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.