IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A BAD WINNER?
Last updated : 11 March 2004 By Editor
Benni McCarthy far from gracious in victory:
“Fair play and sportsmanship should still exist in football (!!!ed) but Manchester United didn't show us any respect at all and that is very sad. Everyone has their own opinion about certain things but you should keep them to yourself. “You
shouldn't go out in public the way they did, calling our players girls and talking about diving for free-kicks. They called us little girls — but we have shown them what little girls can do on a football field.
“They wouldn't even shake our hands in Porto and that is bad for football. Manchester United are the biggest side in the world and they should set the standards. Everyone looks up to them but if they don't respect the opposition how can they expect the opposition to respect them.
“What goes around comes around and in the end they got what they deserved. We are through to the next round and they are out. I hope that will be a lesson to them.
“Nobody gave us any credit for the fact we had beaten Manchester United in the first place and when we went a goal behind in the first half most people would have expected us to give in. But we didn't. We came back and proved we could compete against one of the best sides in Europe. We won the UEFA Cup last season and now we have shown it wasn't just luck.”
And on he goes…
“Selling Beckham made no sense at all. It left a big hole in their side. Nobody is intimidated by going to play at Old Trafford any more — they are simply not the same team without him.
“I was surprised they sold Beckham last summer. But letting him go to Real Madrid, one of their biggest rivals in Europe, was an even bigger shock.
“I rate him so highly. People said he would flop in Spain — but he has proved everyone in England wrong.”
