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Of Hypocrites And Hypocrisies - Football's Most Shameless Double-Standards Revealed
Goal.com's Subhankar Mondal reveals the most blatant of hypocrisies that eats at the world of football.....
10-Jun-2009 11:57:14 AM
1. Fabio Capello And Referees
Week 23 in the Spanish Primera Division in 2006-2007 and Fabio Capello remarked,"The refs are not helping us.” Quite normal for any football manager or coach of a losing side to say, isn’t it?
But the Italian tactician then appeared to suffer some sort of amnesia and after Week 24 said, “I never talk about referees.” Well, so what exactly was he doing the previous week?
2. Parking The Bus
Chelsea play with ten men behind the ball and that is strategy of the highest order. Manchester United play for an insipid 0-0 away draw, score an early goal at home and then start piling bodies in front of their citadel and that is Einsteinian intelligence. Real Madrid play with a two-defensive-players-in-midfield system, leave all their creative work to the most fragile footballer in Spain (Arjen Robben) and are horrible to watch and that is genius tactics.
And when an Italian side apply the aforementioned 'tactics' and execute them to perfection, they are 'boring old Italians'.
3. 2009 Going On 2002
After Chelsea's controversial 1-1 draw with FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, club manager Guus Hiddink lamented, “I won't say what we really feel, but it's an injustice. It's not just one doubtful call. Ask the people who put the referee in charge of this game. When all these things happen, then you start thinking.” Sure Chelsea have had four penalty appeals turned down and one of them was certainly inexcusable. But what about that Thierry Henry penalty that was not given at Camp Nou, the Michael Ballack red card that never came, that Eric Abidal sending off that was never a sending off?
And does anyone recall what Mr. Hiddink said way back in 2002 when he was the coach of South Korea and they defeated Spain and Italy under rather 'funny' circumstances? Answers on a postcard please.
4. Succeed In Premier League, Succeed Anywhere
Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack (initially), Deco, Fernando Morientes all failed to lighten up the Premier League and so the Spanish Primera Division, Bundesliga and Serie A are rubbish. So what is the conclusion when a European Cup winner (Steve Finnan) fails to get more than 3 league starts for a Spanish side that staved off relegation only on the penultimate weekend of the season , when one of Arsenal's best players (Aliaksandr Hleb) rots at Barcelona, when another Arsenal star (Mathieu Flamini) fails to settle at AC Milan, when one of England's most celebrated striker (Michael Owen) returns to England after just one season in Spain, when Arsenal’s all time leading goalscorer (Thierry Henry) feels frustrated in his first season in La Liga?
Oh, Premier League's arguably best striker who last season became the most prolific foreign striker ever on his debut in England never managed 20 league goals in one season in La Liga. And he featured in the Spanish first division for five seasons. So what's the conclusion now?
5. Media The Watchdog Of Society Watches Only One Side
Henry is denied a penalty, Ballack is not sent off, there are ten defenders to get past at Camp Nou and the Catalan press is booming with banners of 'anti-football'. As for the Gerard Pique handball appeal and two or three other controversial decisions at Stamford Bridge, well, you can only wish they had a few more pages to scribble something about them.
6. ‘Best Player In 37 Years’
A footballer-turned-TV commentator said not so long ago that Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player he has watched in the last 37 years. Well, maybe at Manchester United Ronaldo is the best player in the last 37 years, but for those who know that football exists outside England would instantly ramble out the names of Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and of course the 'original' Ronaldo. Oh, then there's the Guardiolas, the Stoichkovs.....
7. AC Milan Is An Old Age Home
Yeah sure, the likes of Clarence Seedorf, Gianluca Zambrotta and Dida do tend to make the team over-aged but need I remind you for which club the best teenage striker in Europe (Alexandre Pato) plays for?
8. Premier League Is All About Marketing
Well, if the Premier League executives hadn't thought of selling their product worldwide, can anyone please enlighten how a Korean, an Indian, an Australian or a Nigerian would have enjoyed watching the Gerrards, the Torreses, the Lampards and the Fabregases?
9. Premier League is Rubbish
Maybe overhyped, perhaps even overrated but rubbish!? Maybe that is why it is (arguably) the most popular league in the world.
10. La Liga And Serie A Are Rubbish
So you have watched all the 380 matches each of La Liga and Serie A? Or did you watch Valladolid playing Numancia and decided to skip Barcelona against Atletico? Maybe you didn't watch the Milan derby but thought of getting entertainment from the game between the bottom two?
11. Diego Maradona Is A Cheat
True, there was his Hand of God goal and also the doping scandals, but El Diego was also a genius. That goal against England proves it.
12. Ronaldo Is A Bad Role Model, He Cheats
Yes he does but what did you do when you didn’t have the answer to that tricky Physics question during your class test? Oh, since Ronaldo is a role model, you can go shoplifting across town, get into streetfights, knock up the girl next door and when your brother does the same it is all Ronaldo’s and other footballers’ fault as they, and not you, are your brother’s role models.
13. Ronaldo Is A Diver
Yes, he is but he is also a world class footballer. As far as diving goes, well, you can point fingers at a number of other top notch footballers. Like Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben, Diego Capel.....
14. The Galacticos Era Was A Flop
Yes, in the last two (and not three seasons) but what about the first three years? Was there any team more entertaining to watch? And which club won the Champions League in 2002?
