CLIQUES, STROPS AND PARANOIA

Germany are not the first team to be hit by bad blood and infighting at a major tournament. In the wake of a Serie A match-fixing scandal that saw players banned, Italy started the tournament with three groupgame draws and sneaked into the second round on goal difference. Manager Enzo Bearzot fell out with the critical media and kept his team behind closed doors for the rest of the tournament. Paolo Rossi scored six goals in three games as Italy went on to win the trophy. After the Oranje lost to France in the quarter-finals stories emerged from the Dutch camp suggesting cliques divided along racial lines. An infamous photo showing black players eating at a separate table from their white teammates added fuel to the fire. However it was later claimed that the bad blood was the result of a more complex mix of disputes about money, club rivalry and cultural differences. Nicolas Anelka had a foul-mouthed rant at boss Raymond Domenech and was sent home after refusing to apologise. The next day skipper Patrice Evra was caught on camera arguing with coach Robert Duverne. Then the players boycotted training in protest at the decision to send Anelka home, and managing director Jean-Louis Valentin resigned in disgust at the players’ actions. After French president Nicolas Sarkozy sent his sports minister to intervene, the players eventually apologised. Cameroon players refused to board the plane to Brazil the week before the tournament began after an argument with their association over bonus payments. They eventually set off 20 hours late once an agreement had been reached. They lost all three group games, conceding nine goals while

scoring just one.