I came across a story about Hatem Ben Arfa, once an unappreciated (so he thought) star at Newcastle and more recently an unwanted non-star at Paris Saint-Germain. Ben Arfa is in the market for a new club, but as of yet the market is not interested. His former club, Nice, is one of those clubs where he will not be going.
That is the story but not not what got my attention. Who remembers the days of football players and managers speaking their minds with not much eloquence. "The boys done a good job today. They got stuck in and we got the result." At least that was the case in England, where in the 80s and 90s the media started talking about the perceived higher intelligence of the "continental" players. Now every football player, manager and club owner seems ready to regale as with their philosophical musings at will. There's Pep, and before him Andre Villas-Boas, and his "project". And there's Jose Mourinho and, well, his every press conference. And so many managers and owners seem to have a view on the football world which they want to deliver in the most poetic, nonsensical way possible. Maybe it's Eric Cantona's fault for setting the bar so high with talk of seagulls and trawlers.
So enter Nice's president, Jean-Pierre Rivere, and his contribution to this world of football prose greatness. He didn't just say no, no way is Ben Arfa coming back because he wants too much money. Ok, he did kind of say that but then went a little further to add a beautiful quote to the story:
"We were very happy to have him at our place, and it was a beautiful story we shared. However, it is the past and we need to turn the page." A beautiful story. Wonderful. I can just see the movie, with Ben Arfa driving down the long, tree lined avenue away from the Nice stadium fighting the urge to look in his mirror, while Rivere stands in the window of his office, a tear in his eye while "Ben Arfa's greatest moments with Nice" plays on his 60 inch TV in the background set to the Chariots of Fire theme music.
He's a footballer, off to whoever will pay him the most money. End of. Maybe he'll fit into Pep's project, which now consists of spending a billion dollars to buy any half-decent defender. He may move onto buying up any midfielder he can get his hands, or his owners' money, on. And then I'd love to watch him blabber away when he is asked about young player development, the hallmark of a true great coach. Sorry, Hatem and Jean-Pierre, this was supposed to be about you.
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