Football: A Good Career Choice
Little David was football crazy. He spent all his spare time kicking a ball in the school playground or on the streets near his east London home. Like millions of boys and an increasing number of girls, he dreamt of being a professional football player. He was a Manchester United supporter and he wanted to wear the red shirt and score goals at the famous Old Trafford Stadium in front of thousands of cheering fans.

While he was still a schoolboy, he attended training sessions with a London club, and then at the age of sixteen, he was invited to join Manchester United as a trainee. David's career took off almost immediately when he was part of the Manchester United's Youth Team that Won the FA Youth Cup in 1992, and he was chosen to play for the Red Devils' senior team in the same year. It was the beginning of an extraordinary career.

Now David is England's most famous mid-field player and a world superstar. Every time he plays football he is watched by thousands of adoring Becks fans all over the world. David Beckham accomplished his aim, but what about all the other children with the same dream? How
can they achieve their ambition?

Football is different from most careers because employers do not advertise that they have a vacant job in the newspapers or on the Internet. There are no application forms or interviews. Instead the employers -- the football clubs -- find players with the right abilities and offer them employment.

The clubs look for young footballers with particular qualities and, most importantly, talent. Professional footballers have to be very, very good, and to play for a leading club they must be outstanding. Top players must have excellent ball control and understand how to use the space on the pitch, but it is not just what they do with their feet that counts. Club managers also want every footballer to have good team spirit, a strong character, mental strength and a positive attitude.

Many countries have set up programmes to encourage and develop young footballers, and this is where the clubs go to assess athletes and find stars of the future. China has special football schools where children acquire ball skills as well as a formal education. In the UK the clubs send scouts around the country to discover talented boys and girls. These scouts watch hundreds of matches played by school teams in villages, towns and cities. When they spot young people with talent, they invite them to train with the club. If the players are under sixteen, they still go to school but take part in club training sessions in the evenings and play in the junior team at weekends. Those that are good enough then become youth trainees at the age of sixteen and join the club as a paid member of staff. During this time they receive football instruction and play for the youth team, but it is not an easy life. There is a lot of competition for places on the team. The salary is low and the job includes cleaning the changing rooms, toilets and senior colleagues' boots. The trainees also go to college one day a week where they study other characteristics of the football industry such as pitch maintenance and office administration.

After two years, only a few trainees are good enough to go on to the next stage. These lucky ones are offered a contract with a club and their life as a professional footballer begins. From this point on the success of their career and how much they earn depend on their performance and how many matches their team wins. Perhaps, like Becks, one or two become great stars. However, football is such a fiercely competitive occupation, that many players are not successful and have to leave the profession to find other careers.

When David Beckham was a child, he dreamt of playing for Manchester United. He achieved his ambition and made the red Number 7 shirt famous throughout the world. Now he is famous for his haircuts and lifestyle as well as for scoring goals. David's story has a happy ending, but most children with the same wish will never have the opportunity to wear their favourite team's shirt. Many of them will only play as amateur footballers in their spare time. Unfortunately football dreams do not often come true.
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