Hello@all,

also soooo wahnsinnig prickelnd finde ich den Artikel ja nun nicht, aber, damit sich nicht alle bei der New York Times (war das nicht die Zeitung mit den gefaketen Artikeln?) registrieren lassen müssen, hier ist er:

July 3, 2003
Archangel David's Extraordinary Toenails Praised
By REUTERS

Filed at 2:12 p.m. ET

MADRID (Reuters) - David Beckham's bare feet, his angelic smile and the significance of the number 23 dominated Spanish coverage of the England captain's first full day as a Real Madrid player.

El Pais led their sports section with an article headlined ``Naked feet,'' in reference to the barefoot interviews given by Beckham Wednesday, the day he was officially presented as a Real Madrid player.

``David Beckham has extraordinary toenails,'' wrote John Carlin, who interviewed Beckham for Real Madrid TV. ``They are incredibly strong, healthy and, above all, thick.

``Perhaps those toenails reveal part of the secret of his famous ability to bend the ball.''

El Mundo played up the connection between Beckham and Michael Jordan, now the England midfielder will be wearing the number 23 shirt made famous by the American basketball legend.

``The number 23 makes us look back toward a mythical sportsman, perhaps the most famous sportsman of all time -- Michael Jordan,'' the newspaper said.

``The idea is clear: Real Madrid are working to open up the North American market, which has unlimited potential, as soon as the Asian market, with Beckham and Ronaldo at the forefront, is dominated completely.''

RELIGIOUS REVERENCE

In another article, El Mundo described Beckham's appearance at his presentation ceremony in tones of religious reverence.

``The arch-angel appeared at 12:15,'' El Mundo's Raul del Pozo wrote.

``The Real Madrid hymn was sounded and God's ray of light shone as he of the winged feet -- feet that don't smell -- rose on the platform with his ponytail, a white handkerchief in the pocket of his powder blue jacket and with a timid smile on his face.''

On a slightly more serious note, sports daily Marca warned Beckham that no one wearing the number 23 at Real Madrid had been successful, from Sandro in 1995-96, through Guti, Dani, Samuel Eto'o, Julio Cesar and Pedro Munitis.

They noted that Jordan had made it a ``magic number'' in sport, though, and described Beckham's acceptance of the shirt as a touch of humility.

The other media star of the day was Alfonso Lopez, the 11-year-old boy who wriggled under a fence at Real's training ground to receive a bear-hug from Beckham during his first appearance in the club's white kit.

``David said something to me but it was in English and I didn't understand,'' Lopez told Marca.

``I was so nervous that all I could think to do was give him a hug.''

Es grüsst der
JOE