Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra, John Terry and Anton Ferdinand, Samir
Nasri and William Gallas, Terry (again) and Wayne Bridge, and now Pep
Guardiola and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The snubbed handshake is fast becoming football’s equivalent of unfriending someone on Facebook.
But while previous examples have had their origins in personal
slights, it seems the latest entry to the list has its origins in good
old fashioned club rivalry.
Tensions between Real Madrid and Barcelona are well known. Styles,
cultures and attitudes both on and off the field are all wildly
different and with the competitive edge thrown in, it makes for a
fractious relationship.
One can only speculate on the reason behind Guardiola’s seemingly
deliberate decision to ignore Ronaldo, though with the recent history in
El Clasico gives a pretty large hint.
Red cards, close games, touchline clashes, title clinchers and cup
finals have all made the meeting of Spain’s top two the most enticing of
matches in world football.
But when former Barca boss Guardiola was approached by Madrid ace
Ronaldo, the Spaniard stared for a second before turning away, leaving
the Portuguese’s hand hanging in the air.
The look on Ronaldo’s face told a story of bemusement, while Pep went back to soaking up the atmosphere.
No comments:
Post a Comment