Nick Webster normally writes some good articles, and I thought this was a nice, well-written and objective piece on the whole Eduardo issue..
Horrific injuries: Just part of the game[/size]
by Nick Webster
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/7866820/Horrific-injuries:-Just-part-of-the-gameIt's been a rough seven days for Arsenal forward Eduardo and Birmingham City defender Martin Taylor.
The two men have taken a battering, one psychologically and the other physically. I sincerely hope that both men recover. They may not but they both know injuries are a part of the game.
By now, I'm sure you've all seen the horrific pictures of Eduardo's left leg after Taylor mistimed his challenge at St. Andrews back on February 23. Sights like that make one sick to the stomach and stay imprinted on one's mind for years.
Not surprisingly, the response from players, fans and the media has run the full range. From sympathy to outright disgust, both players have had their lives changed forever.
In the immediate aftermath, an emotional Arsene Wenger called for Taylor to be banned for life, saying: "People will say he (Taylor) is not the type of guy who does that. But it is like a guy who kills only once in his life. There is still a dead person."
Sensibly, he later retracted that comment but a seed was planted. Death threats have since been made to the Birmingham defender while irate Croatian journalists recently tried to visit him at the club's training facility.
In an interview with English newspaper The Independent later in the week, Taylor gave his view of the events, revealing: "All I remember was him going deep into midfield, turning and taking a touch. I felt he showed me enough of the ball to win it. In my head, I definitely thought I could get that ball. There was never any intention to hurt him. It is not in my mentality to be premeditated or hurt someone. I'm not even the type to be physical with an opponent to 'show him that I am there'. It was just a fact that I thought the ball was there to win and — as other people have said — Eduardo was too quick for me."
This final statement of "Eduardo was too quick from me" seems to have fired up many people. Their argument is that if Taylor knew Eduardo was too quick, hacking him to pieces was the one sure-fire way to slow him down.
However, Eduardo has taken a more thoughtful view on his misfortune, stating: "I see this as a risk in professional football. Sometimes you go up, sometimes you go down."
I can appreciate their comments, having been on both the giving and receiving ends myself.
Playing in the Los Angeles Municipal League eighteen years ago, my coach told me to mark a very talented forward. The instructions were simple: "Don't let him score".
In the opening minutes of the game, what I thought was a fifty-fifty ball was up for grabs. My opponent, like Eduardo, was too quick for me. Instead of playing the ball, I played his knee. The 'pop' was unmistakable. His anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was torn. I'd gone in hard and aggressively — it looked from the sidelines like a terrible foul.
But it was a terribly 'mistimed' foul. There was absolutely no intent to injure the guy. I don't know what happened to this kid — it was part of the game.
Ten years prior to this match, I was a talented teenage midfielder in England. I was playing youth football for a local club but I showed enough promise that they wanted to see me play with men. I was picked to play with the second eleven. I remember the day like it was yesterday.
It was cold, overcast and drizzling at Hackney Marshes, otherwise known as the 'Mecca of football', as there are over 80 full-size pitches. I was played through by a teammate and attempted to chip the goalkeeper with the outside of my left foot while running diagonally right. The 'keeper came through hard and aggressively — he wasn't going to let a kid beat him. I didn't hear the snap but my captain later told me matches three fields away stopped playing. He said it sounded like a pistol shot.
I looked down at my left leg and didn't recognize it. Then the shock kicked in and I became a frightened, young boy in more pain than I'd ever known. My fibula and tibia were both broken. I never saw that goalkeeper again — it was part of the game.
I have no doubt in my mind that Birmingham manager Alex McLeish told his team to mix it up with Arsenal. "Don't give them time on the ball" he would have said. Wenger, on the other hand, would have told his players to test the Birmingham defenders early, saying something along the lines of: "Run at them and make them scared of you".
Ultimately, as bad as Taylor's challenge was and as horrific as Eduardo's injury is, it's still part of the game. The day you take the physical side of the game out of football is the day that football dies. You have to have the 'cloggers' because they are the guys who make the skilled players look great.
Boxer Ricky Hatton recently eloquently stated that his sport "ain't a tickling contest" after getting a beating from Floyd Mayweather. Football ain't a tickling contest either and hopefully it will never become one.
Until then, get the beers in ...
