Speaking with au.fourfourtwo.com for the official Victory v Galaxy match day magazine, Murray recalls the Beckham years in Madrid as being ultimately successful despite the image he had with some of the fans upon arrival in 2003.

Real Madrid won an unprecedented (in European top-flight football) 30th league title in 2007, four years after Beckham’s arrival.

It was a title-race the Englishman ended up playing a huge part in despite being dropped by Fabio Capello at the start of 2007 and being told he'd not turn out for the Whites again.
 

What sense did you get from Real fans about Beckham's time at the club? Do you think they felt it had been a successful move?
When David Beckham signed for Real Madrid on 2 June 2003 in a pastel suit jacket sporting a blond highlighted ponytail, the fans were more convinced than ever that he was nothing more than a pretty boy who would ensure shirt sales would go up and that the free kicks would be taken care of. He totally proved them wrong.

"It was hard for him and us in the beginning," explains Maria Bretones of Spanish radio station, Cadena Ser. "We weren't used to dealing with such a big star and his arrival meant some access bans were put into place that we weren't used to. Though in general I'd say his time here was successful, he made the team better and helped Real Madrid's worldwide appeal and image reach further than ever before. Regarding trophies and titles, it wasn't a good era for Real Madrid, but the fans ended up loving him for his dedication to the club. I think they found a real football player inside of Beckham, when they thought he was just a Hollywood star."

And despite famously struggling to master the Spanish language, a year into his stint, he was more than equipped with vocabularly colourful to insult the mother of the linesman who deemed one of his tackles a little over-zealous. Beckham's reaction earned him an early shower, ensuring he learned the word for another colour in Spanish that day....roja! (red)

And what is your take on the Beckham era at Madrid? A smart marketing move or a smart signing for the team? Or a bit of both?

In the end it turned out to be both, even if it was for the former that he was pursued by the Spanish giants.

Beckham went on to become the English player to notch up the most games in the Spanish league (116), surpassing Gary Lineker's total of 103 with Barcelona, but there's no denying that it was his marketability that initially paved the way for him to do so.

Sid Lowe, The Guardian's Spanish football expert told me: "I don't think that it's a huge exaggeration to say that one of David Beckham's biggest obsessions was proving he hadn't just come to sell shirts, which is what everyone believed. But the sad news was, that in part he had been, as had he not been so marketable, he may not have been signed. I think he was good enough to play for Real Madrid anyway though. Other players were irritated by the amount of attention he generated, more so as they wanted to maintain a certain level of privacy. Even Michel Salgado, who was one of Beckham's close friends referred to it as a 'disaster'."

Regardless of how many other 'Beckham 23' shirts were sold, it was the man in the non-replica that truly won the fans over by playing with pride, passion and a sense of purpose they had never expected to see from a 'Hollywood superstar'.
 

Having so many managers compared to just the one at Man Utd, how do you think he coped with that and also the style of play in La Liga?

It wasn't just 6 different coaches he played under, but also 4 different presidents and 4 different sporting directors. Real Madrid's three year barren run (their worst in half a century) gives you an idea of the instability inside the club during that period.

However, when it came to adapting to the style of play in la liga, Beckham took no time to fit in - scoring on his league debut against Real Betis and also helping Madrid to their first league victory in Barcelona for 20 years.

However, Beckham's stint with Madrid soon started to take a downwards spiral. In the beginning, he was lauded and had the press waxing lyrical about his performances in central midfield - where he was being played following the departure of Claude Makelele. Sid described the number 23's role on the pitch as 'fundamental in redefining Madrid's balance, distributing quickly and effectively.'

Beckham found himself playing a more defensive role, yet still acting as the deep driving force for the team's attacking play. But as frustrations with the regime set in over the course of the season, he soon found himself surrounded by a number of disgruntled teammates and, as Sid put it, 'players who thought they weren't important, no matter what they did and those that thought they were important, no matter what they did.'

However, Beckham battled on and although his form may have consequently dipped, his workrate didn't. But now that very same attitude and drive that prompted the fickle press to hail him as an 'angel from heaven', was now earning him unwarranted criticism. In fact, before he had seen his first season out, his tireless, but utlimately fruitless running around, saw him cruelly dubbed as Forrest Gump.

