Club career
Manchester United
Youth and early career
Having signed for Manchester United as a trainee on 8 July 1991,[30] Beckham was part of a group of young players, including Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes, who were coached by Eric Harrison, and helped the club win the FA Youth Cup in May 1992. Known as the 'Class of '92', all six players came through Manchester United ranks together and went on to be teammates for over a decade.[31] Beckham scored Manchester United's second goal in the 30th minute of their 3–1 first-leg win of the final against Crystal Palace on 14 April 1992. In the second leg on 15 May, Beckham played a full 90-minutes of the fixture which ended 3–2 in favour of Manchester United and 6–3 on aggregate. Beckham's impact led to a first-team debut on 23 September 1992, as a substitute for Andrei Kanchelskis in a League Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion. Shortly afterwards, Beckham signed as a professional on 23 January 1993.[32]
Manchester United would again reach the final of the FA Youth Cup, where they would face Leeds United. The first leg was played on 10 May 1993, where Beckham featured in Manchester United's 2–0 home loss and was substituted off of the field for Robbie Savage. In the second leg on 13 May 1993, Beckham played the entire fixture of Manchester United's 2–1 defeat, which gave Leeds United a 4–1 aggregate score. Beckham would also receive honors with the club's reserve-team, when the squad would win the league in 1994. In September 1994, Beckham went on to gain his first full appearance in the club's first team against Port Vale in a League Cup fixture. On 7 December 1994, Beckham made his UEFA Champions League debut, scoring a goal in a 4–0 victory at home to Galatasaray in the final game of the group stage. However, despite the victory they finished third out of four in their group behind FC Barcelona.[33]