“Discipline is wisdom and vice versa.” American psychiatrist and best-selling author, Morgan Scott Peck, came up with the aforementioned quote about how important the aspect of discipline is in everyday life.
Having discipline can lead to being a success in all walks of life, whether it be being able to achieve what you set out to do, or whether it helps you to maintain a positive outlook and attitude into ensuring things can be as good as they can be.
Discipline is hugely prevalent when it comes down to making decisions, as well. For example, picking the best gambling site when facing a flutter on the sports can be hugely important – something CS:GOBook are experts in!
In football, though, self-discipline can be a hugely vital aspect of ensuring that your team is as successful as they can be in each game that they play. However, sometimes it appears some players have momentary lapses of judgement and appear to let it all go out the window, making things that bit harder than they might have to have necessarily been.
Here, we detail five moments where a player suffers from a loss of discipline and up there team-mates in danger…
1/ Christian Karembeu
Christian Karembeu was arguably one of France’s best players during the early stages of the European Championships of 1996, however he picked up a needless yellow card in the quarter-final victory against the Netherlands, subsequently missing their semi-final tie against Czech Republic, in which they would go on to lose after another round of penalties.
The midfielder stood in front of the ball when the Netherlands were tying to get the game back underway quickly in the early stages of the second half and was shown a rather stupid caution by the Spanish referee.
2/ Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben might be famed for his desire to always cut in on to his left foot and strike the ball, but he was highly effective when given the opportunity to do so! In 2006, whilst during his days at Chelsea, the former winger managed to finally break down Sunderland’s resistance and put Jose Mourinho’s side on the road to victory.
However, the Dutch ace found himself on the road to suspension as he earned a second yellow card for his celebration. Running into the crowd with the relief and elation etched across his face, it soon turned to disappointment as Chris Foy brandished the letter of the law and threw the book at him – regardless of our opinion on the rule…
3/ Dean Windass
The Premier League has seen many moments of entertainment, but it has also seen some moments of discipline escape a footballers mind in some rather bizarre fashion. Dean Windass, you can add your name to this list, my friend.
Although he might not have got on to the pitch for Hull City a lot, he still had a memorable moment with the club in the top-flight and it was not being in the on-pitch, half-time team talk that Phil Brown decided to have…
Windass was not even on the pitch when he was brandished a yellow card from the referee. In a rather humorous manner, the striker decided to be rather exuberant with his warm-up routine when Stoke City’s Rory Delap was preparing one of his famous long-throw routines. Thanks for the laughs, Deano!
4/ David Beckham
Lack of discipline and David Beckham in the same sentence? You’d be right to assume it was the famous kick out on Diego Simeone in the 1998 World Cup but this was another moment that came later in his career that shows Becks may not have grown up after the incident.
During his playing days at Real Madrid, the iconic footballer was shown a yellow card for dissent to the referee during their match with fierce rivals Valencia. Not, perhaps, doing the right thing and just accepting it, Goldenballs decided to mock the decision by sarcastically clapping the referee and subsequently ended up with a one-way ticket to the dressing room. On appeal, he was not suspended for any fixtures, though.
To make matters worse, Real Madrid would go on to lose 2-1 at home… Perhaps sarcasm is not that very funny in Spain?
5/ Zinedine Zidane
The most famous moments of ill-discipline on a football pitch? Has to be Zinedine Zidane’s infamous headbutt in the 2006 World Cup final against Italy. The game, which happened to be his very last in professional football, started off exceptionally well for the French superstar as he put them ahead from the penalty spot but then a moment of madness meant his final appearance would end prematurely and tarnished.
Maybe Zizou just wanted to go out with a bang and leave a different lasting legacy instead of the one that we would have all likely remembered him by? One thing, though, we are pretty sure about is that he would not want to see any of his Real Madrid players replicate that highlight reel.
