Off the Pitch 绿茵场外
Sulky Stars
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| Drogba makes his feelings known |
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba came in for criticism after a foul-mouthed rant during their game against Barcelona on Wednesday.
And United winger Cristiano Ronaldo made no friends for his petulant outburst after being substituted on Sunday against Manchester City.
Drogba's incident happened at the end of a tightly-contested Champions League semi-final.
He could not contain his emotion after a last-minute goal for Barcelona sent Chelsea out of this year's competition.
Drogba shouted at the referee, swore at TV cameras and called referee Tom Henning Ovrebo "a disgrace" following a series of decisions which went in Barcelona's favour.
But his tirade of four-letter words in front of TV cameras has led many to think that it was Drogba who was the disgrace.
"In the heat of the moment I let out my huge frustration and disappointment. For that, I apologise," Drogba said later.
If you do something in the heat of the moment, it means yo
u do it suddenly and without thinking rationally because you are influenced by your emotions in a highly-pressured situation.
Despite his behaviour, Drogba received the support of both his boss Gus Hiddink and captain John Terry.
I am fully behind Didier for the way he reacted," declared Terry. "The man wants to win. You can see the passion that he played with during the game and the passion afterwards."
When Terry says "I am behind Didier," it means he supports him and understands his behaviour. Drogba is still waiting to see whether he will be punished for his unprofessional conduct.
Meanwhile, Manchester United winger and current World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo threw a sulk after being substituted in Sunday's match against Manchester City.
The player hit a chair on his way to the dug out, and sat there shaking his head in disgust at his manager's decision.
When United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was questioned about his player's antics, he gave a diplomatic answer, saying: "The boy just wants to play".
Sir Alex may be being lenient with his star because of the huge contribution he has made to Manchester United's success in recent years.
Ferguson said it is precisely because Ronaldo is so valuable that he needed to allow the player to come off early and rest, because there are still important games ahead.
"I have to look at the big picture. He produced an incredible performance against Arsenal on Tuesday. He ran his socks off."
When he says "he ran his socks off", it means he made a huge effort during the game, running all over the pitch.
So, are these players just passionate professionals, or are they petulant prima donnas? What do you think?
Vocabulary词汇
dazzling 精彩的
making headlines 上了头条
foul-mouthed rant 大声地骂脏话
petulant outburst 发脾气
could not contain his emotion 控制不了自己的情绪
swore 骂脏话
tirade 措辞激烈的抨击
four-letter words 脏话
threw a sulk 生闷气
shaking his head 摇头
antics 丑态
diplomatic answer 圆滑的回答
lenient 宽容、手下留情
prima donnas 自负的人