Before the behaviour of Carlos Tevez disappears down a great hole, we might just banish the stench of it all through another South American footballer who, although not always a paragon of perfection, reminds us of what drew us to the game in the first place.
Things like passion and
brilliance and a ferocious love of the action.
Last weekend Luis Suarez was removed from the field by his Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish shortly after scoring a goal of wonderful touch and acumen. His reaction was to scowl and kick a water bottle. Dalglish's irritation was surely put into a different perspective by Tevez's rebellion in Munich.
Suarez, who cost Liverpool roughly half the price Manchester City paid for Tevez, has been a sensational signing. He wears the number seven shirt once filled by Dalglish, Kevin Keegan and Peter Beardsley with great pride not, you have to believe, for its iconic Anfield number but because it is the badge of his professional employment. The 24-year-old Uruguayan is the embodiment of the image of a footballer Graeme Souness reached out for in his rage over the refusal of £200,000-plus-a-week Tevez to perform his duty.
As Souness pointed out, professional footballers almost invariably are created by their love of the game. That was the betrayal by Tevez which Souness found unforgivable.
