Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has slammed Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone for his antics during Wednesday's Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.
After Cristiano Ronaldo scored Real's fourth goal, Rafael Varane showed immense disrespect by kicking the ball at Simeone.
Clearly feeling slighted, the Argentina legend lost his rag, and raced onto the pitch to confront Varane for his childish behaviour.
Analysing the incident on ESPN, Nicol scathed:
"It's disgraceful. The coach should be the one who shows you how it should be done. This guy just completely lost it. Would Ancelotti do that? One's got class, the other has none. It's unacceptable for a coach of his stature"
Explaining his reaction, Simeone told reporters:
“He [Varane] shouldn’t have done that and it upset me. He’s not big enough to do something like that to me. I was angry although maybe I overreacted.”
Madrid captain Gabi also defended his boss, and laid into £25m-rated Varane. He barked:
"You have to know how to win and Varane did not show that. He is young but should not have behaved like that towards us. It was an ugly gesture.”
Clearly, Simeone was wrong to confront Varane on the pitch, but I totally understand his ire. Like the Alan Pardew/David Meylor situation in March, Simeone had a legitimate gripe in that he was on the receiving end of a classless and totally unnecessary act of gross disrespect.
Like Pardew, Simeone responded in an ill-advised manner, and will deservedly be punished, but I totally understand his reaction, and if Brendan Rodgers - or indeed an LFC player - reacted the same way in response to a similar display of disrespect, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest.
A distinction needs to be made between damaging, antagonistic behaviour that brings the game into disrepute (i.e. biting, cheating, diving, deliberate lack of sportsmanship etc), and defending one's personal honour (which can sometimes lead to extreme reactions).
There's never any excuse for the former, but the latter is understandable, if not condonable. Simeone and Pardew got it wrong with their reactions, but the principle - i.e. refusing to accept being publicly disrespected - is correct.
In my view, players and managers are right to stand up to blatant disrespect. The decline of sportsmanship in the modern game is a major problem, and idiots like Varane and Meylor should be called on their arrogance.
Author: Jaimie K
After Cristiano Ronaldo scored Real's fourth goal, Rafael Varane showed immense disrespect by kicking the ball at Simeone.
Clearly feeling slighted, the Argentina legend lost his rag, and raced onto the pitch to confront Varane for his childish behaviour.
Analysing the incident on ESPN, Nicol scathed:
"It's disgraceful. The coach should be the one who shows you how it should be done. This guy just completely lost it. Would Ancelotti do that? One's got class, the other has none. It's unacceptable for a coach of his stature"
Explaining his reaction, Simeone told reporters:
“He [Varane] shouldn’t have done that and it upset me. He’s not big enough to do something like that to me. I was angry although maybe I overreacted.”
Madrid captain Gabi also defended his boss, and laid into £25m-rated Varane. He barked:
"You have to know how to win and Varane did not show that. He is young but should not have behaved like that towards us. It was an ugly gesture.”
Clearly, Simeone was wrong to confront Varane on the pitch, but I totally understand his ire. Like the Alan Pardew/David Meylor situation in March, Simeone had a legitimate gripe in that he was on the receiving end of a classless and totally unnecessary act of gross disrespect.
Like Pardew, Simeone responded in an ill-advised manner, and will deservedly be punished, but I totally understand his reaction, and if Brendan Rodgers - or indeed an LFC player - reacted the same way in response to a similar display of disrespect, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest.
A distinction needs to be made between damaging, antagonistic behaviour that brings the game into disrepute (i.e. biting, cheating, diving, deliberate lack of sportsmanship etc), and defending one's personal honour (which can sometimes lead to extreme reactions).
There's never any excuse for the former, but the latter is understandable, if not condonable. Simeone and Pardew got it wrong with their reactions, but the principle - i.e. refusing to accept being publicly disrespected - is correct.
In my view, players and managers are right to stand up to blatant disrespect. The decline of sportsmanship in the modern game is a major problem, and idiots like Varane and Meylor should be called on their arrogance.
