I lived in the hood...

I know what you may be thinking. Why is he talking about such a topic? Well I have read Aaron's post about the temperamental geniuses and their flaws. I'd like to talk a bit about why these players have these flaws.

The players that were mentioned earlier (Rooney, Zidane, Ronaldo, Adriano, Cassano) all have one thing in common. They were all from the mean streets or in ghettos in some cases. They knew the one way for them out of their situation was to get a soccer ball and start honing their games. This guys would practice on their craft day in and day out trying to get themselves and their families out of the struggle. However while they weren't playing soccer, they were in the streets causing all kinds of trouble, whether it is committing petty crimes or just getting into fights with other kids. These young men only knew the rules of survival. The "I'm going to get mine" rules.

After mastering the game to the fullest, they were either scouted or went on trials. The scouts didn't care what kind of character they had, they were focusing themselves on finding the best players for their clubs. So those young men have finally found a way to get to their goal of being a professional and getting out of the struggle. Then these prodigies turned out to be the best in their youth and reserve sides and make it to the senior team. By this time, they were on top of the world. They were making millions and millions of dollars and they were enjoying things that they have only dreamed about. But these young men still lived by their street mind-set. The problem with this is that it is magnified in the public because they are on TV almost everyday. So that's when their flaws are exposed, because in the youth ranks, the youth coaches would turn a blind eye to fights that might have occurred in the academy. Once a player makes it up to the big leagues, a fight lands one in the newspaper (ask Joey Barton). So they can be as great as anything however when someone disrespects them (coach, teammates, media, or opponents) they have to show them that they are hood and they aren't taking it.

That's why a player like Kaká is not in this list because he did not have to worry about all the troubles that those other players have had to deal with. He always had the silver spoon in his mouth and if someone disrespects him he isn't going to fight them, he is just going to go on with his business and torch you for everything he has on the field. That's why I think he will last a lot longer then other players because he has his life in order. As for the others, it only takes one incident to highlight a magnificent career as this picture shows us.

Temperamental Genius

Every club has one, and if they don't, they want one. The on-field genius with a screw loose. The creator and the destroyer all in one. The make-or-break factor that carries a club to dizzying heights, or causes the same club to spiral out of control. More often than not, the player is an attacking midfielder or forward with mesmerizing skill, but a tragic flaw that can drive the player to inspiring brilliance or cut him off at the knees.

These players are infamous in their magnificence and petulance. From the "modern" age (2000 and on) we can name such players as Francesco Totti, Adriano, (fat) Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Antonio Cassano, David Beckham and most famously, Zinedine Zidane. These players, all oustanding talents in their own rights, have infamous shortcomings that have pushed them over the edge on various occasions. From Totti's spitting incident and Adriano's double-fisted to Ronaldo's partying and Zidane's legendary temper, there is plenty of evidence that these temperamental geniuses are often their own worst enemies.

The tragic flaw is not a product of the modern environment, but rather a characteristic of legendary footballers through the ages. Going back through time, such players as Eric Cantona, Diego Maradona and Edmundo were all famed for their mental lapses, snapping on players, fans even animals.

Such reprehensible behavior would not be tolerated from these players if they didn't produce such remarkable displays of footballing prowess and beauty. For every double-footed stamp by Totti there was a mazy run from inside his own half. For every reckless tackle from Zidane there was his graceful pirouette and slide-rule passing. These players' exquisite play comes with a price, but for such fantastic displays, I (and most fans of the beautiful game) deem it worth it.

Maradona: The Right Man for Argentina?

