There appears to be a rather unique virus in the Mersey air at the minute, turning professional footballers into mischievous, bickering children whenever a penalty is awarded.
In January, it was Everton’s Kevin Mirallas, who had the audacity to take the ball off Leighton Baines, one of the Premier League’s most prolific dead ball specialists, before spooning his spot kick wide against West Brom, and last night Mario Balotelli ‘disrespected’ Jordan Henderson, in the words of an in-studio Steven Gerrard, by commandeering penalty duties from Liverpool’s stand-in captain to subsequently net against Besiktas.
At least it’s not Ebola – or the plague.
And unlike Mirallas, who quickly received a tounge-slashing (aka multiple, lengthy lashings) from Gary Neville amongst others, Balotelli at least had the quality and confidence not to choke under the pressure of his own insubordination.
Largely, the Italian international was in the right, despite technically going against the orders of his manager and skipper. Balotelli wasn’t included on the list of penalty takers in the dressing room before kick-off but substitutes never are, and Gerrard revealed earlier this season that the striker is the club’s second penalty taker, after himself.
If there’s one solitary area Balotelli’s always been consistent in throughout his career, it’s converting from the spot. His career record; 25 taken, 23 scored. Henderson’s career record; one taken, none scored. So regardless of squad hierarchy, who would you want attempting the penalty to give your club a vital advantage in a European double legger? It’s not really a choice – and certainly not one worth arguing about.
Had Balotelli missed last night, things might be a little different today. But it’s Steven Gerrard’s words post-match, not the incident itself, that’s gained the lion’s share of media attention.
“Jordan should have taken the penalty. Rules are rules. It should have been Henderson. Mario has been a bit mischievous,” said the Anfield skipper in the ITV studio.
“Credit to Mario, he’s scored, but it’s not nice to see when footballers are arguing. Jordan walked away at the right moment and handled his post-match interview very well. Jordan is the captain and Mario showed Jordan a bit of disrespect there, but he’s scored a very important goal.”
So how should we be receiving these rather condemning comments? Does Gerrard deserve praise for his refreshing honesty yesterday evening, or criticism for his unprofessionalism?
Well, it’s quite clear where the 34 year-old’s loyalties lie within the Anfield squad and he’s likely not the only figure firmly on Henderson’s side. The England international is primed to take skipper duties permanently when Gerrard departs for the MLS at the end of the season, last night being his eighth appearance with the armband, and Balotelli deliberately undermined him in public.
There will now be inevitable questions lingering over Henderson’s leadership abilities, so perhaps Gerrard felt compelled to support a player that will succeed him in many respects next season. After all, just as there’s no debate over who’s the better penalty taker, there’s no debate over whose Liverpool career, Henderson or Balotelli’s, will last longer based on current form.
In turn however, Gerrard’s now heaped pressure back onto a player that’s already under fire from all angles. Jamie Redknapp’s already regurgitated the England centurion’s declaration of disrespect. It may have been a selfish act but that penalty will do wonders for Balotelli’s confidence, and in my opinion, attacking a team-mate publicly is extremely unprofessional from any captain at any club.
It’s by no means as extreme, but the incident is comparable to Roy Keane’s infamous interview scandal at Manchester United, where he unleashed a verbal tirade at Rio Ferdinand and Alan Smith, amongst others, on MUTV. A few days later, Sir Alex Ferguson ripped up his contract – because publicly criticising players and performances is at the discretion of the manager, not the club skipper.
In fairness, the injured Gerrard attended the game as a pundit last night, not as a player, and resultantly gave his professional opinion on what was the only real talking point of an otherwise unspectacular game. Likewise, he’s already attempted to bury the hatchet via Instagram.
At the same time, however, it’s amplified an issue that should have been left on the pitch. ITV sensationalised the incident as much as possible – such stand-offs between rival penalty takers is hardly unheard of – and unfortunately Gerrard rose to it. Rules are rules, but goals are goals, and Balotelli’s has made Liverpool’s trip to Turkey next Thursday a considerably simpler one.
So we should be talking about the Italian’s improved form over the last few weeks; two goals and a free kick leading to an Adam Lallana goal in his last three appearances for Liverpool. But we’re not. We’re talking about Gerrard, and although I believe there was no malice behind what he said, it was surprisingly naive for such a senior player.
If he’s to make further punditry appearances as Liverpool skipper before the end of the season, it’s imperative he remembers his responsibility to every player in the squad – even those as mercurial and peripheral as Mario Balotelli.