Author: Jaimie K
Sakho was our worst transfer since Andy Carroll, and maybe even worse than that. Sakho was the 4th choice CB at PSG, behind Thiago, Alex, and Marquinhos, and he is clearly not good enough to be at a top 4 club in the EPL.
ReplyDeleteAgree. It amuses me how people constantly use passing the passing accuracy stat to defend Sakho, too. What difference does it make? A defender's job is to defend, not pass, yet these people make out that passing is more important than actually defending. Total nonsense.
ReplyDeleteWhat's 100 million though? How many jerseys does Suarez sell? How much price and TV money did we get this year because he was in the team? Sure, it's not like Suarez is the only player who is responsible for us doing so well this season but I think we can all agree we owe a lot to his 31 goals
ReplyDeletetest
ReplyDeleteSo you believe in retaliation, it's a strange one.
ReplyDeleteShould never have went on the pitch but should never have had a ball kicked at him by a poor winner.
ReplyDeleteI am never one for physical actions in the professional game but this was a classless act and this event has drawn attention to it and hopefully in the future players and managers will show a bit more respect for not only each other but the game we all love
All in all Gabi seemed to be the only professional out of the 3
ReplyDeleteNot retaliation; confronting blatant acts of disrespect/lack of sportsmanship.
ReplyDeleteSimeone did it in the wrong way, but these incidents should not go unchallenged.
Seems to me that he was simply kicking the ball out... I live in France and Varane is known to be a really calm and respectful guy, I have a hard time seeing anything malicious in him passing the ball out of play.
ReplyDeletePassing the ball out of play when Ronaldo had just scored? The game had already stopped, and was about to be restarted. Why not just kick the ball to the centre-circle?
ReplyDeleteReally I don't know. But if you look carefully Simeone doesn't race on the pitch right after kicking the ball back. It seems as if Varane might of said something in reaction to Simeone's violent kick, which then provokes his reaction.
ReplyDeleteIf Simeone does nothing, the incident is forgotten except by Varane who thinks his behavior is OK. I'll bet he doesn't do it again.
ReplyDeleteSimeone probably started simmering when Ronaldo went into his completely wacko celebration for a meaningless PK when the game was already won after Bales beautiful header and Marcelo finishing a clearly spent AM back line. I remember being astonished that Ronaldo could put on such a clown show for basically being shut down the whole game and only getting on the score sheet in garbage time. Really classless act to run shirtless around the pitch like he had just won the match for RM.
I'm with you on the Ronaldo "show". I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Was so embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nicol it was probably the most shocking incident I have seen on a football pitch. It was so bad that Arsene Wenger apparently saw it too.
ReplyDeleteAmonst the group I was with, watching the match, several had to be given smelling salts all needed a stiff drink (or three) and one man (a slaughterhouse worker) had to go for a lie down.
with respect Gaz, buying good players is going to make Suarez stay right? if Liverpool are offered £100/120 million he will be sold, then it won't matter who we have bought. I hope Suarez stay's and i am in favor of buying top players, we will have to wait and see mate, we haven't signed anyone yet!
ReplyDeleteFirmino is the superior Brazilian option.
ReplyDeleteSanchez is the superior over-all option.
Nicol making a mountain out of a molehill YET AGAIN - GET A LIFE
ReplyDeleteI don't questions PC's abilities. I do question his strength. He is constantly knocked off the ball by bigger players...so much so that it appears to affected his psyche and he avoids keeping the ball so he doesn't look bad when being dispossessed.
ReplyDeleteLol. Maybe Ivanovich shouldn't have been constantly grabbing and tugging Suarez the whole match. Suarez finally thought, "Well he must WANT me to taste that arm."
ReplyDeleteI like Richards but we can't stand him getting hurt in week one. I would pass. Didn't Toure get hurt almost immediately?
ReplyDeleteBest signing this season...
