Fair play in sports, what does it mean?

Anyone who has watched the Tour de France this year realizes that this is shaping up to be one of the closest contests in many years - only 8 second separate first and second with 3 stages to go. Granted there is really only 1 real stage left, the individual time trial on Saturday (tomorrow's stage is a flat road stage so it will be difficult for the leaders to gain time and the Sunday stage is a ceremonial stage heading to Paris). The big news is around how Alberto Contador gained his lead on Andy Schleck. To recap - stage 15 up the mountains where races tend to be decided, Schleck and Contador were clearly jockeying with one another the entire ride up the mountain, Schleck attacked looking to build on his 39 second lead. In what looked to be a move to the advantage of Schleck, Contador looked like he was struggling slightly on the climb, unfortunately Schleck's chain came off the derailleur. Contador, whether intentional or not, launched an attack just at that moment. Schleck did get his bike back into working order and made a mad charge to try and protect his yellow jersey, unfortunately the time lost was too great and he would end the day with a 8 second deficit to the Spaniard. The video from the incident:



The question becomes, was this fair play? There is an unwritten rule in cycling that you do not take advantage of your competitor's mechanical break down.Clearly not what happened with Contador and Schleck. Granted, Contador could have believed Schleck slipped or had a bad gear change. However I am going to believe that Contador knew exactly what happened, he was going to attack but the chain incident made it that much more opportune.

So the question becomes - was this in good sportsmanship? Should Contador have waited? This is similar to watching footy, when a player is injured you kick the ball out of play. I remember the 1/4 finals in 1998 between France and Italy it was late in a 0-0 game, France were in the Italian third of the pitch but an Italian player was down. Petit rather than pressing on, kicked the ball out of play. There were mixed reactions from the fans (game was in Stade de France) as well as Petit's teammates. He was praised by some in the media post game. For me that was the correct play. But what if France lost to Italy in PKs? So where does fair play end and winning at all costs start? If your team is losing 1-0 with 10 minutes to go in the World Cup 1/2 finals one of their players is down needing attention do you kick the ball out? Or if the other team kicks out the ball so their player can get attention, do you give the ball back or keep possession?

Should Contador have waited? To me he should have slowed down, maybe not get off his bike and wait for Schleck, but he should not have looked to increase his lead while Schleck struggled to get his bike back in working order. I am sure that if Contador ends in Yellow on Sunday he will not make any excuses. Of course, with both riders being young, this might just add to what could be a great rivalry over the next few years.

Petit said it best - Domenech is in denial

Great piece posted on L'Equipe.fr from Manu Petit about the current state of Les Bleus (in french). Here are the highlights:

• The players are "hiding" because they lack in confidence when they play for France.
• Les Bleus do not demonstrate an ability to control their game nor their destiny.
• This is a result of not having any confidence in themselves, doubting themselves and an overall lack of direction.
• A lack of mental strength and overall self belief is clearly present amongst the players.
• Players are constantly played out of their comfort zone - Ribery on the right, Gourcuff too high...
• No attack or defense as a team but rather as individuals: dumping the ball off to the likes of Anelka and Ribery to simply wait and watch them take on the opposing defense alone.
• This has been a malaise suffered by the side for a few years now...and cannot be written off to the players having not been on the pitch or the practice ground together - since many have been together with Les Bleus for a few years.
• And an inability as of late of being able to take on and beat the big nations - Argentina and Spain.

However the best is what Manu closes with - the fact that when he hears Domenech's post match discourse it reminds him of an addict that cannot admit he has a problem and constantly claims all is fine. I could not agree with you more Manu. I have a feeling the majority of the other fans out there would also agree with your statements...too bad Escalettes is not one of those, maybe he needs to check into a rehab clinic as well.

The inigma that is Pat Vieira....

On one of the many web feeds I get, I saw a headline about Pat Vieira and the fact his career with Les Bleus might have come to an end. That got me thinking about the future of Pat, at least with regards to international football. Bottom line...I think we have seen the last of #4 for Les Bleus. Why? A couple of factors -

• When you play for your nation, you really need to look at the viability of a player being able to play at a high level in 2 year increments. Simple math - World Cup and European Cups - these major events give nations a two year window for players. In my opinion, if your player may not be able to play in the tournament, do you really want to rely on them for qualifying? Maybe for a game here or there, but you need to ensure that not only do you qualify, but that you develop the team that will carry you in the tournament.
• Injuries, Pat has not been the model of health for the past few seasons. Every since he left North London he has be fraught with nagging injuries, even having to opt out of the Romania game minutes before kick off due to a knock he picked up during warm ups. The fact that Pat was selected for France during the Euros and played exactly zero minutes is indicative of the injury bug he has been cursed with at this stage of his career. It is suicidal to go into a major tournament with a member of your squad that might not even play due to injury, let alone a player you want to build your midfield around.
  
• Other strong options at the holding midfield role - Toulalan, LDiarra, ADiarra, Flamini just to name a few. One cannot overlook the rise of Blaise Matuidi with St Eteinne. A player that is seen as the next generation of strong holding midfielders in the mold of Makelele. Didier Deschamps has been harping on the midfielders ability and talents, saying he is one of the best players in Ligue 1. When it comes to holding midfielders, I think Deschamps has some first hand knowledge of what it takes to succeed a that position. With all this talent at the holding midfield position, shouldn't France opt to build around one of these pairings rather than hope that somehow Pat regains the form of his glory years?

I think the writing is on the wall for Pat. I pray that Domenech learns from the mistakes Lemerre made during the 2002 world cup...and....Domenech made during the German Euros, holding on to the older generation. Vieira has been one of the greatest players France has played. When it comes to greatest holding midfielders for Les Bleus, I might have him planted at #1. My rankings -

1. Vieira - intimidating tackler and defender. Gets the #1 slot because he was also a goal scoring threat, see game versus Spain in the World Cup as well as the last group game against Togo. During his glory days there was non better a true "box to box" midfielder.
   
2. Deschamps - hard not to give him the #1 slot, but the "water carrier" as Cantona called him, was a hard tackler, controlled the midfield and was a solid captain. Look at how he completely outplayed Dunga in the 1998 world cup finals. He was the cornerstone for the great run Les Bleus enjoyed from 1998 - 2000.
3. Tigana - hero from my youth. I remember watching him play during the 1984 European Cup, it was his incredible work rate that allowed Platini and Giresse to free lance and add their touch in the midfield. His sheer will power won him the ball and set up the cross that allowed Platini to score the winner against Portugal in the 1984 semi finals.
4. Makelele - he did not achieve the lofty levels he did whilst at Real Madrid or Chelsea. Scary that he was left off some sides because of the incredible talent ahead of him - Deschamps, Karembeu, Petit...but was the tackling force for Les Bleus in the World Cup in Germany.
5. Petit - Petit was a forgotten man during France's run in the 1998 World Cup as well as the qualifying campaign for the 2000 European Cup. Manu was perfect shouldering Karembeu and Deschamps in the midfield for Les Bleus. With the amazing talent of Zidane, France was able to play with 3 holding midfielders, but made the system work was that both Petit and Karembeu had more offensive ability than traditional holding midfielders. The one added element for Petit was his threat to score goals and take free kicks.

I hope we see Pat one more time in Blue with the #4 emblazon on his back. I realize seeing him play on the South African pitches might be a long shot, and actually highly unlikely. We may have seen one of France's greatest players step down from the big stage, but what a run he had for Les Bleus.

Si tu quite, merci Pat!