If you are scoring at home, Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Eric Hassli has 10 goals, three red cards, and two apologies to teammates this season.
The big Frenchman is never boring, and when he isn't tossing toys out of the pram, he has been an effective player for the expansion Major League Soccer side. But Tuesday, the mercurial talent, who admits to chafing under authority, was back with another mea culpa, and getting off without discipline from the club.
It was enough that Hassli apologized for leaving the pitch, and heading straight to the locker room, after being substituted in the 84th minute of a 2-1 loss to the rival Portland Timbers Saturday. Earlier this season, the 30-year-old plead ignorant, but ultimately guilty, to a FIFA rule after earning a yellow card and a sending-off for removing his jersey during a goal celebration.
"I was annoyed," Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi said of the latest episode with Hassli. "We hope that his learning curve is now done."
Lenarduzzi denied that the Whitecaps have created a difficult situation for head coach Tom Soehn, who is being replaced next season by Martin Rennie in a move announced Aug. 9. Lenarduzzi said he specifically talked to the players about the denouement of a frustrating 2011 season, telling them that a lack of effort or failing to respect Soehn's authority "would not be accepted."
Soehn, who recruited Hassli to Vancouver from Switzerland, is returning to his original role of director of soccer operations next year, after replacing Teitur Thordarson as coach on May 30. The Whitecaps need a miracle finish in their final nine games to qualify for the playoffs.
"We talked after the game and [Hassli] was frustrated with the game and probably with himself," Soehn told reporters Tuesday. "We addressed it as a group and it probably won't happen again that he goes off. It was disrespectful to his teammates and he knew that. It's an emotional time and he let his emotions carry himself in the wrong directions and it was addressed. It won't happen again."
Lenarduzzi said Hassli remains a Whitecap in good standing, and will be back next season as one of the club's "designated players." Hassli, who earns $900,000, has been guilty of some silly cards and less than tactical challenges this season, but he is also contending for the league scoring championship alongside luminaries such as Thierry Henry of the New York Red Bulls, and Landon Donovan of the Los Angeles Galaxy.
This isn't the first time Hassli has run afoul of club management, though, and in an interview last week, he acknowledged that he didn't like "being forced to do something."
More than a decade ago, Hassli's frustrations cost him an opportunity to play for France's under-20 national team, then managed by Raymond Domenech, who would go on to take the senior team to the 2006 World Cup final.
Because he wasn't playing much with his club team, France's FC Metz, Hassli was only selected as a reserve for the under-20 side. He refused the invitation, and today believes he missed a big career opportunity because of a poor decision.
"I said I wouldn't go because I was 19 years old, I was tired of running every day, of fighting, of not playing, and I wanted to take off somewhere and rest," he explained in French. "Mentally, I wasn't good."
Hassli is a bit of a free spirit with a bucking bronco's streak, and Lenarduzzi said the Whitecaps recognize his differences, and remain committed to softening up his edges.
"He is a team player, that's just his way of showing emotion, and we have to help him with that," he said. "I'm a big believer in you never compromise your beliefs and principles for players, but so long as you don't break, you have to bend."