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Beckham quits as England captain after loss to Portugal

By Vipin Agnihotri

David Beckham quit as England captain today, the morning after his side lost in the world cup quarterfinals to Portugal.

Beckham, 31, left the field with a leg injury in the 52nd minute of yesterday’s loss at Gelsenkirchen and was in tears on the sideline. England played for almost an hour with 10 men when Wayne Rooney was given a red card in the 62nd minute, but held the Portuguese to 0-0 after 120 minutes.

Beckham could not participate in the subsequent penalty shootout, which Portugal won 3-1.

A tearful Beckham read from a statement in front of a crowded news conference in England’s training camp in southern Germany today, stressing that he wanted to continue playing for England.

"On November 15, 2000, Peter Taylor gave me the greatest honor of my career in making me captain of England and fulfilling my childhood dream," Beckham said.

"Now almost six years later, having been captain for 58 of my 95 caps, I feel the time is right to pass on the armband as we enter in a new era under Steve McClaren."

Beckham said he had decided "some time ago" to quit as captain after this world cup, his third.

"This decision has been the most difficult of my career to date," he said. "But after discussing it with my family and those closest to me, I feel the time is right."

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