Manchester - This was supposed to have been a very glamorous charity match organised by the greatest star English sport has ever produced. David Beckham's Match for Children ended up as more than that. In the wake of the slaughter in Paris that began with bombings outside Stade de France, sport needed a show of solidarity.
Zinedine Zidane, who was to have captained the Rest of the World side, and Patrick Vieira felt unable to go to Manchester in the wake of the atrocities in the French capital.
In 1998 they had lifted the World Cup at Stade de France as part of a side that contained men born in Senegal, Ghana and the West Indies and captained by a Muslim, a team hailed as an example of the “new France” which was under assault on Friday night.
“Paris has always been one of my favourite cities,” said Beckham. “I have great memories of it, not just when I played for PSG. I played my 100th game for England at Stade de France and I received an incredible standing ovation. It is a special place.
“Zizou [Zidane] is a friend and a very passionate man and, being French, this has hit him very hard. He was supposed to have flown in from Madrid for this match but I understand why he could not.”
Turning his mind to the future, Beckham thought that on balance it was right that Tuesday's friendly between England and France should go ahead at Wembley. “Maybe it will show the power the game has,” he said. “But we need to show huge respect to those who have suffered.”
The most poignant moment on Saturday was Andrea Bocelli, dressed in a raincoat and dark glasses - like Beckham forever the star - singing Nessun Dorma as the players stood in pelting rain. The closing chorus of “Vincero” - “I shall win” - seemed as good a statement as any.
It was soon clear why Beckham was keen to stage this game. It would make plenty of money for Unicef, the United Nations Children's Fund, and make him look good.
Most of the footballers on that sodden pitch were, shall we say, of a certain age. Last season, Paul Scholes declined Gary Neville's offer to play for Salford City in the FA Cup on the very reasonable grounds that “I'm as fat as fuck, Gaz”. Beckham can grow a beard, swathe his arms in tattoos and launch some dodgy brands of perfume but he can never get fat. The brand would not allow it. He is Hollywood but he is not Marlon Brando.
Despite his protests, Scholes could probably have played against Ashton United last season. He could probably play for Manchester United this season. Here he scored the first goal and laid on the second for Michael Owen.
Beckham is 40 but his game was based on the fabulous delivery of a dead ball rather than speed. Now, on a pitch where everyone's pace was diminished, he looked like what he must have dreamed he would be when growing up in Leytonstone - the best footballer on the planet. One gorgeous cross-field ball that Ryan Giggs controlled with the tip of his boot was the kind of move that could have come from Manchester United's Treble-winning season.
A quarter of an hour from the end he walked off to a standing ovation to be replaced by his 16-year-old son, Brooklyn, whose first appearance on the pitch at Old Trafford was being carried round by his father as a baby as Manchester United celebrated another championship. When Sol Campbell limped off, David returned and the game closed with Beckham passing to Beckham.
Great Britain and Ireland XI: James (Seaman, h-t); Neville, Carragher, Terry (Campbell, h-t; D Beckham 80), Cole, D Beckham (B Beckham, 75), Butt (McAllister, 27), Fletcher (Smith, 61), Scholes, Giggs (Sinclair, 61); Crouch (Owen, 56).
Rest of the World XI: Van der Sar (Van der Gouw, h-t); Cafu, Silvestre, Couto (Hierro, h-t), Park; Pires, Seedorf (Donovan, h-t), Park, Figo; Ronaldinho, Kluivert, Solskjaer (Yorke, 17).
Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)
Attendance:75,381.
The Independent on Sunday