Football and the lesson of respecting opponents

That was the situation in the 64th minute of the match, when the German team was leading the Japanese team with a temporary score of 1-0, A. Rudiger made a high-legged running gesture and laughed at the Japanese striker Tasuka Asano with the intention of superiority, looking down on the opponent. And then at the end of the match, the person who was provoked was the author of the goal of his life, extremely excellent to raise the score of the match to 1-2, making Rudiger's action more "irritating" than ever in the eyes of not only German fans but all over the world.

The author of the goal of his life, extremely excellent to increase the score of the match to 1-2.

The world of football has had countless stories about respecting opponents, not only between players of two teams but also between coaches and fans. Patrick Kluivert, a former Ajax and Barca player and the Dutch national team, once told a very admirable story about the need to respect opponents, which was admired by many teammates and widely published in the press. That was when he held the ball and dribbled past an opponent who was a central defender so easily, like an adult dribbling past a baby, he almost burst out laughing and intended to "parade" his opponent again. But then he immediately understood that he should never laugh, should never act that way, absolutely never. And he quickly overcame the moment that almost turned him from a shining star into a terrible "black mark" in his rapidly advancing career.

In life as well as in football, there is always a need for people - players with identity, with strong personalities. In the technical area of ​​​​big football teams, there is always a good coach, many achievements, many shocking statements before and after each match, at the same time, there are also actions that are unlike anyone else, always a "hot topic" for the media to exploit. Jugen Klopp (current Liverpool Head Coach) is a typical person in terms of talent, personality and sometimes becomes hot-tempered and is considered disrespectful to opponents through actions and statements without restraint. In the 2019 season, a rival coach "accused" Klopp of "disrespecting me. I felt like he wanted to humiliate me." "Klopp asked the referee to give a yellow card to my player when he fouled Salah, but when I did the same thing, he stuck out his tongue and mocked me." Some people think that Klopp gradually changed his personality after achieving success with Liverpool, becoming more arrogant in his use of words and behavior on the coaching bench. Of course, any behavior of the coaching staff of the teams is very difficult to escape the eyes of the fourth referee, the match supervisor, the video review, the match report review and the conclusion of the disciplinary council, including the handling of disrespectful behavior toward opponents, as in reality, countless penalties are issued.

There is another thing that few people pay attention to but is actually also in the "box" of respecting opponents, related to the story of how stadium organizers treat opposing fans. Vietnamese football once had a story about a stadium organizer arranging stands close to the corner flag, or behind the goal for a group of opposing fans, with the reason being to ensure the safety of the match. In fact, in professional football, every spectator entering the stadium, regardless of which team they are fans of, has the same rights and obligations. Pushing away fans into a corner is discrimination, unfair treatment, is frustrating, and is offensive. Of course, if fans intentionally cause trouble, have a habit of causing trouble and discipline is not valid, then strong measures are needed, such as banning them from entering the stadium.

To see the story of disrespecting opponents has been happening in a myriad of ways, professional or amateur football, and movements cannot avoid this incurable "disease". The action of Rudiger mentioned at the beginning of the article, in fact, when he played at Chelsea, he also acted out over and over again, so it cannot be said that it was spontaneous or careless? The problem is that after the humiliating defeat of the German team against Japan, will Rudiger and those who have disrespected their opponents, have shown and are secretly doing it, realize it in time to focus on playing to the best of their abilities as individuals and as a team?

In football, although all gaps will continue to narrow over time, although surprises are what always make football the most attractive on the planet, a World Cup, an ASIAD or AFF Cup, even a V-League season, there are always strong teams like Brazil or Argentina and many teams participating in the world football festival for the first time in Asia, Africa or Latin America; in the region, besides Thailand and Vietnam, there are still Timor Leste or Brunei, which means it is very, very difficult to completely eliminate the attitude of disrespecting opponents. The main thing is that each player must learn, must absorb and implement in competition like Kluivert, minimizing mistakes like Rudiger made. Coaches and stadium organizers must also be more professional, more professional at all times and in all places, then everything will gradually move towards perfection and reach the high quality as expected.,.

Bui Hoa