Masterclass at the Bernabeu

Make a note of the details. Wednesday 28th September 2005. Real Madrid v Olympiakos at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

There was something remarkable about this Champions League fixture and it wasn’t Real Madrid’s modest 2-1 victory. It was the masterclass provided by the player on Real’s right flank, who gave an exhibition of the art of crossing the ball which was so stunning that if his colleagues had converted half the chances he created for them, the scoreline would have gone well into double figures.

Within the first ten minutes, he set up Real’s first – a landmark goal that gave Raul his 50th in European competition. That set the tone for a stream of over 25 inviting crosses for the likes of Baptista and Robinho but it was late in the game before another of them was converted, when substitute Roberto Soldado scored the winner.

And the architect of all those glorious crosses? An Englishman called David Beckham, who has spent some time recently thinking that he would be better employed playing in the centre of midfield.

Hopefully, he is now feeling a lot better.