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ISSUE 19 | NOV 2014
snubs me. He actively snubs me, for no reason I was
ever aware of then or since. He walks off.
“I was embarrassed. I was
confused. And there you have
it. From that moment on, I
knew Sheringham was not for
me.”
Despite forming a deadly
partnership, the two never
swapped one word.
There are slights that just sort
of happen, and then there are
the type that are premeditated
and designed to inflict shock
and awe. Back in 1997,
American football franchise the
Washington Redskins were enjoying a run of form that
was getting them tipped for the Superbowl. Then the
team running back – Stephen Davis – decided to drop
a grenade in the dressing room by declaring that the
top receiver Michael Westbrook - was gay. He wasn’t,
and in the rather homophobic world of football, this
flat out lie fostered very abrupt fall in team morale.
Performances dipped. The Redskins were gone.
WOMEN
Those who believe sport is nothing but cavemanning
in fancy polyester kits may have a point when we look
over the long and pitiful history of teammates not
respecting the boundaries of martial vows. In the NHL
back in the early 2000s, there was a scandal involving
the wife of Alexander Mogilny – the team’s best
player – and Shayne Corson, his teammate. When the
affair came to light, the dressing room shattered into
cliques and the Leafs tumbled to years of mediocrity.
John Terry of Chelsea managed to divide the English
dressing room by sleeping with teammate Wayne
Bridge’s ex, but much more bizarre is the very public
clash between footballers Maxi Lopez and Mauro
Icardi. Former teammates, the two have fallen out
over Lopez’s ex-wife Wanda Mara. Social media
addicts, Icardi and Nara post daily selfies, often
accompanied with Lopez’s
children. Lopez quite
rightly is pretty steamed
about his family effectively
being hijacked by the Inter
Milan star Icardi who has
made things even weirder
by having images of the
children tattooed on his arm.
Naturally, he tweeted about
the ink, saying that “I love
these little angels”. On top of
Mara publishing that during
their marriage she and Lopez
had not had sex in months,
you would be forgiven for
hoping that Lopez decks him
next time they play. So far his retaliation has been to
refuse an offered handshake during a Serie A meeting
of their two clubs.
Despite all the animosities, teams keep going out to
play week in, week out. Some implode, but most of
the time the players just get on with it. Shane Warne
and Adam Gilchrist were part of the all-conquering
Australian cricket team of the 1990s, and the pair
were not on the best of terms. Rumour has it that
during a Pura Cup match, Warne’s sledging was so
over the top that Gilchrist never quite forgave him.
And yet the pair took a tonne of wickets together.
Indeed, that rivalry can spur a player on to greater
efforts. The Guardian’s ‘Secret Footballer’ recalls a
teammate who he disliked making him a better player.
“We were always very aware of each other’s ability
and we used the competitiveness that knowledge
provoked to great effect on the pitch, by trying to
outrun, outwork and outscore each other at every
opportunity.”
Sport will always push people into competition,
and that can spill over. It is natural, and sometimes
healthy. But it always makes good press.
Social media addicts, Icardi
and Nara post daily selfies,
often accompanied with Lopez’s
children. Lopez quite rightly is
pretty steamed about his family
effectively being hijacked by the
Inter Milan star Icardi who has
made things even weirder by
having images of the children
tattooed on his arm.
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