Fabien Barthez goes out Fighting
By: Bob | April 30th, 2007
Love him or hate him, Fabien Barthez always has been an entertainer. The French goalkeeper’s brilliance interspersed with comic ineptitude has been on display in international football for more than a decade, but alas it probably will be no more. Barthez announced today that he will not be returning to the Ligue 1 side Nantes this season and frankly I can’t blame him one bit.
Barthez was brought in back in January to bolster Nantes’ fight against relegation. This is a club that has never been relegated since France’s top flight was reorganized in 1963. They almost certainly are going down this season thanks in no small part to Barthez’s trademark blunders.
Following their team’s defeat to Rennes this weekend, Nantes fans decided that enough was enough it was time to teach their former national team keeper a lesson. So five of them attacked his car. And Barthez attacked back. And now he has announced that he would rather eat nails than play for Nantes again.
It is hard to believe that Barthez will return to competitive football after the ways things turned out this season. In some ways this is a fitting way for Barthez to end his career. He departs as the center of attention, the center of controversy and certainly without a whimper. That is the way you’d expect a flamboyant player to go out.
Yet, that doesn’t make the image of Barthez fearing for his life while a bunch of drunken bozos attack his car any less sad and any less pathetic.
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Comments
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Very Shakespearean. The tragic hero whose fatal flaws contribute to his downfall. Very sad.
Posted from
United States
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Barthez came to Nantes because he wanted to be their savior. It must not have been easy for him after the World Cup, unable to find a club, and watching Coupet take up his spot on the NT. So he wanted to be a hero one last time.
Too bad he didn’t think about it for more than two seconds.
It would be unfair to blame Nantes’s relegation on him. Nantes were in trouble long before, and they’ve been flirting with relegation for the past four years. It was bound to happen sooner or later.
Barthez made some stupid mistakes, and his ego and superstar demands were a serious issue for his teammates and managers, but I do think he wanted to help the club.
Posted from
United States -
Shakespearean is a good way of describing Barthez. My kingdom for a keeper.
Posted from
United States -
Hmmm .. much like Zizou. With a bang.
Posted from
Philippines
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