Much of the debate post World Cup Final has centred on the behaviour of Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez during the penalty shootout.
I can accept those antics, to a point. But what we should be talking about more is the crude gesture he made after collecting his goalkeeper of the tournament trophy.
Do some people really find that sort of thing funny? Martinez embarrassed himself and he embarrassed his country. He looked like a vulgar clown. If that is what he wants to be remembered for, then God help us all.
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez embarrassed himself and his country with his antics with the Golden Glove award after the World Cup final
Martinez put in a heroic performance as Argentina beat France in the shoot-out but he then demeaned himself in front of important dignitaries
I like him as a goalkeeper, for Argentina and Aston Villa. But for him to think what he did was appropriate, it beggars belief.
Why did he not want to be remembered instead for his performance? Or the team’s performance? Or Lionel Messi’s performance?
I cannot understand why he chose to do that in front of a watching world. He was also on stage with the various dignitaries and the Emir of Qatar.
What respect is he showing for his hosts? For himself, even? Maybe he doesn’t care. He should. He will not be so proud in years to come. Sadly, that image is part of the story of the final now.
And what a final it was, by the way. The best of my lifetime? Yes. Martinez played a huge part, not just in the shootout but also with his save in the final minute of extra-time from Randal Kolo Muani.
Martinez made an absolutely crucial save from France’s Randal Kolo Muani in extra time
Martinez enjoyed an excellent tournament which was topped off with his shoot-out saves
But his conduct in attempting to put off France’s players before taking their penalties has clearly split opinion.
I have been part of this sort of thing before with my Liverpool team-mate Bruce Grobbelaar in the 1984 European Cup Final against Roma, in Rome.
Bruce, famously, used his spaghetti legs to distract Francesco Graziani. It worked, he hit the crossbar. Alan Kennedy scored the final penalty and we had our third European Cup.
Where Martinez crossed the line was by throwing the ball away from Aurelien Tchouameni, who then hit the post. You still have to show respect to everyone else on the pitch. It is not win at all costs. There is a limit to what you can do.
Liverpool’s Bruce Grobbelaar famously used his ‘wobbly legs’ technique to put Roma off
What Bruce did was not disrespectful. He did not interfere with his opponent. He was wiggling his hips on the line and then clapped his hands in celebration when the guy missed, not in any way disrespecting Graziani.
Every goalkeeper tries to plant a seed in the head of the taker – walking off their line, kick a post, kick another post. I get all that and, as a manager, I would be happy to see my goalkeeper use those tactics.
But kicking the ball away? Martinez overstepped the mark. Not for the last time, either.
Martinez overstepped the mark when he chucked the ball away as Tchouameni stepped up
Lionel Messi did not need to win the World Cup to be considered the greatest player of all time.
Even if Argentina had lost Sunday’s final or gone out in the group stage, he would still be my pick as the best we have ever seen.
I have witnessed Messi, when I’ve been covering Champions League matches, make serious defenders look like they’ve got their bootlaces tied together. They appear to be caught in a revolving door and don’t know what to do with him.
It was never a case of him not being able to step up to a higher level at the World Cup, he was doing it against the same players in the Champions League every other week. Even so, I am delighted for him.
But I will say this, I think he’s a strange bird. I looked at Argentina afterwards and, to a man – staff and players – they were all in tears. There was one person who was not overcome with emotion – Messi.
Lionel Messi is now my greatest player of all-time after he lifted the World Cup last weekend
Messi was magnificent throughout Argentina’s World Cup campaign and deserved to win
He really must have iced water running through his veins. He’s a cool customer. I thought it was interesting, a little insight into his personality. I’m not saying it’s a good thing or bad, that’s just him.
The reason he is my GOAT, ahead of some of other fabulous players, is because of his longevity and the consistency of his performances at the very top.
The World Cup is the absolute icing on the cake. So, if Messi is my No 1, who completes my top five?
In second place, Pele. He was someone I only saw on the television growing up. But everyone of my generation remembers him in that iconic, yellow shirt. He had power, pace and technique.
Pele won the World Cup three times but he drops behind Messi now in the GOAT ranking
Diego Maradona was on top of the world with Argentina in 1986 and he’s No 3 in my list
In third, Diego Maradona. I played against him during my time in Italy. When you’re on the pitch, close up, and see how he manipulates the ball and has an awareness of where everything else is, it was just breathtaking. You also knew there was absolutely nothing you could do about it.
In fourth, Cristiano Ronaldo. He can, with some justification, make an argument for being the best ever. Like Messi, he has had consistency. But, right now, he has to be careful about protecting his legacy.
He has to man-up and realise he is in danger of damaging how he is remembered. Basically, he is not leaving the stage quietly by graciously accepting that his career is coming to an end. He should, because it is a career worth celebrating.
Cristiano Ronaldo is in danger of ruining his legacy as he seems incapable of going gracefully
Finally, George Best. With George, it is a case of what could have been. You just wonder, in a different time and with more help and better awareness around mental health, how much further and longer his talent could have gone. But what a player.
If he had played today, with better pitches and less violence towards flair players, he would have come into the equation as the greatest.
The Premier League returns on Boxing Day and there will be a few coming back from the World Cup with their tails up, and some others in need of being picked up.
I bet there will be no player feeling more confident than Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister. It is very easy to focus on how fabulous Messi was for Argentina, but in the games I covered, Mac Allister was their best player.
The ball he played for their second goal in the final, for Angel Di Maria, was sublime. Messi put him away around the corner. He took one look, had a couple more touches and never looked again before squaring the most perfect pass for Di Maria to put it past Hugo Lloris. Wonderful.
Alexis Mac Allister was the best Argentina player in several of their World Cup games
He’s a top-four player and the big guys will be looking at him now and thinking, ‘We’ll have some of that’. He has proven he can play at the highest level and has already done it in the Premier League.
There is very little risk attached to this boy. He can create, score and works his socks off – that type of player, they are hard to find.
At 23, Brighton won’t be able to keep him for long and good luck trying to negotiate a new contract. I’m just disappointed he’s not playing for Scotland with a name like that!
I have to say, I am also pleased for Harry Maguire. He was much maligned going into the tournament by people who find it easy to criticise. He is far better than some folk make out.
Harry Maguire looked back to something approaching his best in England’s World Cup games
He had a very good World Cup and the challenge for him now is to dislodge one of the centre-halves at Man United, Raphael Varane or Lisandro Martinez. I think he is more than capable of doing that.
But England’s other Harry, Kane, was not so good in Qatar. I said he had to have a very good tournament for England to win it. He was poor. Was the reason for that the ankle injury he sustained in the 43rd minute in the opener against Iran?
They made a big mistake by leaving him on the pitch until the 76th minute. They were 3-0 up, get him off! Especially given his history of ankle problems.
Sometimes, players need protecting from themselves. It’s about the bigger picture, about him being right for future games. But Harry was thinking about goals and the Golden Boot, instead of thinking USA, Wales and beyond. England paid the price.
Finally, I enjoyed playing in a football legends golf day organised by Nigel de Jong during my time at the World Cup.
It was a Texas Scramble event and my team – two fellow Scots and a Canadian – went out in 31 and came back in 34. We won handsomely. The prize was a lovely Ping fairway wood. Sadly, I had to give it away, because it wouldn’t fit in my suitcase!
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