Shekaru talatin sun wuce tun lokacin da David Beckham ya harba kwallon a cikin tarihin kwallon ƙafa da ƙarfin hali daga cikin rabin filinsa — har yanzu kuma, mai tsaron gida da ya ɗanɗana wannan burin yana tunawa da kowane lokaci.

A ranar 17 ga watan Agusta 1996, Beckham wanda ke da shekara 21 ya karɓi kwallon a zurfi na hannun Manchester United a Selhurst Park, alhali ƙungiyarsa tana kan gaba da ci 2-0. Abin da ya biyo baya shi ne harbi daga nisan yadi 57 da ya ratse sama bisa Neil Sullivan marar ƙarfi kafin ya sauka a ragar, yana barin kipa na Wimbledon ya rataye kan ƙugiyar ragar yayin da magoya bayan United ke murna a bayan gidan ragar.

"Zai yi kusa"

Sullivan, wanda ya yi magana da FourFourTwo kafin Kofin Duniya ta hanyar betFIRST, ya bayyana yadda abin ya faru daga gefe nasa. "A lokacin, wasa ne na yau da kullum," in ji shi. "Muna rasa da ci 2-0 a ƴan mintoci kafin ƙarshe. Ya harbe ta kuma ta motsa sosai a cikin iska."

"Ban canza ƙafafuna yadda ya kamata ba, kuma nan da nan da ya harbe ta, kana tunanin, 'Zai yi kusa'," Sullivan ya ci gaba. "Da ta shiga, ina rataye kan ragar, ina duuba sama, kuma dukkan magoya bayan Man United suna bayan ragar. Ana yi mani ƙabilci daga mazauna."

Maganarsa ta farko cakuda mamaki da ɗan girmamawar tilastawa. "Na yi ɗan dariya a sirri, haka kawai," in ji shi da tunawa. "Sannan ba ka ta da ra'ayi game da shi sosai."

Farkawa tare da tarihi

Sai da safiyar kashegari ne girmamawar abin ya zama bayyane — a wani zamani kafin kafofin sada zumunta da yake iya yada bidiyo a duniya cikin ɗan lokaci. "Kana tashi a kashegari — babu kafofin sada zumunta a lokacin, babu komai," Sullivan ya ce. "Kana ɗauka jaridar kuma tana ko'ina a shafukan wasanni na baya. Kana cewa, 'Wow, wannan ya yi musamman.' Haka kuma — kana zama wani ɓangare na tarihin Premier League ba da gangan ba."

Abin mamaki, Sullivan ba shi da tabbacin cewa burin Beckham shi ne mafi kyawun burin da ya karɓa. Shi ma ya kasance a gaba da burin ƙafar ciyawa na shahararren Paolo Di Canio na West Ham United a kan Wimbledon a shekara ta 2000. "Don haka, eh, yana da kyau a tuna da wani abu, a ra'ayina," ya ƙara da dariyarsa ta gama gari.