DAVID BECKHAM was given so many responsibilities last night that they might as well complete the set this lunchtime and ask him to pilot Concorde home. After this triumph of the human spirit, the boy from Leytonstone would probably shrug his shoulders, grab the joystick and take Manchester United on another flight of fantasy.
United's matchwinner may have been Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but it was Beckham who ensured that his team approached the final, mad minutes with an air of hope rather than resignation. Beckham has played better games, but never has he displayed such indomitable will.
Apart from taking the corners and free kicks, governing a congested midfield, overlapping Giggs on the right flank where possible and prompting most of United's attacks - all of it while outnumbered by some of the most dogged competitors even Germany has produced - Beckham must have wondered if he should disappear early to brew up the half-time tea.
Such was the ridiculous scale of his task for much of this game that United found themselves overrun in the heart of the pitch where games are won and lost. That it was Lothar Matthäus who was spoiling the fun, as he appears to have been doing for Englishmen for all of his 38 years, was even more frustrating and, at times, it appeared that Beckham would suffocate. Where opportunities should have been opening, doors were slammed in his face. Most footballers would have turned away, but Beckham, as he and the rest of his team-mates have been taught by Alex Ferguson, the United manager, did not know when to stop.
The lack of numbers in midfield was a familiar experience for United, but one they had overcome in the past. In the semi-final first leg against Juventus, they had become preoccupied with Zidane and, as a consequence, had diluted their own attacking verve. This time, it was the roving Effenberg who dominated their thoughts, with Nicky Butt given the shackling job. The result was that Beckham was faced with a brick wall to penetrate and it was only in those final moments, when reinforcements had arrived, that the strength was there to topple it.
There were those who had fretted even before kick-off that pitching Beckham into central midfield would prove to be less a blessing than a curse, but they did not include Pelé. "The thing with a player like Beckham," the Brazilian mused, "is that you must let him free." Last night he ran with abandon, but too many of his colleagues appeared to be under lock and key.
It was a potentially crushing responsibility for Beckham, but he soldiered on manfully against the odds. On only one occasion this season had the 24-year-old trod the middle ground for club or country from the start and that was in Luxembourg, which hardly counts. He had switched to the middle on Saturday in the FA Cup Final, but, on that occasion, Gary Speed, of Newcastle United, was his adversary. Matthäus, despite having the mobility of an old tank, would prove a far tougher adversary.
The pivotal importance of Beckham was emphasised by one spread betting company's offer of a Beckham Factor. Points were amassed for everything from shots on target to shots of Posh Spice on television, but it was mileage that he clocked up in staggering fashion.
He played with an astonishing urgency throughout, which is more than can be said for all his team-mates. Yorke, in particular, appeared to have allowed his mind to drift at times back to West Indies beaches, and he treated possession like loose pesetas.
That was an accusation that could never be levelled at Beckham, who is approaching 60 games this season but who played as if he could carry on running right through his summer holidays. That was despite the tweak in a thigh muscle that had necessitated a late fitness test. With Keane and Scholes absent through suspension, it would presumably have taken amputation to have stopped Beckham from appearing.
Having won the final, one can imagine it being the first of several for Beckham and his colleagues. For Peter Schmeichel, though, this was the end of the line and it was a farewell that he cannot have dreamt of as he all but finished the match in the Bayern penalty area. Flat-footed for Basler's free kick that had given Bayern an early lead, he made up for it by contributing to United's attacks, appearing at the other end of the field as Beckham lined up his sights from the corner flag.
He will return to Cheshire today when the removal men will start to pack his possessions. Pickfords will have to take special care of a European Cup winning-medal that he thought had slipped from his grasp.
