Split Loyalties - Part Four: Good news and bad news

A different kind of media interest

Upon hearing that he’d first been called into the England squad for the World Cup, Monty had imagined that turning up at the national team’s St George’s Park base for the first time would have been almost as nerve-wracking as making his Premier League debut for Westpool Athletic had been.

Although some of his club teammates were also in the squad, and he had played against most of the other selected players before, as the only uncapped member of the travelling party he was fully aware that he would be under pressure to prove himself to his more experienced, and largely better known, teammates. He was equally determined to demonstrate to his peers that he deserved to be in the squad every bit as much as they did.

Due to his grandparent’s bickering, Monty had actually felt more relieved than nervous upon parking his car outside the gleaming new home of English football. He was just glad to be getting away from his dysfunctional family – Nonno and Gramps in particular– for a few weeks. 

That the England manager, Ray Williams, had gone out of his way to offer Monty his full support had also helped calm any lingering nerves the defender had been feeling ahead of meeting up with the rest of the squad. Williams had contacted Monty shortly after reading about the behaviour of the young defender’s two grandfathers in the weekend newspapers. The manager had promised to do all he could to protect the squad newcomer from any further media intrusion once the players were together.

As the first week of pre-World Cup preparations had progressed, Williams had stayed true to his word. Despite continued press interest in Monty’s family affairs, the England management did everything within its power to shield their player from the journalists tasked with shadowing the squad.

Another much appreciated source of support for Monty during the squad’s first week together came from his Westpool teammate, Jacob Anderson. For many years, Anderson had been regarded as one of the world’s best players. Everyone from English fans and television pundits to the team’s own management and players agreed that if England were going to perform well at the World Cup, and have even the slimmest chance of winning it, then Jacob would almost certainly need to be at his very best.

Therefore, when the star striker stood up just prior to the squad’s first debriefing on their opening day at St George’s Park, and ordered all of the other players to not at any point mention anything to do with Monty’s family, his words were heeded. No one wanted to risk upsetting the man who carried the team’s best hopes of World Cup glory squarely on his shoulders.

That Jacob should have stuck up him for him in such a manner would have been unthinkable to Monty as little as six months earlier. When Monty had first started to establish himself as a first team regular for Westpool at the start of the season, he, and in truth most of the other Westpool players, viewed Jacob with a fair amount of disdain. He was considered arrogant, obnoxious and someone who placed his own needs far above anyone else’s. All he seemed to care about was money and fast cars. Monty had at one point been unsure as to whether his supremely talented teammate even liked football. But since Christmas, Jacob had become a different person altogether. He was now a kind-hearted soul, who enjoyed nothing more than joking about with the teammates he once shunned.

His support that week was certainly received with much gratitude by Monty.

By the time England played the first of their three scheduled warm-up matches ahead of the World Cup, Monty had largely succeeded in pushing the issues caused by his warring relatives out of his mind. A text message he’d received from Hugh on the morning of the first friendly, informing him that his older brother had had a change of heart and that he wouldn’t be feigning injury to avoid the opening match of the World Cup, had only served to further enhance his spirits.

As he’d fully expected, Monty was only named among the substitutes for England’s opening friendly match. Williams named what most pundits considered to be close to a full-strength side. It was to be the last game played by the team on English soil before flying off to the United States of America for a further two games ahead of arriving in Brazil for the World Cup itself.

Although the game was a fairly dour affair, and would have been all but forgotten about by the time most of the 80,000 spectators arrived home from the stadium, it was a match that would be long remembered by Monty.

With little more than ten minutes of the game remaining, Ray Williams decided to hand the young defender his international debut, bringing him on in place of the team’s ageing captain, Marcus Taylor. Those ten minutes whizzed by and, as the final whistle sounded, Monty couldn’t honestly have told you whether or not he’d actually managed to have a meaningful touch of the ball; but then, he didn’t really care. Winning his first England cap at the country’s national stadium had left him feeling totally exhilarated – even if he knew that his appearance was little more than a token gesture.