ReplyDeleteFenway Sports Group today announced that Brendan Rodgers has signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool Football Club, rewarding the great progress that has been made over the last two seasons.
Are u dumb? they just won the biggest game in club football snm if he just stood there u would say smug c**t..
ReplyDeleteDerek...the point is the match was already won by the time CR scored. His celebration was about himself...not the team...else why not leave his shirt on like the rest of the team? There was plenty of time to celebrate AFTER the match. CR's clown act was just that.
ReplyDeleteif he was fit and stayed fit and played to his old standard he would be worth having, if he was in that position City would be keeping him!
ReplyDeleteGood point.
ReplyDeleteHave to disagree. I think Wisdom comes of age quickly and I think Richards ages out quickly too.
ReplyDeleteit's £7 million that could be spent on a fit 24 year old powerhouse full back, why risk it on someone who could easily breakdown halfway through the season? who has a 4 year contract that we still have to pay whether he plays or not! no don't buy, City are selling for a reason m8.
ReplyDeleteWho cares.
ReplyDeleteDude ur so spot on !!! I'm so with u on average Sakho when we paid him that much . He looks so uncomfortable with someone's head on his feet . That goes to Sissokho too. So Djimi Traire esque. We're lucky he is a decent tackler after giving the ball away . He is on if he was £5-£8 max . Still y do. We even spend that money just to be nervous when he is on the ball or defending all together. Loses concentration too frequently . I take Kolo Toure over Sakho anytime . But we need another Agger that isn't so prone to injury. We conceded far less when it's the Skrtel/Agger partnership. Sakho needs to do the Hendo turnaround. Hoping Mr Rodgers could fine tune him .
ReplyDeleteNo matter what price Real Madrid offers, they'll get the same answer every time: "Luis Suarez is NOT for sale..!" - With Liverpool in Champions League next season, and the love Luis Suarez has shown to Liverpool this season, and imagine Luis sharing locker-room with Ronaldo, who uses most of his time, setting his hair right, and putting on makeup, and his 'I'm the world's best footballer attitude'..! - No way!
ReplyDeleteLuis Suarez would rather play against Real Madrid, in next seasons Champions League, then to play for them. And score against Real Madrid, who still haven't scored against Liverpool in the 3 previous meetings in Europe, but maybe Martin Skrtel can help them out next time..(joking)
So far in European competitions: Real Madrid 0 - 6 Liverpool..!
YNWA Luis Suarez 7
Players who can play in a range of positions is great, but putting a full back at centre back doesn't come off often.
ReplyDeleteThat's ridiculous....!
ReplyDeleteLook what happened to Spurs when they sold Bale to Real Madrid, for almost the same amount of money. Look at all the players Spurs bought for them, and how it panned out.
The only decent signing was Christian Eriksen, and as far as I know he was one of the cheaper players they bought, if not the cheapest.
If Liverpool sell Luis Suarez for £100 million it will be a major loss financial, no matter how you see it.
With Suarez still a Liverpool player, and the young and talented team around him, - with a few class additions, Liverpool have a realistic chance of winning lots of silverware in the years to come.
Not to talk about the increase in fans, because Luis Suarez is playing for Liverpool. And with a realistic chance of Luis Suarez winning next years Ballon d'Or and be crowned as the best footballer in the world...etc.
I'm educated in the fincial sector, and I know John W. Henry would never sell Luis Suarez, and for that matter you're only talking about the money.
Have you even followed the season, and listened to Luis Suarez repated statements and why he chose to stay at Liverpool?
He is not going anywhere! - No matter what price is offered, he cannot be replaced by anyone.
I'm not worried about Luis Suarez leaving at all. I'm not worried about anything in this transfer window, compared to the nightmare last summer.
Because Liverpool are in the Champions League, and we were so close to winning the Premier League, and Luis Suarez wants to win it for Stevie G and for the fans.
YNWA
Ronaldo has developed a inferiority complex since Gareth Bale became the most expensive player of all time.