It didn't help that his midfield partner Ivan Helguera's switch to play in defence meant he was now joined by hellraising playmaker Guti in the centre of the pitch. It left Beckham feeling a sense of responsibility to do more of the 'dirty work' which impeded his creative abilities.

Curiously enough though, the Englishman was able to finish his four years as he started them - as a hero and a key component in the squad. But it was on the wing that we saw some of the best from Beckham before his move Stateside.

Did you understand his reasons for moving to LA Galaxy? How much did Real want to keep him?

After losing his place at the start of his final season in Spain (2006/2007), Beckham barely featured under new coach Fabio Capello. By January, the midfielder had announced he was off to LA and Capello stated that he would never play again for Madrid.

His decision to move to the MLS still came as a shock to me though, despite the rumours. I was at a cup game at the Ruiz de Lopera (home to Real Betis) when a fan shouted me from the stands to tell me Becks was going to the USA. I thought that he was trying to get gossip from me as he could see from my mic cube that I worked for RMTV, so I yelled back that I knew nothing! He cheekily replied: "It seems you don't! That's why I'm telling you! It's a done deal, I heard it officially announced on the radio!"

But with the team in trouble, a month later he was recalled and made a return to the fold, away to Real Sociedad. He scored from a freekick in the 36th minute to cancel out an early goal from the hosts. We all went crazy, so too did the players, and you could see by Beckham's face what it meant to him. Ruud Van Nistelrooy went on to get a second to give the Whites a much-needed victory.

Unfortunately, Beckham was then sidelined with injury for almost two months, but once he was fit, Capello called on him again and what followed was an outstanding run of form. He was playing so well that the whispers that he was giving up on top-flight European football a little too soon were getting louder. Even the likes of Van Nistelrooy were not holding back and making it very clear that he still thought Beckham had far too much to offer to be going to America just yet. With the greatest of respect, he was only voicing what we were all thinking.

The fans would have loved to have seen him stay, but with his (and Capello's) departure came the arrival of German coach Bernd Schuster and Dutch stars Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben. Looking back, perhaps the club already had these players lined up but there was a sense from both parties that maybe what happened in January had all been a little hasty and that Beckham still had much to offer Madrid.

Though in what was a fitting end to his four years at the Bernabeu, Beckham and his teammates celebrated a long-awaited league win on the final day of the campaign. He played until the 65th minute against Mallorca, before an injury (which he'd been playing on for a while) forced him to be subbed.

He was soon back on the pitch - left boot in hand and an ice-pack wrapped around his foot - to celebrate with the rest of the players once the final whistle was blown on the 3-1 victory. Even when the stadium celebrations were over, he came back out to kiss the centre circle. It seems that despite the difficulties he faced during his time in Spain, Madridismo had taken to the heart of David Beckham and in return David Beckham had won the heart of Madridismo.

Later that night, Becks and his party (which of course included Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Kate Holmes) were singing La Bamba in the top Madrid restaurant Txistu....but that's another story!

How have you found Beckham in your dealings with him as a journalist, compared to other "Galacticos"?

The "Galactico" tag was dropped pretty quickly in the seasons that followed, but when I first arrived, I found David to be very polite but reserved, yet he still somehow managed to express a warmth about him that is not so common among top-flight footballers these days. He is extremely charismatic and despite his social standing, he does not possess a sense of superiority or aloofness that many modern players do.

I also had the pleasure of interviewing him during Real Madrid's preseason match against LA Galaxy in LA this summer. I must also add that the welcome we received, in addition to the facilities and organisation put on by The Galaxy were second to none.
And like his club, David Beckham is the ultimate professional. A class act and a gentleman.

I stand by the opinion that he is one of best role-models my country could wish for.

*The David Beckham special also features John Aloisi’s recollections of playing against Becks in La Liga and Clint Bolton’s memories of facing Galaxy in Sydney in 2007. On sale December 6 at Etihad Stadium at the Hyundai Club Challenge Melbourne between Victory and Galaxy.

Follow me on Twitter @Aidothejourno