Soap Opera Storylines Abound At 2010 World Cup
Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 3:42PM 
Dissension Among Ranks
For At Least Five Teams
One Great Season
Disgruntled players griping about their managers is nothing new in sport. The reasons are myriad: They either don't play enough; play out of position; blame the coach for poor results, don't like the coach's practice methods, his tactics or the cut of his jib; maybe the previous guy was better. Or perhaps they're just mentally unhinged like Carlos Zambrano.
Or Nicolas Anelka.
France
We're all familiar with France's nightmare World Cup campaign, in which cliquishness, mutiny, heated arguments, flying epithets, lost sponsorships, baffling player selection, sex scandals, unshaken hands and confused, passionless, execrable performances conspired to produce soap opera of the most delicious order, especially for those basking in the schadenfreude of watching a collection of overpaid, overrated prigs get unceremoniously dumped from a tournament they cheated to get into.
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It all started -- oh God, who knows when it started? Probably with the appointment of coach Raymond Domenech, the Rodney Dangerfield of the footballing universe, some eight years ago. But for our purposes, we'll start here: "Go fuck yourself, you dirty son of a whore." These are the now immortal words uttered by Anelka to Domenech during halftime of that 2-0 defeat to Mexico, prompting the offended party to send Le Sulk immediately packing for London. Over the next few days, it got worse -- or, let's be honest, funnier -- as a squad rent by personal dislike for one another united to abstain from training just to stick it to Domenech, who was shockingly reduced to reading a prepared statement from the players to the press explaining why he was getting William Bligh-ed.
Now that it's all over, Thierry Henry would like a word with French president Nicolas Sarkozy to explain his side of things. That meeting must surely be superfluous as Domenech is now gone, Henry will probably retire from international play and Sarkozy will never be able to sum up events better than his sports minister: Les Bleus are "no longer heroes in the eyes of the nation's children."
England
Nothing at this World Cup can compare to the French fiasco, though other squads have endured their share of internal strife. Where England fared only slightly better than their Gallic neighbors, the level of dissent was a hundred times milder, but John Terry's bald criticism of his notoriously militant coach Fabio Capello was the fiercest exercise of English player power since the Robsons Bryan and Bobby butted heads at Italia 1990.
After the drab 0-0 tie with Algeria, Terry spoke to the media about the team's displeasure with several of Capello's policies, including the omission of Joe Cole, the use of Wayne Rooney and the prohibition on alcohol. It was done not without defiance: "If it upsets him then I'm on the verge of just saying: 'You know what? So what? I'm here to win it for England.'"
Terry added: "I will probably get in trouble now." He was right. In an interview with ITV, Capello shot back, "When you speak, you have to speak privately. This is a big mistake." Nonetheless, Terry avoided any official censure, while England won their crucial match against Slovenia and the right to consume beer on the eve of matches.
Ghana
Sulley Muntari, of Ghana, however, was nearly sent home following his potty-mouthed freak out on Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac for lack of playing time. It was only the intercession of captain Stephen Appiah and President of the Ghana Football Association, Kwasi Nyantekyie, that kept him on the side after they squeezed a reluctant apology from the midfielder, who also rides the pine for Champions League winners Inter Milan.
Losing his place to the young Andrew Ayew prior to the tournament presaged a pattern of surly rebellion. He's gone against team policy to request his own bedroom, sought outside medical attention without notifying the physios and harangued teammates in changing rooms and team buses alike. With Ayew suspended for Ghana's quarterfinal against Uruguay, will Rajevac forgive his fiery charge?
Holland
The Netherlands have a long and rich history of tearing each other apart, and Robin van Persie has kept that proud tradition alive. Two weeks before the tournament he, a propos of who knows what, publicly announced his own preferred attacking lineup — and made no mention of Dirk Kuyt. This did not make Dirk Kuyt feel very good. Well, it became a big hubbub in the Dutch camp, with van Persie finally concluding, "I will have to be more careful when I speak from now on at the World Cup." No kidding.
But how soon we forget. He was substituted during the 2-1 victory over Slovenia, and before taking his place on the bench, entered into a very animated discussion with coach Bert van Marwijk. The kind of very animated discussion that looks a heckuva lot like unbridled petulance. Done, you know, in front of everyone in the world. And for all we know, his two-year pissing match with Wesley Sneijder could still be tinkling away.
Portugal
The battle of Iberia ended with Portuguese tears and a Cristiano Ronaldo controversy. When asked about the loss by reporters after the game, the moody star answered "How do I explain Portugal's elimination? Talk to Carlos Queiroz." This set off quite the firestorm, though Ronaldo has since explained, rather convincingly, that his sullen words were due more to the agony of defeat than blame shifting.
Forward Hugo Almeida, however, did take a half-hearted stab at Queiroz, much like the half-hearted stabs he took on the field all tournament. "I was not surprised with my substitution," he said. "I was upset because I wanted to play, but the coach is the one to make decisions. I was not worn out."
Deco also got in on the act, criticizing the gaffer's tactics after drawing 0-0 to the Ivory Coast. In what amounts to a pretty comprehensive fly-swatting, Queiroz simply chalked up the complaint to "verbal excesses" and got on with the job.
Click here for Jeremy's bio and an archive of his previous stories.
Jeremy Brown, World Cup
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