<P> Beckham was born at Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone, London, England . He is the son of Sandra Georgina (née West; b . 1949), a hairdresser, and David Edward Alan "Ted" Beckham (b . Edmonton, London, July--September 1948), a kitchen fitter, who married at the London Borough of Hackney in 1969 . He has an older sister, Lynne Georgina, and a younger sister, Joanne Louise . He regularly played football in Ridgeway Park, Chingford, as a child, and attended Chase Lane Primary School and Chingford County High School . In a 2007 interview, Beckham said that, "At school whenever the teachers asked,' What do you want to do when you're older?' I'd say,' I want to be a footballer .' And they'd say,' No, what do you really want to do, for a job?' But that was the only thing I ever wanted to do ." Beckham's maternal grandfather was Jewish, and Beckham has referred to himself as "half Jewish" and wrote in his autobiography "I've probably had more contact with Judaism than with any other religion". In his book Both Feet on the Ground, he stated that growing up he attended church every week with his parents, because that was the only way he could play football for their team . </P> <P> His parents were fanatical Manchester United supporters who would frequently travel to Old Trafford from London to attend the team's home matches . David inherited his parents' love of Manchester United, and his main sporting passion was football . He attended one of Bobby Charlton's football schools in Manchester and won the chance to take part in a training session with Barcelona, as part of a talent competition . He played for a local youth team called Ridgeway Rovers--coached by his father, Stuart Underwood and Steve Kirby . Beckham was a Manchester United mascot for a match against West Ham United in 1986 . Young Beckham had trials with his local club Leyton Orient, Norwich City and attended Tottenham Hotspur's school of excellence . Tottenham Hotspur was the first club he played for . During a two - year period in which Beckham played for Brimsdown Rovers' youth team, he was named Under - 15 Player of the Year in 1990 . He also attended Bradenton Preparatory Academy, but signed schoolboy forms at Manchester United on his 14th birthday, and subsequently signed a Youth Training Scheme contract on 8 July 1991 . </P> <P> Having signed for Manchester United as a trainee on 8 July 1991, 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 . 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 . </P> <P> 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 started in Manchester United's 2--0 home loss but was replaced by substitute Robbie Savage . In the second leg on 13 May 1993, Beckham played the full 90 minutes of Manchester United's 2--1 defeat, which gave Leeds United a 4--1 aggregate score . Beckham would also receive honours 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 . Despite the victory, however, they finished third out of four in their group, behind Barcelona . </P>

When did david beckham start playing professional football