English Premier League: Gallas all set for Tottenham Hotspurs
Only a few players have achieved the amazing feat of being hated by not only their opponent teams fans bu their club’s own fans as well. Surprisingly such an act is not easy to pull off, it requires remarkable skills in becoming a detested football athlete and also demands that one’s attitude be a close reflection of O’Reilly or Joey Barton.
There are certain individuals in modern football, who perfectly fit the above listed criterion. Some are less despised than others but that does not mean that they are not good at what they do in their own capacity. William Gallas is all set to add another star to his chest, a star of another London club. Never has a footballer had more disregard for rivalries or fans. Gallas started his career in the English Premier League with Chelsea. Chelsea are a fairly well known club amongst the masses, a club which has rivalries with Tottenham, West Ham, Arsenal and Fulham.
With Chelsea, Gallas was a part of their magnificent side under Jose Mourinho. With Jose at the helm and Gallas in defence, Chelsea broke their title duck which had prevailed since the Second World War as the blues won back to back, English Premier League titles in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 English League seasons.
At Stamford Bridge, Gallas in his number thirteen shirt also saw Chelsea winning a league cup and making it to back to back, UEFA Champions League semi-finals. Interesting point to note is that Gallas scored against Tottenham in the 2005-2006 season, his strike against the Hotspurs in the injury time of the match prompted him to declare his twenty five yard winner as his greatest goal ever on Chelsea’s official television channel.
Near the end of his time at Chelsea, Gallas got disenchanted with the way Mourinho was using him as a left back. William made it clear to the manager that his favourite position was at centre back but Jose opted to deploy Gallas in the left wing back position due to multiple injuries in the squad. Gallas after participating in the 2006 FIFA World Cup with France refused to return to Chelsea for training.
It goes to show a lot about a player when he starts making such arrogant excuses and exhibits childish behaviour on and off the field. A proper professional would have come back to the club and resumed his job with the trainers in pre-season but Gallas thought he was above all of this. The French international took these steps in question, despite the fact that Chelsea were still paying his wages.
Finally, Chelsea rid their hands off Gallas when the player agreed to a move away from the blues to their rivals Arsenal F.C. Gallas arrived at Arsenal as a part of a deal that took Ashley Cole to the Stamford Bridge. At Arsenal, a club that is famous for its dressing room discipline, Gallas soon showcased his true colours. After Arsene Wenger, made Gallas the club captain for the 2007-2008 season, the French defender self destructed in spectacular fashion in Arsenal’s match against Birmingham City. A match in which their striker, Eduardo Da Silva sustained a life threatening injury to his leg. The events that unfolded during the match had Gallas in their centre.
At one moment in the match after Birmingham were given a penalty kick due to a foul on their player inside Arsenal’s penalty area, Gallas protested by walking far back into Birmingham’s half of the field. Then subsequently William was restrained by the authorities as he tried to voice his frustrations to the crowd at the stadium. Following the final whistle, the rest of his team mates moved towards the exit tunnels while Gallas himself sat like a baby in the middle of the stadium on the pitch where the match took place until Arsene Wenger came and comforted the player.
Such irresponsible behaviour by Arsenal’s club captain was further compounded by his comments to the media in November of 2008 in which he blamed the club’s youngsters for their lack of courage. Consequently, Gallas was stripped of the club captaincy and was not offered a contract extension by Arsenal after the end of the 2009-2010 season.
Now according to latest reports, the 33 year old defender is all set to join, Arsenal and Chelsea’s rivals Tottenham Hotspurs. In what might be the last move of his career, Gallas has chosen to join Tottenham despite having full knowledge of the rivalry that exists between his previous clubs and his new employers. All what is left for Gallas to do now is to make his next move to West Ham after making a fool out of himself at Tottenham, only then can he achieve the incredible and that is to become the most loathed man in London, even more hated than the former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
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