It was in the second friendly, though, that Monty really got an opportunity to shine. To the surprise of many experts within the game, Williams decided to play a completely different starting 11 for the team’s first match in the United States, handing many of the squad members who most people considered to be little more than fringe players a start. Including Monty.

After overcoming a nervous opening 15-minutes of the match, during which time he gave a handful of needless fouls away and wasted possession of the ball on a couple of occasions, Monty quickly grew in confidence. By the end of the match, he’d improved dramatically; winning every header, triumphant in every tackle and cool and composed on the ball.

Although, once again, England hadn’t played as well as had been expected – or, more accurately, hoped – Monty walked off the pitch delighted with his own individual performance. He was warmly congratulated by everyone once back inside the changing room; and was even named the England official team sponsor’s man of the match.

Yet it wasn’t until the following day that Monty became aware of just how well he’d played.

Ever since his and Hugh’s faces had been splashed across the front pages of most newspapers following his grandparents’ rivalry becoming public knowledge, Monty had made a conscious decision to try and avoid any news coverage. He wanted his focus to be 100 per cent on football ahead of the World Cup.

Yet, after having played so well in that second friendly match, whilst sitting alone in his hotel room the following day, Monty couldn’t stop himself from logging on to his laptop to see what the English press had made of his performance.

To his immense surprise, he found find hardly any mention of his grandparents’ shenanigans or his supposed rivalry with his brother. Instead, every single news site seemed to be urging Ray Williams to call Monty into the starting 11 for the match against Italy. Several journalists referred to Monty as being the ‘complete defender’ whilst one even went so far as to say that he had the ‘potential to become the world’s best defender in Brazil’.

Monty smiled to himself as the words Hugh had spoken to him a couple of weeks earlier came flooding back: “Once we’re away from here and the World Cup warm-up matches begin the media will stop focussing on us and concentrate on the football instead.”

Monty hadn’t for one second believed that his brother’s words would come true, but as he continued to click on more and more websites, it became increasingly apparent that stories regarding the Capulet family rivalry were being replaced by calls to include Monty in the starting 11.

The young defender slumped satisfyingly back into his chair. Even though he was still convinced that he would be a sub for England’s opening match against Italy, he couldn’t help but stop himself from daydreaming about how great it would be to play in that match. Even if it would mean playing against Hugh.

Just then someone began urgently knocking on the door of Monty’s hotel room. Without being invited in, an out of breath Jacob Anderson flung the door open. “Monts, the gaffer wants to speak to you right now,” said Jacob, breathlessly. “You’re never going to believe what’s happened to Marcus Taylor.”

 

Careful what you wish for   

As Hugh tilted his face skywards, allowing the full force of Brazil’s scorching hot sun to beat down on it, he found it almost impossible to believe that only a couple of weeks earlier he’d been seriously considering feigning an injury in order to miss Italy’s opening match of the World Cup.

The unwanted welcome he’d received from the media immediately upon his arrival in Italy, followed by the grilling he’d then faced from Luigi Rossi, had undoubtedly left Hugh feeling as low as he’d ever felt before. However, as the days had rolled by, and the start of the World Cup had drawn ever closer, the media interest in Hugh quickly began to die down. While he still faced the occasional question about what it would be like to possibly play against his brother in Brazil, the stories surrounding his grandparent’s rivalry had all-but fade away.

The elder Capulet brother’s doubts regarding whether or not he really wanted to play against England had lasted for a few days. By the evening before Italy’s first World Cup warm-up friendly – the first of two matches due to be held in his adopted home country before the squad flew to South America for two further preparatory games – the skilful midfielder had still been unsure over what course of action to take. By the time that opening warm-up match had kicked off, however, his mind had been made up. Within seconds of setting foot on the pitch that evening, and hearing the frenzied Italian crowd roaring their support for the players, any doubts swiftly evaporated.

Hugh simply lived to play football. Once on the pitch, as had always been the case, all other thoughts left his mind and he soon found himself concentrating only on the match in-hand. While he was playing, nothing else that was going on in his life mattered. His focus was only on what he could do to help his team be as successful as possible.

