Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has shared his first-hand account of the infamous 2003 dressing room incident in which manager Sir Alex Ferguson kicked a boot that struck David Beckham above the eye.
The clash followed United's FA Cup defeat to Arsenal, and Beckham was later photographed with a cut above his left eyebrow. He left Old Trafford for Real Madrid just months afterwards.
Silvestre recalls the surreal moment
Speaking on the 'Call Yourself A Fan' podcast, Silvestre described the scene: "It's one of those moments that's surreal, it was a moment of madness that you don't expect. The gaffer was a striker when he was a player and he kept the accuracy! The speed wasn't there, but the class and accuracy was still there!"
He added: "He kicked a pile of boots just after the game while he was having a go at David and it ended up landing on his head where he had a cut. It was a crazy moment that you don't expect to happen. They almost clashed and some players had to stand between them and separate the two of them. They didn't speak for quite some time after that."
Squad left shell-shocked
Silvestre said the United players were stunned: "Normally it’s quite lively after the games, there's food and players watch TV or play music. But they had never seen anything like this happen before. We couldn't understand what happened. It was crazy."
The Frenchman served under Ferguson for nine years between 1999 and 2008, during which United won the Premier League five times. Silvestre left as a Champions League winner after the 2008 final against Chelsea.
First encounter and managerial contrasts
Silvestre also recalled meeting Ferguson for the first time: "He picked me up from the airport and he spoke a bit of French. Or tried to. It was a mix of broken French and Scottish! I tried to understand. We had a good conversation but it was a long ride to the hotel!"
He later joined Arsenal under Arsene Wenger, United's main rivals in that era. Silvestre noted the contrast: "The difference between the two is day and night. The biggest difference between the two was how Sir Alex would employ the hairdryer, while Arsene would be the opposite."
He explained: "He would take a day to cool down, analyse the game and the next day he would tell you what he thought about the game and your performance. Completely different management styles but both worked."