ReplyDeleteHopefully Bale will remain the most expensive player for a few years;-)
ReplyDeleteB Rodgers already has three potential sick notes at club:
ReplyDeleteM Kelly(23) in last three seasons, he has been on treatment table 90% of every season RB
L Leiva(27) DM D Agger(29)
B Rodgers should forget about M Richards(25) he is like Kelly(23) good class quality player but has been on the treatment table too much for the last three seasons.
The only right back B Rodgers should bring to club is N Clyne(23) Of Southampton for 5-8M
For the last three to four months: The defenders i have said we should sign who would suit our club and system who play in the Premiership ( N Clyne(23) Of Southampton, D Lovren(24) Of Southampton and S Caulker(22) Of Cardiff, we have all been linked with in last two weeks.
Those three defenders are all under 25 years old and will only get better.
M Richards(25) should not be brought to the club
I see what you did there ;)
ReplyDeleteGive Sakho a break. He has played 14 games in PL so far. He is young. I believe he will be better next season. It can't be worst. If he is crap next season get rid of him.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't seen him playing properly yet. If he is bad next season then yes it will be the worst transfer since Carroll.
ReplyDeleteWe need quality attackers too. It will be more difficult next season. All teams will come to defend. We need to break them.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you on Simeone, Jaimie. That is all. Wait, no. One more thing. That Gabi looks quite a player, doesn't he? Serious baller and a fantastic, composed leader. I wouldn't mind seeing him with Gerrard/whoever else in our midfield. Don't ask me how balanced the team would be, though. I'm just admiring the guy.
ReplyDeleteHopefully not.
ReplyDeleteViolent kick. LOL
ReplyDeleteAncelotti wouldn't do that. But neither could Ancelotti kick a ball like, or most probably kick Varane's A$$.
ReplyDeleteDidn't catch the game, but can someone confirm, was it tied up in Fergie time? Real seem to get a lot of extra time - more than needed.
Great stuff thanks for the update.
ReplyDeleteI don't see what is wrong with Rhodes. He scored 25 in a league that is on par with the Dutch, Swiss,Greek, Ukranian, Danish, and Scottish Leagues. They all have teams playing in the CL. Rhodes has been a prolific scorer for years. Ings has had one good year. Rhodes as a #3 would be a good signing.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree if the opportunity presented itself we different have to bring in top quality.
ReplyDeleteDid you actually read what I said? I am saying that they are both defenders, they should be judged on their ability to defend, Sakho can defend, meaning he is a good defender, Luiz can't defend, which means he isn't a good defender. So in actual fact, I'm not saying he is crap, unlike you.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but we need to show our intention, and none of us know the details of the buyout clause in his contract, it could be 100/120, it could be 150, for all we know, it could be 200. If it is 150 or even 200, then if a club offers 100/120, and I can only see one club offering that, then we don't have to sell him, we aren't in a position where we need to sell any of our players.
ReplyDeletei didn't say we would sell Suarez, i said it made me "feel"... y'know gave me the feeling??? anyway i hear one day we are losing £50 million a week(?) and the next day we have £60 million to spend, you work it out i'm getting bored with it now,if we have to buy players to keep another player happy we are in trouble LOL
ReplyDeleteBTW what buyout clause? didn't know there was one?
ReplyDelete1. does anyone know if Suarez has a buy out clause in his contract? and 2. are we short of money? anyone friendly with LFC's director of accounts that is in the know enough to give me a straight and honest answer
ReplyDeleteOh look, Steve Nicol has an opinion on something. It's slightly adversarial in nature and directed at someone else who he thinks "should" be acting in a particular way. This is such a surprise. Fancy Steve Nicol commenting on the character of someone on a football pitch in a negative way!
ReplyDeleteNot friendly with Director of accounts etc but my understanding was that if Liverpool were not in the Champions League then there was a 100m Euro (81m) release clause. As LFC have qualified for CL there is no clause.
