It’s Not All Fun and Games
By: Bob | August 14th, 2006
The five star hotels. The adoring fans. The ability to perform something as asinine as the Robot Dance and get away with it.
Such is the life of the modern football player, but before you start thinking about trading in your computer for football boots and signing a professional contract you should know that it isn’t all fun and games.
Take the example of new FC Barcelona defender Gianluca Zambrotta. After a long, grueling road trip to Mexico and the United States, the Italian defender arrived back in Spain only to have difficulty finding a taxi to take him home from the airport. One driver in particular, a fan of rival Espanyol, told Zambrotta to take a hike.
“I don’t carry people who come and demand that I take them somewhere nor do I take anyone from Barca,” the irate driver told Spanish television. “I’m an Espanyol fan.”
We bet you have never had that happen to you.
Then there is the case of the 12 players on the Japanese national team who were traveling by bullet train to Niigata for a friendly on Wednesday only to get stuck sitting in the first class smoking carriage.
Said goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, describing someone who very well could be Fabien Barthez: “The person next to me was smoking the whole way — it was horrible. Second-hand smoke is not exactly good for you, is it?”
Yes, between the unfriendly taxi drivers and chain-smoking compartment mates, it is indeed tough out there for footballers these days.
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Category: World Football
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