I know all the players of the team, but I don't know what they're doing in their lives, if they are married, if they have children... On the pitch we're a family but outside we're not.
Eric Abidal, Barcelona player
Friday 3 October 2008
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16 comments:
Kinda ruins the so called harmony in the club. its rather stupid to say these stuff to the press.
Yet another reason to ditch the fool.
Why did he have to say something like that ? He is even dumber in real life that he is on the pitch ..
Who does'nt know that Henry is divorced and has a daughter called Tea, Who does'nt Eto is married and has children, Who does'nt know Messi has a girlfriend
FFS, I know all these simple things by just reading profiles and stuff, yet this guy spends hours with them everyday and does'nt know. Did it ever hit his dumb mind to just ask a question? What a loser ...
is some one feeling left outside??
Be careful of context. Without knowing the entirety of the quote and the precipitating question, who knows the context.
It might have been comparing Barca to another side. Ligue 1 sides, even at the upper level, do tend to be much more familial.
Or perhaps the question was comparing Barca to smaller clubs that he has been at. Who knows, but context is critical.
But why miss another opportunity to bash someone who has been our best defender this season, right? All he does is run hit butt off and play his heart out. It's enough for some players to head balls directly to attackers, or get beaten like a drum one-on-one for goals, I suppose.
Support the side. It's as simple as that. But it comes down to some players being able to do no wrong no matter what they do, and others being able to do no right.
How dare he speak his mind? He should be sold for that. (sigh...) Eto'o says things such as "No silver and I'm off," and he's a competitor/best striker in the world/we're fools if we sell him/etc, etc.
I get it, but I don't get it.
Wow... you definitley have a warped view of Abidal.
Hey Kxevin,
What more more cotext or entire quote do you need? What he is said is clear and nothing between the lines, It's simple he said he does'nt know anything about any of the players outside of football ..
This is disturbing to the "bonding" and "family life" Pep had in mind, and to be honset, it's either he's extremly dumb or is just acting because you can't know nothing about your teammates which you spend most of your everyday life with.
"But it comes down to some players being able to do no wrong no matter what they do, and others being able to do no right."
That's the same for you, Kxevin.
If Henry says that he accepts the decision of the coach to play me on the left, you're saying "what an example!". But if he says five times that everybody knows that he's best in the centre, we don't hear you.
If Eto'o talks about the silver ware, you bash (to use your words) him for that one (twisted) quote all summer long, but if Abidal says something like the above thing, you cannot accept people say something about that and then it's about "the context".
The bottom line is that we all have out favourite players and tolerate more from them. You just like everybody else here.
It's probably just the part of the sentence. And judging by that I think he tried to say that he's here to play and he's (well) payed for that, but he's not here to stick nose in the others familiar problems or something else. There's no need for further arguing.
He actually complained that he wants to have more contact with his team-mates in daily life and that this apparently is not really possible.
They spend hours in training together, They dine together, breakfast and lunches together .. So I can't see why it is not possible, how hard can it be to pop up a coversation.
Thanks for the context, Pep. One of our folks over at The Offside cleared it up. It makes a lot more sense now.
Djoef, Henry saying that he's best in the center is as obvious as that goal he scored against Shakhtar. He could never do that on the wing. Henry saying he needs to play in the center is like the sun saying it needs to rise. It's the best position for him to help the side, while giving him the best results. It's only natural. His center-pitch presence directly led to both goals vs Espanyol, something that I think speaks for itself.
Note that he has also said "I will play where the coach puts me." Yes, he has asked questions about Guardiola's promise to play him in the center. That's his right. Once that question is answered, then play. He's been doing that. All the lads have.
As for Eto'o's comment, there was no ambiguity. If we don't win, I'm leaving is pretty clear. And note that when it was used an an example here it wasn't to bash him. It was to point out the simple fact that a statement such as that, when people like a player, becomes a very different thing; a sign of fire in Eto'o's belly, or a "true competitor's instinct."
Now what if Henry had said it? Or Yaya? Or even Valdes? Fan outrage would be off the chart.
I'm a fan of Barcelona. You don't visit The Offside, so you don't know how I evaluate players over there. But you'll find that I call out everyone as they deserve, no matter who it is. The team is most important. Players are just pieces on that team. I don't think Gudjohnsen should be on the side. But when he plays well, he gets every bit as high a rating as he deserves. That's fair.
If Henry had said "I want silver, or I'm off," my clamor of "Good riddance" would as loud as it was when Eto'o said it. A team pulls together. If you want silver, do your utmost to help the side win it. If you're scoring goals, track back on defense. Examine your game for weaknesses, make it happen.
Otherwise, a statement such as that becomes every bit as divisive as people claim Abidal's quote was.
I must say that i kind of like this comment made by Abidal. It shows that Barca is all about football. It's like any other work, except they get paid extreme amounts of money doing something most of us do for recreation, at tops. Of course i would prefer it if ther was a somewhat moore friendly, family-like relationship between the players, but then again: Would'nt there be moore tension in the team if everybody new everybody like best pals? It is, after all, a very competetive group whith extremely egocentrical individuals (not everybody). I think it's a thin line to walk my friends...
"As for Eto'o's comment, there was no ambiguity. If we don't win, I'm leaving is pretty clear."
There was a context, Kxevin, but since you prefer (prefered?) Henry over Eto'o for that centre spot, you didn't mind looking for it. The context was that he said that he wouldn't be able to look the fans into their eyes anymore if the team would win no trophies anymore (and that he should leave for that).
I don't blame you or anything, just saying that you (like me and everybody else) is biased and interpretes things depending on personal preferences. So like you can bash Eto'o for a quote-without-context, others can do the same for Abidal.
Djoef, here is the quote:
"If we continue not to win any trophies next year, then I will go somewhere else. I’ve done it all in Spain, I’ve reached the heights here and so if I do leave I will go to another league."
Pretty clear, right? I don't think there are many people who wouldn't read it as "get me some silver or I'm history, on to bigger and better things."
And actually, I like Henry and Eto'o in the center of the pitch, flanked by Messi and Iniesta. It will prove to be the most prolific tandem, in the absence of a proper center forward (neither one fits that bill).
Finally, don't read what I've typed through the filter of your expectations. Read it as it stands. I still haven't bashed Eto'o for the aforementioned comment in this thread. I did when he made it, just as I would any other Barca player who would make a statement like that, up to and including Messi. If someone thinks there's something bigger and better, get lost and go for it.
It's the team above all.
Without the context it's as "pretty clear" as the Abidal quote, Kxevin. I saw the video, he was talking with little children asking if he could leave one day.
You're taking it out of that context and misinterpreting it (deliberately or just following what the press made of it). Which is your right, no problem.
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