David Beckham debuted at the Premier League club's forgotten stadium that was demolished to turn it into a budget supermarket
David Beckham took his first steps into professional football back in 1992, but you wouldn't recognize the field.
Beckham's famous career began on the south coast and Brighton had the honor of seeing the future manchester united legend for the first time.
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But it wasn't at the newly built Amex Stadium, which wouldn't open for another 19 years.
Instead, Becks first appeared at Goldstone Ground, home of the Seagulls since 1902.
The stadium had its charm, and even hosted football matches during the 1948 Olympic Games, the first competition of its kind since World War II.
It was one of two grounds to host football matches outside London during the tournament, the other being Portsmouth's Fratton Park.
And when United visited Brighton in the League Cup in September 1992, Sir Alex Ferguson decided to present a fresh face. beckham on his debut with the first team.
Only 17 years old at the time, the midfielder was missing the tattoos and chiseled look that he has since become synonymous with.
Instead, a floppy-haired Cockney teenager ran onto the field and came on in the final throes to replace Andrei Kanchelskis.
Around 16,000 people attended to see Beckham take his first steps in the sport.
He would become one of the most famous football players of all time, appearing on billboards, television ads, and men's perfumes for years to come.
And that's without discounting his impressive playing career, winning Premier League titles with United, La Liga with Real Madrid, the MLS Cup with LA Galaxy and Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain.
Today he is co-owner of Inter Miami and is as famous for his exploits off the pitch as he is on it.
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But if Beckham ever wanted to visit the ground where he made his debut, he would probably end up in the center aisle of Lidl looking at potato peelers.
This is because Brighton sold the Goldstone Ground in 1997, leaving the club homeless while the site was converted into a retail park.
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They narrowly avoided relegation to the Conference on the final day of the season.
Steve Gritt, who managed the club during this difficult time, said: “Everyone had been going to the Goldstone for God knows how many years. All the players who had played there.
“Everyone knows it was a special terrain.
“I played there for Charlton, sometimes good, sometimes bad.
“But it was a spectacular field, a great field to play on.
“When there was a big crowd there, it really was a great atmosphere. Fortunately, we were allowed to have more fans that day, which improved the atmosphere.
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“It was a very emotional day for those who had watched the club play for years and years.”
They had to travel to Kent to play for Gillingham's Priestfield for two years, not a pleasant trip for the Brighton locals.
Having returned to the area, the Seagulls played at Withdean Stadium, an athletics ground, before identifying land in Falmer to build a new ground.
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In 2021, Lidl opened a store on the Goldstone site where the field was, while other stores include TK Maxx, Pets At Home and Burger King.
While the people of Hove rejoiced at seeing the low-cost store, some older Seagull fans might lament the fact they have moved home.
Brighton have since enjoyed great success in recent years under the ownership of Tony Bloom, establishing themselves in the Premier League.
In recent years, they may have lost key players such as Marc Cucurella, Leandro Trossard and Yves Bissouma and even their coach Graham Potter.
But substitute Robert De Zerbi was a revelation as he led them to the Europa League and made history at the Amex Stadium.
Things are looking good under new coach Fabian Hurzler, who started the 2024/25 season well.
They currently sit ninth in the Premier League.
