A Tale of Two Soccer Teams

Spain's defeat of Germany has put the World Cup back into old familiar territory, with either a European or a Latin American team in contention for the coveted cup. For a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of World Cup Soccer, however, one has only to review the performance of two teams - Ghana and France.

France, the 1998 World Cup champions, fell to South Africa 2-1 in the first round, and was eliminated in a 2-0 defeat by Mexico. The French team literally self destructed, with a open player revolt against the coach. France's dysfunctional team gave the competition some of its more memorable quotes, with one French player remarking to a journalist, "Sometimes in soccer, you have to score goals." Duh! The team arrived in Johannesburg via Air France riding in the business class section, but returned home to Paris economy class.

The Black Stars of Ghana became the African continent's last hope of an African team being in contention by defeating the American team that, by the way, made history by making it to the final 16 - quashing once and for all one hopes, the myth that Americans can't play soccer. Ghana was the only African team to make it to the quarter finals, but lost 4-2 to Uruguay in a penalty shootout when Uruguayan player Luis Suarez stopped a Ghanaian goal with his hand. Suarez was sent off, but Ghana failed to make the penalty kick and lost 4-2. While the official call was in accord with World Cup soccer rules, it was generally felt that Ghana was robbed of a potential victory by this move.

Here is where the good of soccer comes in; France having given us a mega-dose of the bad and the ugly; the Black Stars were given a heroes sendoff by exultant South African fans, and a tumultuous welcome when they returned to Accra. Each of the players will also receive a payment of $20,000 for their performance in South Africa.

The contrast is striking. The French team, sent off with much fanfare, was eliminated and it caused no small amount of angst and finger pointing in la Belle France, with the possibility of the French parliament conducting hearings. Ghana, on the other hand, also lost, but played in a truly sportsmanlike manner, taking their loss gracefully, and being treated as the good sports they were when they arrived back home.

There's a lesson here; one that I hope soccer fans will take on board. It's really not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.