'Let's be 'avin ya!'

Becks over-whelmed by the support of the Canaries faithful

David Beckham last night spoke about his deep love of Norwich City and his joy to be back at the ground after such a long time. The England star last played for the East Anglican side some seven years ago but the crowd were vocal in their appreciation of a man who spent so many great years at the club. Speaking after his current club, AC Milan, were knocked out of the Champions League by the Carrow Road outfit, Beckham seemed genuinely moved by the reception he received:

"To come back here and get treated the way I was treated tonight by them fans was one of the best nights in my career. Ok, so we didn't get the result we would have liked to have wanted but as a special occasion, it was really special. I remember when I was a young lad in North London, all I ever wanted to do was pull on that bright yellow jersey with the little green bits that were splashed over it like someone had spilt paint. I remember my dad used to let me stay up and watch the likes of Jeremy Goss and Kevin Drinkell playing, they were brilliant. Especilly Goss, with his volleys. My dad used to say he looked like Frasier off the telly. But my real hero was Ruel Fox. I was gutted when he moved to Spurs."

Despite his disappointment at the result, the vetran midfielder wishes his club nothing but success:

"They are a great club, with a great tradition with great fans, great players and a great manager. Some of the guys I used to play with like Chris Sutton and Darren Huckerby have retired now but I think the new breed of players, like Michael Rose who they got on loan from Stockport County and Wes Hoolahan can take them all the way to the final. Of course we are gutted to go out of the competition but Milan came up a really good Norwich side tonight. On this form, they can beat anybody."

Asked wether this would be his last game at his beloved Carrow Road, Beckham accepted that it probably was. Choking back the tears he said:

"I am not getting any younger and I am not sure how many more years I wil be playing at this level, so I don't think I wil come up against Norwich in the Champions Leage again. But I am so glad I had the chance to come back here and properly say goodbye to them amazing fans. It has been such an emotional night for me and I am so happy my family were here to experience it with me. I am contracted to the Galaxy for the next few years but when my contract finishes me and Victoria have both decided we will settle down in Norwich. This will always be home for us."