A Tale of Two Players

Soccer has always been my favorite sport.  I follow the English Premier League, as well as international teams.

The past few weeks have been full of drama in England, notably around 2 players who briefly played for the same club: Emmanuel Adebayor (formerly of Arsenal and now of Manchester City), and Richard Dunne (former Manchester City captain and now of Aston Villa).

In any sport, it is always a story when a player comes up against his former club.  Both Adebayor and Dunne experienced this within the last month.  In the Manchester City vs. Arsenal match, Adebayor, a forward, courted controversy by stomping on an Arsenal player, cutting his face.  Additionally, he scored a goal and ran the length of the field to celebrate in front of the Arsenal supporters, who had been vocal in their disappointment with him.  He received a suspension for his actions and resumed playing against Aston Villa this week.

In the game in which Adebayor returned, another subplot existed in that former Manchester City captain Richard Dunne was playing against his former team.  Ironically, Dunne, a defender, scored a headed goal from a corner kick in the first half.  But, in contrast to Adebayor, Dunne did not so much as raise a hand in celebration, even though Aston Villa were playing at home.  Instead, he simply trotted back to his own end of the field and play resumed.

While I certainly would not judge any player, or any person, on the merits of one action or one match, it is easy to see why Dunne is a former captain, and Adebayor, at least to this point in his career, has been branded a great talent with an attitude problem.

The leadership lesson here is simple: act like a captain.  People are watching whether you intended for them to see or not.

~ by stoshdwalsh on October 7, 2009.