Beckham came off the bench for the last half-hour of the World Cup qualifier and impressed.
But Capello compared Beckham’s award with US President Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
He said: “I was a bit surprised. It was like Obama winning the Nobel prize after 10 months as President. Beckham was on the field for just half an hour.”
He added: “Whether Beckham plays five minutes, 20 minutes or half an hour he always plays very well. Sometimes substitutes have a problem to play normally. David always plays well.”
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, who was analysing the match for ITV, nominated Beckham for the award.
Bruce insisted: “For me, David had the biggest impact on the game even though he was only on for 30 minutes.
“He is desperate to get on that plane to South Africa and tonight he lifted the whole occasion.
“You can’t deny his range of passing and it’s great for him that he can still play balls like he did out there tonight.
“Now he just needs to get rid of the beard and I’m not too sure about the tattoos, either.
“I know Crouch scored two goals but I couldn’t give him the man of the match – he turned me down in the summer!”
Beckham admitted: “I don’t know how I got that one. Thanks Brucie. I played with him, of course.”