Sitting in the changing room during the half-time break of that friendly game, Hugh knew there was absolutely no way that he could deprive himself of appearing in a World Cup match. No matter what the implications. He decided there and then, that he would text Monty the following day and inform his brother that wild horses wouldn’t be able to stop him from playing against England.

With his mind free from uncertainty, Hugh excelled in all four of Italy’s pre-tournament friendlies, scoring five goals and providing a further three assists for his teammates. He was in the best form of his life.

It was now the eve of the England-Italy match, and as Hugh and his Italian teammates enjoyed one last light training session in the heat of the Brazilian sun ahead of their opening match of the tournament, the elder Capulet was simply chomping at the bit for the England game to kick off.

Even the news that Monty was almost certainly going to be staring for England, despite his younger brother’s initial protestations that there was absolutely no chance of that happening, had not dampened Hugh’s spirits. In fact, he was delighted that he would be more than likely facing his sibling in the match. It would make the occasion even more special.

There was little doubt in Hugh’s mind that his brother fully deserved his place in England’s starting 11. Monty’s outstanding performance in his first start for his country had left the English media clamouring for the younger Capulet brother’s inclusion in the team. Then, when Marcus Taylor suffered a freak injury after slipping in his hotel room’s shower and injuring his already dodgy knee, the press campaign for Monty to start against Italy had intensified further.

The young defender had been selected for England’s third and final warm-up match, replacing Taylor who Ray Williams had admitted would have started if he’d been fit. Once again, Monty had performed superbly and, with Taylor still ruled out through injury, it appeared nailed on that he would be selected for England’s match against Italy.

As Hugh controlled a pass from one of his teammates and laid it off to another, he pictured in his mind the photo that he’d received via email from his Mum the night before. In it, his parents and both sets of Grandparents were all standing together; Nonno was wearing a replica England shirt and Gramps an Italy one. In the accompanying message, his Mum had explained that the picture was proof that the boys’ grandfathers had managed to put their differences behind them and were intent on supporting both brothers in the match ahead.

In truth, one only needed to take the quickest of glances at the photo to see immediately that both Gramps and Nonno were far from happy at being forced by his Mum (Hugh guessed, correctly as it turned out) into wearing the other’s national shirt. It was equally obvious, given the distance that the two old men were standing apart from each other, and the way they were staring steadfastly into the camera so as not to make eye contact with one another, that there was still more than an undercurrent of bad feeling between the pair of them.

Yet, as he recalled the image, Hugh couldn’t help but smile. At least they were trying to give him and Monty the illusion of getting along. He appreciated the effort.

Hugh was still daydreaming about the photo when one of his teammates passed another ball to him. He was so lost in thought, that he didn’t notice the ball heading in his direction, or even hear the call from his teammate alerting him to the pass, until it had sailed harmlessly past him.

“Hugh, wake up,” admonished the watching Luigi Rossi. “Lapses in concentration are the difference between being a winner and a loser. Always train like you mean to play.”

“Sorry boss,” shouted Hugh. “Full concentration from now on, I promise.”

Hugh turned to sprint after the ball that had just drifted past him. However, he’d gone just ten yards, when he heard something ping. Suddenly a shooting pain shot down the back of his right leg and within seconds he’d pulled up lame and collapsed to the floor.

The howl Hugh let out as he crumpled to the floor, one hand clutching his right leg; the other covering his face, was loud enough to stop the entire training session. All eyes turned to look at the fallen player. There was a moment of complete silence. Time seemed to stop dead as nobody moved. Then, as if someone had suddenly pressed a play button to restart proceedings, every single Italian player and coach dashed in the direction of their star player.

Hugh continued to scream at an ear-shatteringly loud volume.

Not only was he in more pain than he could ever remember having been in, he was also fully aware that his World Cup dream was over before it had even begun.

The final part of Split Loyalties is released tomorrow (11th June)