The Love for the Game

Watching the professional players play week in week out, most of us will probably be thinking how lucky they are. To be earning such obscene amounts of money for playing the sport we love is a dream that we know will never happen. That is why there is so must outrage whenever players come out and declare their disinterest in the game. Off the top of my head, I can think of three such cases in the Premier League.

The most high profile case will of course be about Manchester City's striker, Carlos Tevez. Tevez refused to warm up during a game against Bayern Munich last year and has repeatedly cited his willingness to retire from the game despite only being in his late 20s. He might have pointed to family issues being the main cause but all signs point to that he is not enjoying the game enough. A player of his ability would not be thinking of early retirement if he truly loved the game.

The second case is the most recent one, with Bobby Zamora being the player we are looking at. In his words, "I'm not a massive football fan, really." He also added that he would steer clear of any football-related jobs after retirement. This has generated fierce backlash from QPR fans and it might be a good thing for him that he is currently out injured.

The third case plants the spotlight firmly on Tottenham's Benoit Assou-Ekotto. He declared that his playing soccer is just a job and he does not feel the passion for the game even though he hates it. The only reason that he went to Tottenham was for the money. His sentiments is perfectly wrapped up by this quote 'Is there one player in the world who signs for a club and says, Oh, I love your shirt?' Your shirt is red. I love it. He doesn't care. The first thing that you speak about is the money.'

In a game awash with emotions, it is no wonder that fans feel cheated when they see their teams' players come out with such statements. To them, a lack of love for the game shows a possible lack of commitment in games. However bad it may be for the referees, fans like to see players who are willing to spill blood for the team, who protest every decision against their team and basically do everything to garner a win. It shows that the players care and that is very vital. This is why there was such a heavy barrage of criticism at Tevez and Zamora, who were deemed to have failed their team in this aspect. Fans would have felt that they did mpt pay so much money to see the players produce such lacklustre performances, and rightly so. They must remember that this does not apply for all players who do not love the game though, with Assou-Ekotto the prime example. Despite his comments about the game, he shows up to training and games with a professional and focused attitude and I have never seen any of his coaches lament him. This probably why his comments have been largely ignored by the fans and they still support him 100%.

I will say that not liking the game is not a doomsday for any player as Assou-Ekotto has shown that it is possible to treat it as a job and still do it well. After all, fans are mostly concerned with performances and Tevez has already won the City fans back after a string of goals upon his return to the team. Fans must also play their part by understanding that players do have reasons not to love the game, with us fans not having to endure those tough and boring training sessions as well as there being an immense amount of pressure during games. It will be good to have every single player love the game, but it is just not possible and we fans have to convince ourselves to live with it.