Former England international Gary Lineker has condemned the “utterly depressing behaviour” of ambitious parents who rant and rave on the touchline trying to turn their children into soccer stars.
The 52-year-old presenter of the BBC’s flagship Match of the Day program said in an article in the New Statesman magazine that parents who behaved like this were wrecking their children’s confidence and stifling their development.
Lineker, who is England’s second-highest scorer with 48 goals and was never booked or sent off in his career, wrote: “The competitive nature of most mums and dads is astounding. The fear they instil in our promising but sensitive Johnny is utterly depressing.”
Lineker called for a “parental cultural revolution” and said that if parents let their children enjoy themselves, they would be “staggered at the difference it would make.”
“There is a breed of parent I have seen who hurl ridiculous abuse at officials or even the young player they are meant to be supporting. It’s as if they are living their own dreams through their kids,” he added.
Lineker said the way children played encouraged “big lads” to lump the ball forward and was one of the reasons for the malaise of the English game.
“It’s obvious why we have a long-ball culture: the big lads who kick it furthest are the ones who stand out. What chance for the diminutive yet gifted midfielder?” he said.
“No chance of him developing his tiki-taka football,” Lineker added, referring to the short-passes, possession-focused style of play.
Tracey Crouch, an English FA coach and a conservative member of parliament, backed Lineker’s comments.
“You can see players getting frustrated at the running commentary from their parents,” she said.
Another English lawmaker and qualified referee, Chris Heaton-Harris, said Lineker was “bang on,” adding: “some parents are like ultra-rude Alex Fergusons with none of the experience.”
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
RSS