The Quiet Ones

In the frequently heart-stopping unpredictability of top-class sport, some things are still certain: a When France wins a soccer match against odds, Mrs Zinedine Zidane8217;s photograph will never be on page one. b When India bucks history to win an away cricket tournament, an un-shirted Rahul Dravid8217;s photograph will not be on page one either. These certainties say something about the value of the self-effacing sportsperson that doesn8217;t require the belittling of the likes of David Beckham and Sourav Ganguly.

Beckham8217;s spouse and Ganguly8217;s torso may have emerged as the symbols of their celebrity and/or notoriety; in different countries, different cultures and different sporting disciplines, they may have exhibited a similar penchant for courting controversies, but in their prime they were fine players and inspirational captains. But, and this is the question any serious follower of sport must ask as Zidane-led France becomes World Cup favourites and Dravid-led India heads home after breaking a 30-year winless record in the Caribbean, do those who have excelled for a long time on playing fields do so in part because, after the game, they prefer to go home quietly? Moralising about sportspersons8217; character traits and private lives is not the point here at all. In fact sport would lose some of its flavour weren8217;t it for the 8216;bad boys8217;. But notice how the good boys, the quiet ones, last the course longer, how they can draw on reserves of talent and determination even after a decade in top-flight competitions. Notice, too, how the flamboyant boys sometimes lose the plot but refuse to admit the fact 8212; Beckham8217;s free kicks-only contribution to England and Ganguly8217;s poor-to-average batting for India were for a long time not supposed to be discussed.

The quiet ones don8217;t really have this luxury. The likes of Zidane and Dravid only have their talent as their passport to the public8217;s love and attention. Perhaps, that is why they appear more dependable. Beckham and Ganguly have both said they want to play for their country again. They could do worse than reflect 8212; quietly 8212; on what makes Zidane and Dravid tick.