Hall Of Shame

Words can get you into trouble. Not if your name is Wayne Rooney and you are valuable to the money men, but if your name is Nicolas Anelka and the money men from your country have real values - you are on a plane home. And no, it wasn’t the first to happened in the world of football itself as back then in World Cup 1994, one of the Danish players was also sent back home over something that he said.
I don't know the full story but what I do know is that during the half time break in the match between France and Mexico, coach Raymond Domenech said something to Anelka about tactics and Anelka didn't like what he said and responded, in not such a polite manner. According to L'Equipe newspaper, Anelka unleashed a scathing attack on Domenech after being criticized during the interval as France sank to a dismal 2-0 defeat in Polokwane on Thursday. When Anelka took issue, Domenech threatened to substitute him, and the player unleashed his foul-mouthed tirade, reported L'Equipe. Anelka allegedly told Domenech to "go screw yourself, dirty son of a wh*re" in the dressing room at the Peter Mokaba Stadium after the coach criticized his first-half performance. Domenech's response was immediate. Anelka was replaced with Andre-Pierre Gignac for the second half. Anelka was asked to say sorry by French Football Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes and he said no, so he was asked to leave the French squad.
“Words spoken by Nicolas Anelka to the national coach, Raymond Domenech, are completely unacceptable to the FFF, French football and the values they defend," read a statement from the French Football Federation.
"After being informed on Friday evening of the serious incident during half-time of the France-Mexico match, federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes asked Nicolas Anelka in the presence of captain Patrice Evra to present an official apology to the French public and to express regret for his remarks to Raymond Domenech, the staff and 23 players from the France team.
"Upon refusal by the player to deliver a public apology, he [Escalettes] made the decision - in full agreement with the coach and members of the official delegation in Knysna - to exclude Nicolas Anelka from the group." That was not the only drama that happened so far in the event of the year, the World Cup 2010. Wayne Rooney stuck two fingers up at thousands of England supporters that travelled to South Africa to support England but those England supporters get an apology.
As one of the football fans, I can totally understand why were the fans booed the team over their two previous disappointing performances. I can see where was this frustration came from. I mean, there is a huge gap between the average supporter and the average football player these days. The gap is even bigger when you look at the type of player that plays for England - earning millions each season and living a life so far removed from the real world, that they can hardly be blamed not really knowing what is going on and acting the way they do. They are coached on what to say, how to say it and when to say. Some are told to kiss the badge and if you offer one of them a little more money they will happily jump ship or say whatever you want. The gap is so large these days that Wayne Rooney, someone that has only ever known football, can not be blamed for his outburst after the shambles of a performance he and the rest of the England players put in last night.

But, as one of the football fans as well, I can also understand Rooney’s frustration as I do believe that every players who were in South Africa at the moment did their best to defend their country on the field. To be there and fight for your country was something amazing. So of course, just like the fans, all of the players want the best for their team and their country. Then yeah, for me, as much as my disappointment, I suggested the fans to be wiser and still support their team as they were probably needed it even more at this point.
The other drama that caught my attention on this year World Cup was how the Ghana team took advantages from the nervous referees who were too excited to became one of those important guys in the event, hence their over reaction on the games that their managed. Who was the luckiest in these things? Those Ghana players who scored 2 and collected 4 points over two unnecessary red cards that awarded them penalties. And who was the unluckiest one? The Aussie socceroos who were awarded with two yellow cards for Cahill when the team played Germany and one red last night for Harry Kewell when they played Ghana. What a drama! I think any team who is going to play Ghana next should be careful as they seemed to have some kind of ‘red cards’ angel follows them around . But the game that I thought was going to served even more drama was the Portugal vs. Ivory Coast which was not. Maybe because of the King of Drama from Ivory Coast, Didier Drogba, was not playing so that the Portuguese King of Drama, Ronaldo, had no sparring partner, hah!
One of the best games of the World Cup group stage will be Brazil vs. Ivory Coast tonight. Ivory Coast will be on a high from their strong performance against Portugal but the odds say Brazil has this game in the bag. The Brazil vs. Ivory Coast have Brazil as the clear favorites, picking up points and securing their place in the next round. But after a week full of shockers, don’t dismiss the Ivory Coast just yet. They don’t have many talented players but Drogba is expected to make a return. He’ll surely help boost their confidence and their chances of giving Brazil a run for their money. This game will kick the recent World Cup trend of low scoring games. Both teams are great attackers with a weak defense. A popular bet is over 2.5 goals and 2-1 looks like a good bet. Oh, how I wish I have someone to bet with on this one!
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