For the overwhelming majority of citizens who have never played in a team sport – particularly at the international level - the antics of the French players in refusing to train after teammate Nicolas Anelka was sent home for disrespecting his coach must boggle the mind.
After all, playing for your country is surely about, well, representing your nation with great honour, great pride, and great dignity. For players it should not be about representing the coach. It should not be about players selecting the team themselves, or suggesting what system or formation should be implemented. Nor should it be about setting their own rules or guidelines.
Yet this is what can happen in a modern-day, self-obsessed fantasy world of professional athletes who are overpaid, ego-driven and who regard themselves beyond reproach.
Nevertheless, only if the soccer system permits these actions to take place, can it fester to the point of the French humiliation.
A lack of wisdom on behalf of the French Football Federation was the genesis of this particular fiasco. In not relieving French coach Raymond Domenech of his duties at the conclusion of France’s dismal showing at the 2008 European Championship – France lost all three of its games – it showed a surprising inability to assess correctly that their manager was no longer the correct choice to lead the French team.
But Domenech has hardly helped himself since. In failing to select players with the appropriate character, he merely invited future conflict. If you have negative, weak, or covertly disloyal characters in your squad look out! When adversity kicks in they will likely buckle and when they do it's the coach and team that suffers. Players like Anelka will selfishly undermine authority, especially if they are culpable for the adversity in the first place - ie. poor performance. Domenech, like England manager Fabio Capello, who faced a similar situation with centre back John Terry, failed to pre-empt these issues by failing to implement strict team guidelines outlining acceptable on- and off-field behaviour. Loyalty to the team, to the coach, to teammates and to the nation should be the first foremost guideline. Without it coaches will encounter problems.
The French Federation is ultimately to blame for its lack of foresight but it should be commended for standing by the coach during this player crisis. The dismal showing of the French team in South Africa does lay in the lap of Domenech but it is also firmly in the lap of the players, who have been a national disgrace.
Ironically, at a time when people question why Canada has not qualified for a World Cup for a quarter of a century, we only need to look at Canadian soccer back in 2004 to see the mechanics of this kind of incompetence taking place.
The-then coach, Holger Osieck, was undermined by a revolting group of players. The reasons for the rebellion? Holger’s personality, player selection, tactics and training. Holger had led the team to the 2000 Gold Cup title and had a World Cup winner's medal from Italia 90.
With World Cup qualification just around the corner the decision to remove him by an incredibly weak Canadian Soccer Association was made following a player meeting with the national body leaders. Frank Yallop was hired and a dismal but predictable failure was assured. Canada failed to get beyond their first round of qualification.
Where leadership was required by the CSA it was sadly missing. Where Holger required leadership and loyalty from his captain he received a Brutus-like rebuke.
There is one big difference however between Canada and France. The public repulsion against the French players, including the input of President Sarkozy himself, sets standards of what is acceptable behaviour and protocol of professional athletes, irrespective of the decisions and idiosyncrasies of a coach.
In Canada in 2004 nobody cared about what happened outside a small minority of sycophantic supporters.
It is why Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, in leading Major League Soccer into Canada, has changed the soccer landscape for Canadian soccer forever. Aside from all the tangible benefits that come with running a first-class professional club, it is the intangible benefit of unleashing the more mainstream soccer fan into our environment that will make a difference.
It assures similar outrage as in France should the tail try to wag the dog again at our national team level.
