Gallas's sit-down protest at full-time on that notorious afternoon, after Eduardo da Silva had suffered an horrendous leg break and an injury-time equaliser from the penalty spot had thrown Arsenal's title charge off-kilter, seemed to sum up the club's captain on more than one level.
There was the proud competitor who simply hated to lose; the stubborn eccentric and, even, the brooding loner who tended to put himself first. The events at St Andrew's offer the boldest brushstrokes in a portrait of the maverick Tottenham Hotspur have just signed.
The amateur psychologists remembered the controversy of his transfer to Arsenal from Chelsea, when the west London club claimed in a statement that Gallas had threatened to "score an own goal or get sent off or make deliberate mistakes" if he was forced to remain and play at Stamford Bridge. Gallas vigorously contested the allegations.
And the picture appeared complete in November 2008 when Gallas gave an out-spoken interview, in which he detailed dressing-room secrets and also suggested his Arsenal team-mates were "not brave enough in the battle".
Gallas claimed his comments had been off the record and were taken unfairly and out of context. He has not spoken to the press since, which has added further to his intrigue. He remains the No1 interview target for Fleet Street football hacks.
The upshot of Gallas's indiscretion was that Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, stripped him of the captaincy, a decision he has described as "one of the hardest" of his 14 years at the club. There was, however, sympathy in some quarters. Was the defender's assessment of his slightly brittle team-mates not accurate?
The wider point is that Gallas is not the kind of man people can gag or man‑manage in PR terms. A month before he lost the captaincy he had been caught by the paparazzi at the wheel of his car, having just left a central London bar, with a cigarette hanging jauntily from his lips.
An angry Wenger said Gallas's behaviour "cannot be accepted, he has a responsibility as captain of Arsenal football club", but there were others there who merely wondered why on earth Gallas could not have waited until he was out of sight before he lit up. "Then again, that's William," said one of them. His devil-may-care attitude has its admirers.
Gallas was immensely proud to have been Arsenal's captain and he did take the responsibilities seriously. Upon his elevation he asked for a list to be compiled for him of the club's entire staff, complete with their photos and job descriptions, so he could recognise and address each one by name. He was also the driving force in encouraging his team-mates to donate one day's pay to the club's "Be A Gooner, Be A Giver" charity initiative.
It said everything about Gallas' cold-hearted professionalism that, in spite of his disappointment over the captaincy, his individual performances did not suffer. "The way he responded was absolutely fantastic," Wenger said today. "I believe that he's a genuine winner. He wants things to be done not at 90% but at 100% and he is completely focused to win and is motivated.
"He can sometimes be a little bit brutal in his actions or impulsive, but he's not someone who talks behind your back. He's straight and completely focused on the game. He's not a troublemaker, that's an unjustified reputation. He's not always talky but he does his job and when you are a manager, you respect Gallas."
Wenger offered him a new contract towards the end of last season but the terms were unacceptable to the player and so both parties went their separate ways. Arsenal made the signing of Laurent Koscielny from Lorient a priority; Gallas looked for the best deal as a free agent.
"We are in a professional game," Wenger said. "William has nothing against the club. Once the split is there, you have to accept it and turn somewhere else. Spurs have got a great player and I completely accept he has gone there. There's a little bit more risk that he's exposed in the derby to fan chants and things like that, but we have seen that before. I don't think it is a major problem for him."
Tottenham are getting a predominantly left-footed player who insists on playing at right centre-half; a 33-year-old with a suspect groin, and a personality who has the capacity to polarise opinion. You cannot take your eyes off William Gallas.
Source: David Hytner, The Guardian on 20 Aug 10
No comments:
Post a Comment