KUALA LUMPUR: The David Beckham of Malaysia, Safee Sali, met the real Beckham when the former England World Cup captain came to Kuala Lumpur for adidas' World of Predator Exhibition on Thursday.
Safee, 40, is best remembered for captaining Malaysia to the 2010 AFF Cup victory.
When he met his idol for the first time at the Royal Selangor Kiara Sports Annexe, Safee admitted he was nervous.
"I was nervous because it's my first time meeting Beckham face to face," said Safee.
"Everyone in the world knows who he is, so to be in his presence was really exciting for me."
Beckham is a Manchester United legend and he was among the stars who helped Sir Alex Ferguson's side to a treble in 1995-96.
Safee said Beckham, who was known for his mind-blowing "bended" penalties and freekicks, has influenced his career.
"There were plenty of points to make me idolise him, and one of the factors was that many labeled me as Beckham of Malaysia. Which was also why I followed his hair trends," said Safee.
Safee, who is the Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM) president, was present on Thursday to witness the kickoff of the Malaysia Girls Football Programme in collaboration with adidas.
He was joined by PFAM women's exco member Steffi Sarge Kaur, who was the inspiration behind the programme.
Also present were PFAM chief executive officer Izham Ismail and vice president Razman Roslan. They were joined by M-League footballers Izham Tarmizi, Syazwan Andik and Irfan Zakaria.