By K’Onyango Dennis
……Now, I have heard arguments to the effect that Eboue left Arsenal to play for Galatasaray and that waives any moral obligation they may have to intervene in his case.
That may sound true at face value, but only before you interrogate that assertion against the reality of transfer business and how legendary status are conferred upon players.
Examples abound to illustrate this point.
David Beckham bent it for many years at United but departed at some point to ply his trade for Madrid before retiring at MLS. They still say, he is a United legend, not a Real Madrid legend.
Zidane Zidane aka Zizou also played for Juve and earlier for some French side. Today, Zizou is only synonymous with Madrid.
The mighty Didier Drogba played for French sides before revolutionizing goal scoring in the EPL for Chelsea. He later departed for the MLS. Didi is only known as a Chelsea legend.
Lampard played for Chelsea and won the UCL, something some clubs only hear about. He departed Chelsea to play for City when his contract at Chelsea ended. Lamps is a Chelsea legend, not a City legend.
And so Patrick Vieira is an Arsenal legend and not a Milan or City legend. Ronaldinho Gaucho, one of my all time favourite players is SADLY a Barcelona legend and not a Milan or PSG legend. CR7 may be claimed by United but clearly, he seems destined to retire as a Madrid legend. And so on and so forth.
When you become a club legend, you also become their brand ambassador and that comes with some moral obligation.
It would be ridiculous for Chelsea to say that the Chinese club that Didi turned out for should take responsibility for any liability or claim credit associated with Didi. That goes to Chelsea, the London and European aristocrats.
Arsenal almost nearly won the 2006 UCL. Had they won it, all that credit would have gone to Ivorian Emmanuel Eboue. He picked a pass on the right flank, ran hard and placed a perfectly weighted pass for Sol Campbell to nod in. But Eto’o and I think Dinho spoilt the party for them. His effort was however enough to make him a cult hero at the Emirates.
So Eboue can only be an Arsenal legend. It is ridiculous for Arsenal to suggest that it is Galatasaray which should assume moral responsibility to bail him out of his troubles!
I hope the ever gracious Drogba will intervene to salvage his international team mate. Trust me, Didi will!
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