The Valverde Tackle: Had to be done or blatant cheating?
In this short blog I will be discussing whether I believe the Valverde tackle in the Spanish Super Cup final had to be done or if it’s blatant cheating and worthy of more than just a three match ban. Since the game between fierce rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, many people have been debating about whether it’s a tackle that is apart of the game and in that circumstance it was the right action to take or if professional fouls like that should be punished with more than a ban. I will be looking at both side of this argument while linking it to my team Arsenal and deciding who I believe would take one for the team like that and more importantly who would actually be quick enough to catch Morata in that situation.
It’s the 115th minute, Real Madrid are pushing for a winner late on in extra time of the Spanish Super Cup final, Atlético win the ball back and break through the middle with Morata, he’s clean through on goal but one of your players is quick enough to catch up and take him down, what would you want them to do? This was the circumstances in which Valverde found himself in and decided to tackle Morata from behind just outside the penalty area to stop him from scoring. He received a straight red card which will mean he’ll miss the next three games, but Real Madrid ended up winning so is it a big enough price to pay?
Personally, I can 100% see why Valverde made that decision and I fully stand by the fact that it had to be done. If this was for my team and Bellerin had the option to do the same I would want him to bring Morata down. My reasoning for this is, considering it’s the 115th minute if the opposition score at this stage, the game is most likely over and you lose out on a trophy. Also, as it’s so late on playing with 10 men for another 5 minutes in order to take it to penalties isn’t very big risk as your team can sit behind the ball and defend until it’s over. Not only this, but missing three games to win a trophy for your club is a small price to pay, therefore I would want players for my club to do the same. At Arsenal, I would like to think that players such as Torreira, Xhaka, Guendouzi, Sokratis and David Luiz would all do the same, as long as they are quick enough to catch the player running through on goal. If the situation was exactly the same as Valverde’s then the players capable of replicating it would be Bellerin, Maitland-Niles and maybe Tierney. In my opinion, this shows a certain mentality, you aren’t going to score against us and you definitely aren’t going to beat us, therefore I would actually be pleased to see this happen if it was Arsenal.
On the other hand, I can see where people are coming from when they say it’s blatant cheating and that it deserves a bigger suspension. It’s a textbook professional foul, which technically isn’t cheating, however basically won Real Madrid the game. Of course Atletico fans will feel hard done by and believe Valverde should miss more than just three games, but in the rules it doesn’t state that professional fouls are worthy of more. Even Simone said in his press conference after the game “I think the award for the best player makes sense because Valverde won the game with that action” when asked about the incident. This shows that even the opposition manger can understand why he had to do it. Overall, considering the circumstances of the game, everybody can appreciate and see why Valverde made the tackle. If the tables were turned for your own team I think everyone would want their player to do the same, but let me know if you disagree on the poll below!
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James Humphreys
Gunners Daily 