The man who discovered David Beckham has died at the age of 76. Stuart Underwood was Beckham’s coach at his youth team Ridgeway Rovers in England.

According to the Bournemouth Echo, Underwood coached Beckham for nine years after putting an advertisement in the Walthamstow Guardian newspaper seeking players for an under-eight team.

Here’s what Beckham said about Underwood in a 2006 interview with Four Four Two Magazine:

“That was a massive part of my life, the first team I was involved in. It was an amazing time. I had Stuart Underwood, Steve Kirby and my dad as coaches. Stuart Underwood was like a sergeant major. He scared me. In fact, I’ve always had managers and coaches that have scared me.”

Underwood died after a long battle with cancer.

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