ReplyDeleteSo if Brendan ran onto the pitch to confront a player who's barely left school and picking up a lengthy ban in the process you'd be fine with it? Yet you'd have crucified Suarez for his antics?
ReplyDeletePersonal I'd be mortified if our manager behaved like that
There is no question that Varane deliberately passed the ball to Simeone. These guys make inch perfect passes, he knew what he was doing. It was a direct and well weighted pass. That in itself is provocative. The manager is required to stay in his box during the game and by a similar measure it's very much outside the acceptable behaviour limits for a player to involve himself with the opposition manager. If Verane wasn't having a go at him then what was he doing? What was his intention?
ReplyDeleteYes, I'd be fine with it. I personally don't have a problem with managers/players fighting for the the basic decency of the game, even if hey go overboard.
ReplyDeleteAt the basic level, Simeone was responding to being disrespected. That kind of arrogance from players should be addressed, and if it takes a touchline ban to stop players acting kids, then so be it.
But surely a manager having to be physically restrained from assaulting some kid on the pitch during a match (especially such a high profile match) surely affects the basic decency of the game. If we all acted like that every time we were disrespected by somebody there would be chaos
ReplyDeleteMy comment did not mean to target you but all the comments above. I never said Sakho is crap. I am saying if he is crap next season get rid of him(meaning is if he doesn't improve and doesn't perform sell him) And I don't agree with you. Luiz can defend! He would not be playing for Brasil if he was not a good one!
ReplyDeleteYou're overstating the issue. Assault? There's no evidence Simeone would've 'assaulted' Varane. He just wanted to confront him. This kind of action affects the game far less than blatant, cynical cheating/gamesmanship/lack of sportsmanship.
ReplyDeleteThere's something substantive behind Simeone's behaviour. I don't condone it, but he has a valid reason for feeling aggrieved.
I just feel that a manager has to lead by example. If you take Chelsea for example, their players are completely indisciplined and that's because they're manager is. Arsenal players are petulant much like wenger. We were top of the fair play league last year and I feel our calm, composed manager plays a part in that. You can't expect your players to keep their cool and not do anything rash if your manager can't control his emotions just because some kid has been a bit cheeky
ReplyDeleteLoo at Atletico's record last season. Broke the Real/Barca monopoly; almost won the CL. I seriously doubt one transgression is going to make any difference to their dedicated to performing for Simeone.
ReplyDeleteIn not talking about effort the players clearly love simeone. It's discipline that's the issue. If one of his players gets sent off for an elbow or a horror tackle but justifies it to simeone by saying the opposing player had disrespected him prior to the incident, I don't see how simeone can be in a position to criticise said player after his anyone's on Saturday night
ReplyDeleteI disagree. An elbow/horror tackle is physically violent, and probably premeditated. It's totally different to what Simeone did, and any player who tried to use Simeone's actions as some kind of justification would probably find themselves on the transfer list pretty quickly. Do as I say, not do as I do, and Simeone's confrontation does not (IMO) undermine his authority. I'm sure the majority of the players support Simeone's actions, and can see the difference between deliberately bringing the game into disrepute, and defending the principle of mutual respect and sportsmanship. The comments after the game by Atletico's captain, Gabi, suggest as much.
ReplyDeletePerhaps but I doubt UEFA will see it that way and his actions certainly won't change attitudes in football (although varane did sh*t himself) so all he's achieved is getting himself inevitably fined and banned. A pointless exercise that is in no way beneficial to himself, his team or his club regardless whether he was justified being angry or not
ReplyDeleteSimeone made a statement. He made it clear that he will not tolerate classless displays of gross disrespect.
ReplyDeleteI applaud him for that. I respect his refusal to sit back and take it. Yes, he reacted in the wrong way, but some kind of reaction is necessary, even if it leads to a ban.
Fair point and I agree about the need to confront it just not the way it was done
ReplyDeleteShould have been 4 minutes imo and the ref gave 5. They scored 2 57 after 90th.
ReplyDeleteAll BR needs is a good assistent for defence. our defence was not bad enough to conceede 51..
