It's tough being a 19 year old soccer starlet with the hopes and expectations of an entire nation on your shoulders. Especially when that nation has a grossly overinflated sense of how where their national team belongs on the international stage.
It's been a rough week for young Wayne Rooney. First, he nearly lost it in England's humiliating loss to Northern Ireland in a World Cup qualifier (WCQ). It was England's first ever WCQ loss under manager Sven Goran Eriksson but calls for Eriksson's head have been deafening.
Yesterday, Rooney was red carded in his club team Manchester United's 0-0 draw against Spanish side Villareal. Rooney had been cautioned by referee Kim Milton Nielsen, widely regarded as one of the best in the world. As Nielsen was presenting the yellow card, Rooney offered a sarcastic applause right in the official's face. Nielsen appropriately gave Rooney a second yellow card and thus ejected him from the match. This was less than a month after the 19 year old promised to curb his temper.
Rooney plays with a lot of passion, which can be good... if he doesn't cross the line. Unfortunately, the youngster seems to be taking lessons on restraint from United's veteran thug Roy Keane.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson agreed that Rooney deserved to be sent off, while adding, "He's 19 years of age and a fiery character."
Hooey!
As a coach, I can't think of anything more avoidable, brainless and flat out idiotic in soccer than receiving a second yellow card for dissent (arguing with the referee). Even a 13 year old with the slightest bit of soccer sense knows that if you have a yellow card, you have to go out of your way to show restraint. Circumstances might oblige you to take a second caution for a foul. But picking up a second yellow card for arguing with the referee is absolutely inexcusable and demonstrates a complete lack of discipline and professionalism. His actions were selfish and hopefully he'll decide to reflect on this during his suspension.
It will be interesting to see how much longer Ferguson manages. He's made his career harnessing the energy of talented but volatile superstars like Keane and Eric Cantona. But how much longer he's willing to deal with this kind of stress remains to be seen.
1 comment:
Squaring up against the captain of your national side at halftime cannot be considered too clever either. Other teams talk openly about how their plan is to neutralize Rooney by taunting him into doing something stupid.
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