THE LOWDOWN — THE FULL HISTORY
SAINT-ÉTIENNE, 1998 — England against Argentina at the World Cup. David Beckham, on the ground after a challenge, flicked his boot at Diego Simeone. Simeone went down, and later admitted he made the most of it. Beckham was sent off, and England went out on penalties.
THE VILLAIN
The next morning a nation turned on one of its own. Effigies were burned, and one headline read: "Ten heroic lions, one stupid boy."
REDEMPTION, 2002 — Four years later, against Argentina again, Beckham scored the penalty that healed a country. Football forgives.
THE SECOND GENERATION
But it never forgets. The man he kicked raised a son, Giuliano Simeone, who now wears the Argentina shirt into an England-Argentina World Cup semi-final in 2026. The feud did not end in 1998. It had children.
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THE TERRACES — DISCUSSION
The argument also lives in the YouTube comments ↗.