da roleta： Two routine wins, two clean sheets, and top of their qualifying group, yet England have still managed to find something to stir up some controversy in what was expected to be an unremarkable international break.
da apostaganha： Raheem Sterling made headlines following the Three Lions’ 1-0 victory over Estonia on Sunday when it was revealed that the Liverpool youngster had asked Roy Hodgson to be placed on the bench instead of starting the game due to tiredness. Uproar predictably ensued as the footballing world and his wife felt compelled to shed their opinion on the matter, with some expressing utter disgust at the young whippersnapper’s temerity to make such a claim, only for others to leap to Sterling’s defence.
Alan Shearer’s criticism was particularly comical, with the former Newcastle man engaging in some populist demagogy in his column for The Sun newspaper by self-righteously asserting that “the working man who is up at 6am and home at 8pm does not want to hear how tired a 19-year-old professional footballer is”, while Gary Lineker took up the role of the over-protective mother hen, sheltering the vulnerable chick with his proverbial feathers from the media storm by taking to Twitter to say that “Raheem Sterling is a teenager”, that “teenagers do get tired and even moody”, that “he’s young, still developing”, and therefore “we should cut him some slack”. Sterling himself also proceeded to meekly poke his adorable head into the fray, heart-meltingly tweeting: “Excuse me for being human”.
Of course, the row has expanded to become a case of club versus country, as England boss Roy Hodgson questioned the medical benefits of the ‘two-day recovery system’ implemented by Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, which Hodgson believes to be the reason behind Sterling’s fatigue. According to the England manager, adhering to such a system means that Sterling is not used to preparing for a rapid turnaround in between two games as England had to do last week, and with the relationship between the two men already fraught following Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge’s injury during the previous international break – not to mention the fact that the Reds have a strong core of England internationals – there is a danger of things escalating between the pair.
In truth, the whole fallout is slightly pathetic. Raheem Sterling is a phenomenally gifted footballer who is enjoying the best 12 months of his still fledgling career. The teenager’s confidence and his youthful exuberance means that he probably approaches every match – be it in the red of Liverpool or the white of England – with a desire to play as many minutes as he possibly can. Given that he is playing wonderful football on a consistent basis, is receiving numerous plaudits for his performances and is rightfully regarded as an integral part of the national team, it is highly unlikely that he would feign fatigue just to spend 45 minutes on the bench. Such behaviour would be expected more from a player who is out of form, whose morale is low or who lacks the motivation and desire to play, none of which apply to Sterling.
The only thing Sterling is guilty of is honesty, which certainly does not warrant the ridiculously overblown reaction of the past few days. The youngster probably was expressing genuine concern at being fatigued – is it not better for fans of both England and Liverpool that he does not increase any further risk to his fitness by taking such a cautious approach?
Lineker’s claim that Sterling is a young man who is still developing rings true. There have been ample cases in football of promising young players – Michael Owen, for instance – whose early potential has sadly led to drastic decline due to burn out caused by an over-dependence on their talents during youth. It would be a great pity if the hugely gifted teenager’s career followed the same trajectory as Owen’s due to recklessness during his formative playing years.
Ultimately, nobody is in the wrong in the whole affair. Sterling was right to be so honest about his concerns, Rodgers is right to be protective over his players given previous injury problems his team has suffered during international breaks, and Hodgson is right in championing the importance of the national side and having the best players at his disposal in order for him to carry out his job. All that needs to be done to avoid a repeat of such an embarrassing episode is for Hodgson and Rodgers to have a transparent and productive discussion on what is to be expected of the players during the break, and for a compromise to be reached.
When it comes to England, such a straightforward proposal is easier said than done. However, for the sake of the national team, of sensible football fans and most importantly of Raheem Sterling himself, it is time to put this tiresome matter to bed.
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