Dear Pavel Nedved
Living in Canada, I haven’t been able to watch you perform in many matches for Juve, the coverage of Italian football on North American television being what it is. However, I have been able to see you play for your country at a variety of international competitions, and you have always struck me as a player of some integrity. I always saw you as a character player with the ability to lead a team through dark times, like facing elimination in a Champions League match.
However, yesterday, that illusion was shattered. Your performance bordered on childish and infantile, waving your arms whenever the ball did not come your way, looking increasingly frustrated by the inability to shake off a young Arsenal defence that was all over you like white on rice. However, it was your vicious tackle in the second half on Emmanuel Eboue that really sealed the deal for me. It was a tackle that went beyond reckless – it was dangerous, malicious and utterly uncalled for.
Perhaps yesterday’s performance against Arsenal is the norm for Nedved – hotheaded and childish. Maybe you have risen to the elite ranks of Eurpoean football by playing this brand of football and yesterday I just saw what many have known for a long time. But I hope my judge of character is better than that. And I hope that a player of your abilities (and age) would be able to channel their frustration and use it to inspire their team by delivering some truly creative football. You are, after all, Pavel Nedved and I have seen you do amazing things. I hope to see more of that Pavel in the future.
