First, there was Landon Donovan essentially taking back everything he said about David Beckham in what became the much of the foundation of Grant Wahl’s excellent book.
Now, there’s the French national team not just getting angry about forward Nicolas Anelka being sent home, but even more so that his expletive-laced comments to head coach Raymond Domenech at halftime of last week’s 2-0 loss to Mexico were leaked to the press.
And even the English media is railing against John Terry for speaking publicly about the changes that he thinks England head coach Fabio Capello should make coming off a turgid (what a word – hat tip to an English buddy of mine) performance against Algeria.
Why is it that soccer thinks it should be immune from public discussion of what goes on in the locker room and on the field? My theory: because outside of this country, most players, teams and coaches still aren’t used to major media access. There’s both good and bad about the level of access that American sports media members – and by extension, the fans – expect, and it’s a bit like free internet: it’s impossible to go back from, and the fact that much of soccer has avoided it for so long is really quite astounding. Credit to the World Cup for making players and coaches talk. If nothing else, it’s a distraction from the poor officiating and some dreadful matches.
The story isn’t that there’s dissension that needs to be quashed. It’s the awful performances and petulant actions of those involved, which are both well worth reporting.