ReplyDeleteGaz there is no buy out clause mate!
ReplyDeleteYou are using his bad passing as an argument he sucks, hence the argument he has good passing percentage.
ReplyDeleteThanks, They got 5 min recently at Valencia, shouldn't have been more than 3 - tied up in the 3rd minute extra time. Oh well, Atelico were only seconds away, too bad.
ReplyDeleteI think Di Maria is massively under rated at Madrid. They all talk about the "BBC" but in most Madrid games I've seen this season he's been their best player. Puts in a shift too
ReplyDeleteI have seen him bounce people too. In fact one thing you can say about his best games this season is he wasn't knocked of the ball at all but was doing the knocking.
ReplyDeleteI don't see what you are seeing at all. I remember incidents when he ran through near the entire Arsenal team, or Spurs etc. I think it's less about being knocked off the ball and being hacked at. One thing that really came on this season was Coutinho's aggression but perhaps I am seeing the positives where you have seen the negatives. Bias works both ways in these things. Personally I think all aspects of his game showed signs of improvement at certain stages of last season. His aggression and willingness to fight being one. He is still young and we will see net year for sure.
I don't really see the problem of passing the ball to the opposition manager, he didn't blast the ball in that direction, it was a measured pass. Simeone, who lets not forget was himself quite a good wind up merchant, should have at least deal with it in a different manner. Completely unnecessary overreaction in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteYeah,but getting on the ball is Allen's problem,along with retention.
ReplyDeleteHis defensive stats are also good. Second to Skrtels in the team. The passing stat gets used when people erroneously say he is bad on the ball. Odd how sometimes stat are important to you but less so when they disprove your belief.
ReplyDeleteYour last line is utterly irrelevant in this context. Sakho's passing stats do not 'disprove my belief' in any way, shape or form, so please stop trying to make a point that doesn't exist.
ReplyDeleteA defender's primary role is to defend, not achieve excellent passing accuracy, yet people use the pass accuracy stat as a way of arguing that Sakho is a good defender.
He's not a bad defender, but (IMO) he unsettles the other defenders with his uncertainty in possession.
He is not a defender who can be trusted in tight areas, or when he's under pressure. As such, when he receives the ball in defence, other defenders are immediately on edge, worried (probably subconsciously) that he's going to fluff a pass, or play someone into pressure.
I've played with many such players, and this is happens. I'm sure others who've played the game have also experienced this.
Passing accuracy = barely relevant when assessing how good a defender is.
The bottom line is that with Sakho in the team with Skrtel, LFC kept only one clean sheet. Agger and Skrtel together kept 7 clean sheets over a similar number of games.
It doesn't matter how Sakho's fans try and twist things, it is crystal clear that he is not an effective component of LFC's central defensive unit, and the stats categorically prove this.
I can't talk for these other "people" but I only reference Sakho's passing on reference to questions of his abilities in that department. To discuss them in reference to other things would be silly.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to get in to your psychological assessment of our defenders as it strikes me as a ridiculous discussion to get in to. As for him being trusted ion tight areas? Well that would have been Skrtels biggest flaw not that long ago. Personally I am going to give the 24 year old a second (hopefully injury free) season before I assess him to be unable to do these things.
You have played with players of Sakho's standard?
The clean sheet argument is flawed as I have stated before. In seven games at least three of which we conceded one goal was due to an error by a teammate. Not one of those errors were caused by Sakho. Add to that Sakho played in games against the top four five times whereas (obviously games more likely to concede) then we may have more reason to give him a little leeway. It has much more credit as an argument than some perceived unconscious worry amongst his colleagues. Considering how often he gets the ball (much more per game than any other CB in the team) it would suggest to me that his colleagues are trusting him as they are giving the ball to him more than others.
These are not twisted they are just simple statements that a rationale non biased person could look at and say "hey you now what there may be something in it". Can you?
ronaldhino gaucho plz just came to liverpool and play for us
ReplyDelete