15. Footballers Always Run After Money
Why, don't you?
Subhankar Mondal
Week 23 in the Spanish Primera Division in 2006-2007 and Fabio Capello remarked,"The refs are not helping us.” Quite normal for any football manager or coach of a losing side to say, isn’t it?
But the Italian tactician then appeared to suffer some sort of amnesia and after Week 24 said, “I never talk about referees.” Well, so what exactly was he doing the previous week?
2. Parking The Bus
Chelsea play with ten men behind the ball and that is strategy of the highest order. Manchester United play for an insipid 0-0 away draw, score an early goal at home and then start piling bodies in front of their citadel and that is Einsteinian intelligence. Real Madrid play with a two-defensive-players-in-midfield system, leave all their creative work to the most fragile footballer in Spain (Arjen Robben) and are horrible to watch and that is genius tactics.
And when an Italian side apply the aforementioned 'tactics' and execute them to perfection, they are 'boring old Italians'.
3. 2009 Going On 2002
After Chelsea's controversial 1-1 draw with FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, club manager Guus Hiddink lamented, “I won't say what we really feel, but it's an injustice. It's not just one doubtful call. Ask the people who put the referee in charge of this game. When all these things happen, then you start thinking.” Sure Chelsea have had four penalty appeals turned down and one of them was certainly inexcusable. But what about that Thierry Henry penalty that was not given at Camp Nou, the Michael Ballack red card that never came, that Eric Abidal sending off that was never a sending off?
And does anyone recall what Mr. Hiddink said way back in 2002 when he was the coach of South Korea and they defeated Spain and Italy under rather 'funny' circumstances? Answers on a postcard please.
4. Succeed In Premier League, Succeed Anywhere
Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack (initially), Deco, Fernando Morientes all failed to lighten up the Premier League and so the Spanish Primera Division, Bundesliga and Serie A are rubbish. So what is the conclusion when a European Cup winner (Steve Finnan) fails to get more than 3 league starts for a Spanish side that staved off relegation only on the penultimate weekend of the season , when one of Arsenal's best players (Aliaksandr Hleb) rots at Barcelona, when another Arsenal star (Mathieu Flamini) fails to settle at AC Milan, when one of England's most celebrated striker (Michael Owen) returns to England after just one season in Spain, when Arsenal’s all time leading goalscorer (Thierry Henry) feels frustrated in his first season in La Liga?
Oh, Premier League's arguably best striker who last season became the most prolific foreign striker ever on his debut in England never managed 20 league goals in one season in La Liga. And he featured in the Spanish first division for five seasons. So what's the conclusion now?
5. Media The Watchdog Of Society Watches Only One Side
Henry is denied a penalty, Ballack is not sent off, there are ten defenders to get past at Camp Nou and the Catalan press is booming with banners of 'anti-football'. As for the Gerard Pique handball appeal and two or three other controversial decisions at Stamford Bridge, well, you can only wish they had a few more pages to scribble something about them.
6. ‘Best Player In 37 Years’
A footballer-turned-TV commentator said not so long ago that Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player he has watched in the last 37 years. Well, maybe at Manchester United Ronaldo is the best player in the last 37 years, but for those who know that football exists outside England would instantly ramble out the names of Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and of course the 'original' Ronaldo. Oh, then there's the Guardiolas, the Stoichkovs.....
7. AC Milan Is An Old Age Home
Yeah sure, the likes of Clarence Seedorf, Gianluca Zambrotta and Dida do tend to make the team over-aged but need I remind you for which club the best teenage striker in Europe (Alexandre Pato) plays for?
8. Premier League Is All About Marketing
Well, if the Premier League executives hadn't thought of selling their product worldwide, can anyone please enlighten how a Korean, an Indian, an Australian or a Nigerian would have enjoyed watching the Gerrards, the Torreses, the Lampards and the Fabregases?
9. Premier League is Rubbish
Maybe overhyped, perhaps even overrated but rubbish!? Maybe that is why it is (arguably) the most popular league in the world.
10. La Liga And Serie A Are Rubbish
So you have watched all the 380 matches each of La Liga and Serie A? Or did you watch Valladolid playing Numancia and decided to skip Barcelona against Atletico? Maybe you didn't watch the Milan derby but thought of getting entertainment from the game between the bottom two?
11. Diego Maradona Is A Cheat
True, there was his Hand of God goal and also the doping scandals, but El Diego was also a genius. That goal against England proves it.
12. Ronaldo Is A Bad Role Model, He Cheats
Yes he does but what did you do when you didn’t have the answer to that tricky Physics question during your class test? Oh, since Ronaldo is a role model, you can go shoplifting across town, get into streetfights, knock up the girl next door and when your brother does the same it is all Ronaldo’s and other footballers’ fault as they, and not you, are your brother’s role models.
13. Ronaldo Is A Diver
Yes, he is but he is also a world class footballer. As far as diving goes, well, you can point fingers at a number of other top notch footballers. Like Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben, Diego Capel.....
14. The Galacticos Era Was A Flop
Yes, in the last two (and not three seasons) but what about the first three years? Was there any team more entertaining to watch? And which club won the Champions League in 2002?
15. Footballers Always Run After Money
Why, don't you?
Subhankar Mondal
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