Thomas Tuchel’s mother was right, Jude Bellingham’s behaviour was repulsive. Not for the first time a football coach bends over backwards to excuse an entitled player. It gives him an edge, you wouldn’t want to lose that fire, he’s a nice boy really.
Bellingham’s haranguing of female official Stephanie Rappart following his disallowed goal against Senegal was a straightforward abuse of power. Bellingham is a very good footballer. He knows his importance to the team and the licence it gives him to do as he pleases.
Football is the court of King Jude. He parades around the game’s great houses, Santiago Bernabeu, Wembley Stadium, firing off like Henry VIII.
Right and wrong is not a matter of morals but mood. And like that of any spoilt brat, Bellingham’s dives when things go against him. On Tuesday it was an official but it is just as likely to be one of his own, rebuking a team-mate over a run, tackle or pass he didn’t make, etc, as a lip reading expert alleged during one England engagement.
Tuchel is not the first coach to accept in a superstar tantrums he would not tolerate from his own kids. Sir Alex Ferguson famously waved off kung fu kicks in the crowd at Crystal Palace to keep Eric Cantona in a Manchester United shirt, albeit after a lengthy ban.
Jude Bellingham’s frustration got the better of him against Senegal (Photo: Getty)If you want role models, football is not fecund territory. Tuchel is powerless, really. The beast is already fully formed by the time it reaches the international arena.
As Tuchel acknowledged, ending England’s prolonged World Cup misery is unlikely without Bellingham. But let’s not kid ourselves, that competitive element that we call fire does not have to be destructive or indulged.
Carlos Alcaraz won the French Open last Sunday calling shots against himself, overturning decisions initially in his favour to award points to his opponent. Did this mannerly display diminish the fire in Alcaraz? Evidently not.
Doing the right thing did not cost him, nor did it impact a febrile desire that was never less than lit.
Even if he wanted to act on his mother’s impulses, football is too far gone for Tuchel to affect change. The culture is set, and Tuchel is as conditioned as the next coach to think that Bellingham’s actions are elemental and cannot be otherwise.
“I think he brings an edge which we welcome and which is needed if we want to achieve big things,” he told Talksport.
“The edge needs to be channelled toward the opponent, towards our goal and not to intimidate team-mates, or to be over aggressive to team-mates or referees. He has the fire. I don’t want to dim this down. He should play with this kind of fire, that’s his strength.
“But the fire comes also with some attributes that can intimidate you, maybe even as a team-mate. You see sometimes the explosion towards referees and the anger in his game, so if he can channel this in the right way, and we can help him in this, then for sure he has the something that we need. He has a certain edge that is hard to find.”
Your next read
square FOOTBALLThe seven players Man City could sell after ‘flexing muscles’ in £288m spree
square FOOTBALLKyle Walker is finished – why can’t Thomas Tuchel see that?
square FOOTBALL‘He knew nothing about football’: Ineos insiders on Brailsford’s Man Utd failure
square FOOTBALLEngland are going backwards under Thomas Tuchel
Thus trapped in this conceptual cliche the beautiful game gives players permission to continue with their boorish, petulant outbursts, manners and decency sacrificed on the altar of winning.
The irony is, England can’t even do that, as Tuchel is beginning to discover.
Tuchel would pick 10 Bellinghams if he had them. To hell with mother and her concerns. Even the more discerning managers are caught in the trap.
His predecessor Gareth Southgate went out of his way to create a more tolerant, inclusive environment in which all players were made to feel they belonged and were valued equally, but even he had to bow when Bellingham entered the room.
Tuchel has ripped up that template completely and gone full alpha to justify the behaviour of his star player. Bellingham’s talent is beyond question, his power absolute. And if he holds aloft the ultimate prize in the MetLife Stadium next year, there won’t be many dissenters. Sorry mum.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Tuchel’s mum is right – Bellingham’s behaviour is repulsive )
Also on site :
- ‘She lit up the classroom’: First British victims of Air India plane crash named after 241 killed
- Numbrix 9 - June 13
- Increased ICE detentions and deportations create climate of fear and stress