In 1986, Maradona gifted Argentina the country’s second world title by beating West Germany 3-2 in the final, a feat making him much more popular than any Argentine celebrity or even president! Through Maradona’s outstanding play in the tournament and his wonderful performances at the club level, the FIFA had no other option but to give him the player of the year and later go on to prize the Argentine with the Best Player of the Last 50 Years Award, along with Pele. There is no doubt Maradona was far and away one of the top two players to have ever played the sport. However, with Argentina’s present predicament in their qualifiers for the world cup in South Africa, the question remains: Did Grondona and the AFA make the right decision in appointing the eternal national hero and World Cup winner, Maradona, as the new coach? The answer is simple, NO!
It is 100% true; by selecting Maradona as head coach of their national team has reunited the Argentine population after a free-for-all Basile caused during his second era with Argentina’s national team. Maradona’s fervent attitude towards the Argentine jersey and country makes him an instant crowd-pleaser. Obviously his past credentials as a player also give more incentive to trust he will do more than a good job with Argentina’s finest. Because of his love and passion for the sport and the country, all Argentine players will forever respect him for bringing glory to an overzealous country. He is not only Argentina’s footballing symbol, but also one of two the entire world has. Unlike other coaches, who are often disrespected and disregarded by their players, Maradona is confident his personality and his past will never be doubted by his fellow countrymen, and this is because he was a football giant, a rare player who has only come along every once in a while in a privileged generation. Others like Hugo Sanchez, after an appalling run as Mexico’s head coach, will never restore all of what they represented because he was not one of the best ever. Maradona will not have to worry about losing his Argentina’s respect because of his achievements. Also, unlike Basile’s era, Maradona will strongly bring out the passion and love for the jersey and country from every player he selects, making them work harder as a team. But surely, player respect and effort along with the entire country’s support are not enough to direct Argentina to their third World Cup title. Obviously, there is much more to coaching than just having the backing of the players, federation, and population because after all, a coach, by definition, is a fundamental leader who keeps organization and discipline within a team structure.
Maradona, believe it or not, has had a short spell in the early to mid 90’s as a head coach of a couple Argentinian clubs, including the popular, Racing. During his short stint as coach, Maradona racked up 3 wins, 12 draws, and 8 loses, a record not worthy of bragging about. Grondona, clearly, overlooked the one measurement sports analyst, fanatics, and experts use daily when studying and discussing the art of sport: the statistic. Other coaches, like Carlos Bianchi, on Grondona’s hit list for Argentina’s head coach have won every club competition Argentina and South America have to offer, yet because of a personal conflict between the AFA president and Bianchi he was not selected. Grondona also overlooked other coaches who have much more quality (in terms of length and good results) experience like Batista (Argentina youth coach and winner of the 2008 Olympics tournament) and Russo, the current San Lorenzo (tied for first place in Argentina) coach. Statistically, Maradona is not even close to being the ideal coach for Argentina, especially under the current crisis the national team finds itself in qualifying, being tied for third with neighbor and trans-Andean rival, Chile.
The second troubling aspect of the Maradona selection is: does Maradona have the right attitude and personality to coach a star filled Argentinean team? Maradona is and will always be the most criticized footballer of all time, from his playing days (drugs, red cards, fights, etc.) to his coaching days (red cards, verbal assaults, media personality, etc.) to his days as an observer of the sport (player and coaches criticisms, recommendations, etc.). The recent conflict between Maradona and Messi is a clash between Maradona’s care for the player and his obsession with being the best ever. Though Messi reminds Maradona of himself as he and Grondona have admitted, Maradona always seems to criticize Messi more than everyone else, maybe because he expects more of Messi or because Messi reminds him of himself or out of sheer jealousy, whatever the reason, Messi respectfully retaliated in a media conference by stating, “Maradona always has something to say about me”. It must be said, Maradona is very close with the Argentine squad (coaches and players), but this can also cause some problems, take for example the Maradona-Aguero relationship (Aguero is Maradona’s son-in-law).
Maradona’s obsession with being the best leaves little room for others to object to any of his ideas because Maradona is very passionate about being the best, even when he makes mistakes. This characteristic is a negative one to have for a coach, especially an inexperienced coach. During Maradona’s reign, he will need to consider his player’s feelings, ideas, and playing ability, and stop comparing himself to his ideal world, which he has often done when watching Argentina play. As a coach, it is important to accept mistakes and poor results in order to learn from them, hopefully, for Argentina’s sake, he does not get too rattled when things do not go his way because he is on the sidelines now, not playing.
Maradona’s coaching behavior in the past has haunted his teams in the past, as he has gotten more red cards in his short coaching career than he did in his entire playing career. In a troubling situation like the one Argentina currently finds itself, Maradona’s coaching behavior will be tested, especially with tough world cup qualifying trips at La Paz, Quito, Asuncion, and Montevideo. Again, Maradona’s pride can cause some problems for Argentina. Maradona will bring more outside attention to himself and the team.
Maradona recently claimed he has more than enough experience (from his playing days) to coach Argentina to victory. One must reject his claim when taking into account his coaching career numbers (again, in terms of wins and length of career). Coaching an international squad is much more difficult than a club coach because you don’t train everyday like the clubs do, instead you meet up every couple of months for a week and play two games or you meet up for a couple of months during international tournaments, one month for training and one month to play the tournament. Also, as mentioned before, Maradona has had plenty of experience controlling situations in the field but not off the field. He is blessed with the best players in the world, but with this blessing, one goal needs to be achieved: a World Cup trophy, anything less will be an absolute failure (if Argentina does not qualify for the World Cup, the world should come to an end!). If Maradona is to succeed in this new highly difficult challenge, Maradona will need to learn how to control himself on and off the field, accept the way his player’s play, and tactically set up a team that is nearly impossible to field correctly because of the large number of talented players the country provides every year around every league.
As an Argentinean football fan, I hope Maradona can prove me wrong and win the World Cup. Though I must admit he is not the right man for job because of the current delicate state of the team and his experience. We’ll see what happens in March when qualifying restarts again. Good luck Maradona, you’re going to need it!