Beckham Snubbed By Soccer Poll

The online survey has been carried out by executives at New Black Films, ahead of the release of their new soccer movie One Night in Turin.

Beckham, who will have to watch this summer's World Cup in South Africa from the sidelines after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon, attracted 32 per cent of votes, behind Gascoigne's 36 per cent. Current England star Wayne Rooney came in third ahead of the late Bobby Moore, who captained England's 1966 World Cup winning team.

The news will come as a welcome relief for Gascoigne, who has battled alcoholism and a spate of legal problems since he retired from the sport in 2004.

Explaining Beckham's snub, One Night in Turin director James Erskine says, "David Beckham is, without doubt a football superstar - he's the player we all wish we could be, with natural talent oozing out of every pore. But it seems English fans still need Becks to really set

the World Cup on fire before they'll vote him into the number one spot."

One Night in Turin features previously unseen footage of England's 1990 World Cup campaign in Italy.