or

  • retire at the end of this year.

  • So I'm excited about these next couple of years, but

  • we'll see what happens in the future.

  • MARVIN CHOW: We do actually have a shirt for you.

  • I'm not going to ask you to autograph it, but we do have a

  • Google Beckham track jacket which we would like

  • to present to you.

  • Thank you very much.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Thank you.

  • Thank you.

  • MARVIN CHOW: We definitely want to thank you for coming.

  • I think in addition to the track jacket, all the Googlers

  • here in the audience, please know that there's a Google+

  • David Beckham t-shirt for everyone here.

  • It will be available in Benghazi in Building 43 from

  • now until 11:00 AM.

  • I don't think David can sign all of them.

  • So please be understanding around that.

  • But please enjoy your free t-shirt.

  • For those of you on the live stream and for those of you

  • that have more questions, please feel free to join David

  • at 10:30 at a hangout on his Google+ profile.

  • Thank you very much, David.

  • We really appreciate it.

  • It was fantastic.

  • It was really appreciated.

  • DAVID BECKHAM: Thank you.

MARVIN CHOW: Good morning.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it