|
The recent developments within the 2010 World Cup qualifiers are intriguing, with African powerhouse Nigeria qualifying at the last minute after escaping a solid Kenyan ensemble, respected Obafemi Martins who was clearly offside scored a goal that gave the Super Eagles a ticket to South Africa.
It was more intriguing in Khartoum, where a highly feared Egyptian side, regarded by many as the most complete national team in Africa, lost to minnows Algeria in a highly charged play-off match to determine who goes through, oops, the Arab world now has a representative after perennial representatives Saudi Arabia could not get a place for 2010.
The events that occurred before kick-off in Khartoum are sad, the Egyptian fans had allegedly stoned the Algerian team’s bus while in Egypt - these are scenes without which soccer would be more spectacular and thrilling, many other teams also had to rely on last minute episodes. Portugal, under the guidance of former Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Quieroz, made it to the finals under difficult circumstances.
The saddest part of these qualifiers is the match which has become our daily bread making headlines on every news channel and print media and the man at the centre of the controversy is none other than Thierry Daniel Henry, a clever, 32-year-old fast paced French of Latino descent, who throughout his playing career had to battle racist utterances by boisterous and barbaric hooligans across the world. He however triumphed because only Samuel Eto’o has proven to be the only threat to his dominance in goal-scoring prowess.
Henry made the English league part of our cultural process, he is hugely celebrated across the world, he is more idolised in the Caribbean where he originates, he is also held in high esteem in West Africa and the entire Francophone world - seen as an epitome of a truly handsome black man by many females across the globe, indeed he’s likeable looking at his many endorsement and sponsorship deals.
I had the opportunity to see him play his debut match against Bafana Bafana in 1998, he started as a winger, using his pace, he beat many players and crossed profusely with precision that could make Marc Overmars,David Beckham and Ryan Giggs envious, but it was his penchant for goals that made Arsene Wenger convert him into a striker, he would dominate the English league until Alan Shearer retired, without competition he soon left for greener pastures in the Spanish league with Barcelona, he has done modestly well there.
But truth be told, Henry has never been his true self ever since leaving Highbury, rumour has it that he fled to rekindle his spirit after a protracted and painful divorce battle with his wife, failed attempts to be granted custody of their daughter Tea also compounded his stress problems. So you see why Henry was under intense pressure to make sure France are in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He admitted having used his hand, however he is not apologetic and states that there was so much pressure that he did not see what he was doing. He’s also one of the few remaining players from the successful 1998 French team, so he is under pressure, his coach Raymond Domeneche is best known as a youth coach, no one wants him there including the players. French football genius Zinedine Zidane once made it public that Domenech has not got the respect of both players and fans – hence the pressure is on skipper Henry to guide and mentor the team with an embattled Domenech dressed to the nines on the bench.
The truth is FIFA can not do anything about these results, the laws are there and the referees are assigned to be in charge and the referee’s decision is final. Soccer players just can not be trusted to be honest and Henry proved that by choosing to play volleyball against an innocent Irish team, sadly a team that is not revered in Switzerland where FIFA is headquartered, is it in the interests of FiFA that the French team be in South Africa by hook or crook, perhaps we will only know the truth after 10 years upon the Swedish referee’s retirement? The answer is not video replays. Video could have helped in Paris on Wednesday night, because replays clearly showed Henry steering the ball with his left forearm and hand onto his right foot for the pass that William Gallas then headed in. But video isn’t always clear-cut. More importantly, stopping every few minutes to consult replays would ruin the flow of the game. I sympathize greatly with the Irish team but no matter what people say, I do not think what Henry did makes him a bad person or bad player. He is to me by far the most complete and finest soccer player in the game!BY OLEBILE SIKWANE
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
