International Rundown: Fighting over Wives, Reaching for the Stars

By: Bob | March 28th, 2007

All of our lives are once again put on hold today with another round of international football matches. That generally means a slow day on the club football news beat, but fortunately those international players know how to keep us entertained. Here’s a random hodgepodge of stories you may or may not have missed.

It is not often that much thought is given to the Zimbabwe football team, but then again it is not often that players on the team decide to get into a fight over sleeping with each others wives. The reports are that Portsmouth striker Benjani Mwaruwari and former Coventry City player Peter Ndlovu got into a tussle that saw them smashing windows and breaking tables at the team’s hotel before their African Nations Cup match on Sunday.

The central issue to the fight between the two players is women. Peter Ndlovu slept with Mwaruwari’s girlfriend, then later made advances towards his wife.

Adding his own chapter that turns the whole sordid affair into a thrilling soap, Mwaruwari retaliated by trying to hook up with Ndlovu’s wife, South African singer Sharon Dee.

Mwaruwari denied the fight occurred and used this wonderful logic: “I don’t fight about girlfriends. I have a lot of them, and I am married.”

What a life he must lead.

Meanwhile, you know that England coach Steve McClaren is on life support thanks to his dismal record managing a dismal national team. The tabloids are drooling over this because it sells papers. The reliably over-the-top Sun has gone so far to purchase the naming rights to a star, which they have named in McClaren’s honor ‘Planet McDonut‘. You see, McClaren is now known as McDonut because his team never scores. Clever, huh? The star’s coordinates are RA11h10m53.47sD-6°12’28.58. If you know what that means you are probably way too smart to be reading this blog.

In Egypt, striker Emad Meteb has issued an apology of sorts after he made an indecent gesture towards his country’s own fans following his team’s 3-0 win against mighty Mauritania. “I know I shouldn’t have reacted that way, but I have been jointly insulted by our own fans despite the comfortable three goal margin, and to be more specific it’s the second class section supporters who were on my case,” he added. “It’s a shame because this is not the first time I’d be insulted like that by my own fans who should be supporting me rather than abusing me.”

Those second class supporters are always causing trouble.

And then there is the case of Abdelmalek Cherrad who simply didn’t show up for Algeria’s African Nations Cup qualifier. It isn’t the first time he has disappeared. Three years ago he left Nice without telling anyone and was sacked. When your own country’s officials label you as “troubled” it might be time to seek some help.

Finally, there are the Czech Republic players who are lighter in the wallets because they decided to celebrate their loss to Germany with a postmatch party featuring six ladies of the night. Insert requisite joke about the team needing to score….

Enjoy the international action today. More coverage over on World Cup Blog.