For a modern day European footballer, playing for their national team is no longer the magnificent priviledge it should be.
They make so much money playing for their club sides that internationals – especially friendlies – are rapidly becoming little more than irritants.
I mean it must be awesomely stressful to play a game in Manchester on a Saturday, then travel all the way to London to spend a couple of days in five-star luxury before doing another hour-and-a-half’s work on a Wednesday.
Don’t make me laugh. Europe’s footballers have it easy, very easy. And, if they are in any doubt about just how easy they have it, they need to take a look at their Nigerian counterparts.
This week Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins flew back to Lagos to play for his country in a qualifying game. That’s already quite a journey compared to hopping from one European country to another.
But it’s not just the travelling that makes the Nigerian footballers’ lives more stressful. It’s also the fact that when they get to their country of birth they are now being shot at.
Martins, who was born in Lagos, was driving through the town recently when he had to stop for petrol. But, as he was filling up, his car was attacked and machine gunned. Yes, machine gunned.
Miraculously he escaped unhurt but his friend was injured in the attack.
“Those guys wanted me dead. They had no intention of sparing anyone in the car. They were not robbers as, after the shooting, they left without taking anything from the car,” Martins said.
Of course, this could be just dismissed as a Martins thing, possibly even a personal vendetta, if it were not for the fact that he is now the fourth European-based Nigerian international to be shot at in the last few weeks in Lagos.
“I think people will now understand why some players don’t feel comfortable coming back to Nigeria from Europe,” Martins added, in what must be one of the biggest understatements of the year.
The motives of the shooting are unknown as are the identities of the gunmen. However, the reality is that Nigeria has a major problem which, if not sorted soon, is highly likely to end in tragedy.
Personally I believe it is nothing more than an attempt to scare these footballers into not playing for their country and, as such, could be being carried out by people from a rival African nation. Let’s be honest. If you have a machine gun in your hand and two people to aim at from close distance, the chances are pretty limited that you won’t kill them both.
Even so, it is a very scary development. Forget what Bill Shankly said, because football is not a matter of life and death. It should never, ever come anywhere close to that.
Anyway, the next time one of our overpaid prima donna European footballers complains about playing for his country, maybe they stop and think about what their African colleagues are going through before they open their mouths.
England’s U-21 side
I think it’s fairly safe to say it is now official: English footballers and penalties just don’t mix.
England’s under-21 team crashed out of the European championships to Holland on Wednesday after losing 13-12 on penalties to the host nation.
It was, by all accounts, a pretty heroic display by the kids just in getting to penalties. Freak injuries meant they finished the match with just nine fit players on the field.
But despite their magnificent efforts the younger version of the national team still succumbed to the affliction which has plagued their older counterparts for years – not being able to win a penalty shoot-out.
In fairness, 13-12 is an absolute epic as far as shoot-outs go. Normally they don’t get past five or six each. But, despite bowing out in a more drawn out manner, bow out they still did.
Anton Ferdinand was the unlucky Englishman this time, missing the final penalty. But even he can’t really take much of the blame as he had already scored one previously.
Stuart Pearce insists he is extremely proud of his players and rightly so. Not only did they show heart, courage and bravery possibly in excess of their elders but they also showed that taking accurate penalties is not an impossibility for Englishmen.
A large part of this team will go on to play for the full England team and, when they are next confronted by the horror of a penalty shoot out – as they invariably will be – at least they will have some experience behind them.
They still won’t be able to win it, but at least they will know how to make the process last a darned sight longer.
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