There’s a significant changing of the guard unfolding before the eyes of the English soccer world.
Nineteen-year-old Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has not so quietly asserted himself as the new David Beckham for the English side, and, though Beckham isn’t exactly ready to relinquish his star status, he has found himself marveling at Walcott’s talents while playing mere cameo roles.
In a couple of England’s World Cup qualifying matches in September, Walcott dominated not only in playing time compared with Beckham but more importantly in production.
In a 2-0 England win over Andorra in Barcelona, the 33-year-old Beckham didn’t get into the match until the 84th minute, when he replaced Walcott.
In England’s next match, Walcott again started ahead of Beckham and delivered a hat trick in England’s 4-1 rout of Croatia in Zagreb, the first time Croatia had ever lost at home in a competitive international match.
Along the way, Walcott has drawn raves from Beckham and other important English players. Wayne Rooney, who scored England’s other goal in its 2-0 win over Andorra, called Walcott “the quickest player I’ve seen. He was brilliant.”
“Theo has been great,” Beckham says. “You can see what a threat he is every time he gets the ball and runs at players. There is no one that can get near him. He deserves to be where he is, and I hope he carries on, because he is an exceptional talent.”’ Beckham’s praise, in particular, moved Walcott.
“He has been absolutely brilliant to me and he just gave me so much confidence,” Walcott says. “He’s given me praise and it’s unbelievable coming from David.”
Walcott, at age 17, was a member of England’s 2006 World Cup team in Germany, and his star has risen since, not only for his national team but also for Arsenal, one of the league powers in England’s Premiership.
“I give the England team a different aspect by getting behind defenders,” Walcott said in an interview with Agence France-Presse. “There are some world-class players who can also play on the right wing, but I give them a different option, because the pace is there.”
Former Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb, who now plays for Barcelona, offered this praise for the young English star: “Theo’s success with the England side has come as no surprise. He is a player who needed some continuity.
“In my time at Arsenal you could see from an early stage he was a player with serious potential. But his development was complicated and his chances of getting in the team were not helped by the number of quality players we had in the squad.
“But now he’s getting more minutes on the pitch and his football is progressing as a result.”
Walcott is aware that, as his success mounts, so do expectations. And he’s doing his best to be patient and temper any impatience the fans might have.
For example, he says he knew the English fans would be salivating for more goals after his three-goal outburst against Croatia. And, when a similar performance didn’t follow in England’s 5-1 Cup qualifier win over Kazakhstan, he says, “I knew the fans would probably expect me to get another hat trick, but it’s not going to happen every game. Some fans know that. Some fans want you to push on, but I’ve got plenty of time.’’
Indeed, at 19, Walcott has plenty of time to cultivate his stardom and follow the path of Beckham.
Kazakhstan’s coach Bernd Storck says of Walcott, “I’ve seen a lot of games in my career and I was at the Croatia game. What I saw of Walcott there was unbelievable. Walcott was the youngest player to play in England’s national team and is still a player for the future.
“He’s very fast, with good technique and he scores goals. For England, the future is very good with him.’’ — Mark Cannizzaro
