West Ham may have been spared an unceremonious early exit from the FA Cup at the hands of lower league opposition, unlike several Premier League rivals, but they only did so courtesy of Diafra Sakho.
That win and Sakho’s presence in particular has opened up the ongoing and seemingly endless debate that is club vs country. Having learned of Sakho’s role in West Ham’s victory Senegal coach, Alain Giresse, has accused the hammers of having “set a dangerous precedent”.
Sakho withdrew from the Senegal Africa Cup of Nations squad citing a back injury as his reason. Senegal wanted him to join the squad regardless so that they could ascertain the severity of his injury in the hope he could still be of use in a latter stage of the tournament.
Senegal could have claimed top spot in group C with a victory over Algeria. A victory Senegal would have been more confident of securing had they a fully fit first choice squad to choose from.
Algeria had different ideas and recorded a 2-0 victory. It leaves the Lions of Teranga to rue what could have been and likely exacerbates their frustration with West Ham and Sakho.
Whilst it may be true that Sakho’s back prevented him from flying, his appearance and goal at the weekend demonstrates he could have aided his national team. Maybe the flight would have set him back, but the striker could have been rehabilitated and, had Senegal qualified, utilised post the group stage.
Sakho has stated he is both “saddened” and “angered” by criticism and his parent club maintain that despite his outing against Bristol City, he remains unable to fly.
Rightly or wrongly, Sakho is not the first man to opt for club over country.
Jack Wilshere chose not to make himself available for the 2012 Olympic Great Britain team, Jeffrey Schlupp has not joined up with the Ghanaian team at this years African Cup of Nations, and Rio Ferdinand’s withdrawal from England duty at World Cup qualifying games in 2013 are just a handful of recent examples.
So what is the correct path for footballers to take? Should club or country come first? Or, through the third door, should we just accept footballers, like many people, are selfish and will make a choice based on what is best for them at a given moment?
A major contributing factor has to be the commercial gains and greater importance placed on club competitions. A player at a club which is competing for domestic silverware and certainly for trophies like the champions league can be sympathised with for wanting to stay fit for those competitions.
A chance at a medal in the best club competition in the world or a cap from a random friendly your nation would likely win without you? In this case the answer is obvious, but for the likes of Schlupp and Sakho, surely the African Cup of Nations poses a genuine chance at earning a respectable medal.
At the very least a medal they could realistically achieve is available. Their nations are highly unlikely to win a world cup, their clubs won’t win the Premier League, and domestic cups remain a lottery.
Only Sakho and West Ham’s physio’s will know the truth of his injury, but if there were any chance of him aiding his nations bid for glory then it would be unforgivable to have deceived them.
Perhaps I am an idealist but I hope professionals still hold a competitive spirit that drives them to achieve as much as they can in every competition available to them.
It should be considered an honour to represent your nation, to bring glory home for thousands, but the same goes for representing a club side that also has thousands supporting and funding efforts.
Ultimately only players can decide how to prioritise club and country. It is not for fans or coaches to impose our conceptions on players. The fact that there is no consenus on this debate yet suggests that reasoning will never be totally clear. What I can say in total confidence is that any player who forfeits the honour of representing club or country, when they could have played, ought not be surprised if overlooked by either in the future.
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