David Beckham cheers up Fabio Capello

The tough-talking Italian tasked Beckham with raising squad morale and ending the so-called “captain’s curse” after skipper Rio Ferdinand’s knee injury saw him crash out of the World Cup.

Ferdinand’s exit comes after Capello stripped John Terry of the position over his personal life four months ago, and has left players joking that the team captain and the campaign are cursed.

Capello immediately turned to Beckham and asked him to talk to the players and lift their morale before they became too downhearted.

Beckham could be seen chatting to England players at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Complex in Phokeng, near Rustenburg, in an effort to lift the mood of the camp. As an inconsolable Ferdinand sat through morning training, Beckham was seen encouraging everyone to raise their game.

A member of staff at the complex said: “Becks made himself busy, putting his arm around shoulders and being upbeat. You could see some of the younger players were glad he was there.

“He has been there and done it and they valued what he had to say. It was good to see. You could see the impact he was having. There is so much respect for him in the camp.”

Beckham, 35, who had asked every team member personally if they were happy with his presence in Rustenburg, paid special attention to his close friend Rio. He had spent an hour consoling the Manchester United player on Friday night and spent time with him again yesterday.

“Rio was devastated. Close to tears,” the staff member added. “Becks is his close friend and he sat with him for a good hour in his room. I don’t know what was said exactly, but he was urging Rio to keep his chin up.”

Beckham suffered his own injury heartbreak earlier this year when a snapped Achilles tendon ruled him out of the World Cup. Capello immediately said he wanted England to benefit from Beckham’s experience and invited him to be a member of the camp.

It looked like an inspired decision yesterday as the squad came to terms with Ferdinand’s exit. Beckham had insisted on staying with the players instead of a luxury six-star hotel where his wife Victoria is expected to stay when she arrives in South Africa on June 18.

The sumptuous Palace of the Lost City, in nearby Sun City, enjoys majestic views of lush gardens, a lake and the mountains. It has its own man-made wave beach and rainforest botanical gardens and is lavishly decked out.

The hotel’s Villa del Palluzzo Italian restaurant is one of the best in Africa but Beckham has shunned the chance to stay in the palace with his wife in case the squad needs him.

Victoria’s expected stay is a big boost for the hotel after it lost thousands of pounds when FIFA scrapped more than 50 bookings just days before they were due to arrive.

She could be joined by Alex Curran, the wife of Steven Gerrard, and Peter Crouch’s fiancé Abbey Clancy later on in the tournament.

However, Danielle Lineker, the wife of BBC World Cup anchorman Gary, 49, warned wags to “stay away from South Africa and give England a chance”.

The former model, 30, who will fly to Johannesburg for a week to do TV work, said she hoped the WAGS fiasco of Baden Baden, Germany, in 2006 would not be repeated.

“All the WAGS stuff last time just took away from the football and must have been a distraction for the players,” she said. “If they go to South Africa they should keep a low profile. At the end of the day, the team have a job to do.”