In the match against Turkey, England fans were involved in a pitch invasion and racist chanting. As a punishment, England might have to play its next home Euro 2004 qualifier behind closed doors. As England captain, what's your reaction? It is disappointing when you see some of the trouble that goes on around football matches. Of course players notice it and worry about it — we've got friends and family in the stands that come to games. There was a period when most of it had stopped but it seems to be creeping back into the game. If we had to play a qualifying game behind closed doors, that would be sad for football, sad for England — and sad for the proper England fans who have to suffer because of the small minority of people that are doing this. I can't imagine a game where there's no crowd. It would be like a pre-season friendly, or a practice match. It shouldn't happen, but it might just have to happen to stop this. It's a shame for the fans and young kids who are coming to watch the players they admire. But if its going to put an end to the trouble that goes on, then we should consider it.

You've been linked with sides like Real Madrid. Would you be interested in going there? Can you fulfill your potential by just staying with Manchester United? As I've always said, "Never say never." You always want to play with the best team and the best players. Undoubtedly, Manchester United has got a great team and great players. In the last eight, nine years we've won most things in England, and the European Cup. Real Madrid have got a massive history about them, and they've got world class players in their team.

You've been described as everything from an icon in the gay and black communities to the man who is transforming perceptions of British masculinity. What's it like to be on the receiving end of so much attention and analysis? It's nice to be looked upon by different sets of people, to have those accolades. But you always have those moments when you think, "Why are they saying this about me?" We [Beckham and his wife, pop singer and former Spice Girl Victoria Adams] just sort of get on with it. We try to stay grounded. We don't read articles to each other and say , "We're icons!!" We see ourselves as normal people and we try to do normal things. It's hard and of course people say, "Well, you're not normal, are you?" We just carry on with our lives. Sometimes it does embarrass us, if we're on five or six magazine front covers in one week. It is sort of amazing. The only negative is when our family is affected. That's the only thing that really upsets us. A lot of what is written is not true. But so much goes on in our lives — you can't react to every horrible thing that's written or said about you. We've learnt along the years, and we've come to terms with these sorts of people. We work ourselves around it.

You have a very high profile in Europe and the Far East, and now you want to conquer the US. Why? And won't that be difficult, since soccer is not a dominant male sport there? No other English footballer has ever really made it big over there. I'd love to be well known in America. I'd love to be recognized over there. The American people are so patriotic about their teams and their sports — more so than anywhere else in the world. I like the way the people are. I like the way they look up to Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. I'm sure they criticize [their players] but not to the extent where they're putting their own people and their own stars down. That's what's nice. It will be hard. The American people love basketball, Baseball, Ice hockey and American football. Football isn't one of their major sports. I'm surprised, because the facilities over in America are amazing, and their women's team does really well. I don't see why in the future it can't change. Just another challenge for me, I think — to try to get noticed over there. There are some people who know what I do — like [R&B artist] Usher. Manchester United are going over there in the summer to play. It's going to be hard work, but it will be nice to see what different countries think of me and my team mates.

You've always been involved in high-profile charity undertakings. How important is this to you? I've done as much as possible for different charities. We had a fundraiser last year for the NSPCC before the World Cup. And I was really amazed by little Kirsty Howard [the terminally ill 7-year old who was the England team mascot for the World Cup 2002 qualifier against Greece.] No matter what she was going through she was always smiling, always cheerful. "I like to talk to children. Sometimes they are ill or disadvantaged — it makes you realize how very lucky you are."

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	Playing to the Crowd [May 06, 2002] Britain's latest comedy, Bend It Like Beckham, is scoring big in cinemas across the U.K.. TIME's Jumana Farouky spoke with director Gurinder Chadha about family, football and the perfect aloo gobi. A Wolf in Sheik's Clothing [Nov. 18, 2002] Journalist Mazher Mahmood went undercover to break up the Posh Spice kidnapping Mend It Like Beckham [April 22, 2002] A fractured bone in David Beckham's foot puts his — and England's — World Cup ambitions at risk Search all issues of TIME Magazine