Saturday, September 17, 2005

Manchester United-Villarreal, Rooney and malaria

Wednesday I had planned to continue watching more Champions League football. But by late afternoon I was having chills and headache. It continued downhill, and fearing that I had the dreaded West African malaria, I went to have my blood tested. As I was in the hospital's waiting room, they did the favour to put Manchester United-Villarreal on (at least I was not totally lonely...). I had difficulty focusing on the match, but could see that it would be hard for Manchester.
Around half-time I was tested, and as the doctor came out to give me the "positive" result, I saw Wayne Rooney get his foolish red card. This did not make things easier for Manchester United, and they can thank their disciplined defence for pulling home a 0-0.
I have been a Rooney-fan since the Euro 2004. This admiration however, is limited to the football pitch, and it is a shame that Mr. Rooney carries his bad temper on to the pitch. There have by now been numerous examples of this; lately on the England national team, during their loss against Northern Ireland.
Mr. Rooney is a wonderful footballer. He has the potential of becoming one of the great ones. But if he does not learn to behave, to control his temper, he will become more a of risk to his teams, instead of the amazing asset he could be. I know that many people are trying to get this message through to him, and I hope Mr. Rooney will be wise enough to get the message. If not, football will have lost a great player.
As to the less relevant things (my malaria), I still feel like I have been run over by Jaap Stam, tackled by Roy Keane and hit my head against a goal-post...

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