The Meaning Of Loyalty

"Loyalty is dead. Today, footballers play only for money."

Typical words from fans and pundits alike these days, and in regards to a lot of players, it is true.

Loyalty is dead, but I'm afraid to say that it is we the fans who killed it.

These days everyone complains that footballers don't know the meaning of loyalty- that they never stay true to their colors.

Few are the examples of players who have spent their entire careers at a single club. One does spring to mind however, and that would be Paolo Maldini.

He spent 25 glorious years in the Milan jersey, winning 27 trophies. That man gave it his all; he lived for the club and he bled for the club.

Paolo is everything a fan could ever wish for, a player truly loyal to his club. The whole notion of a transfer was unheard of to him.

A consummate professional on and off the field and quite possibly the greatest captain of a club ever (well, that's what I think at least).

Sadly, at the end of last season, as he was making his retirement lap around the San Siro to wave goodbye to all the fans and to thank them for the 25 years of joy he had at Milan, the unbelievable occurred.

A portion of the fans, namely the Curva Sud, held up a poster that said, "There is only one captain," alluding to Franco Baresi, and booed the beloved Paolo Maldini.

Complete and utter disrespect for the man who gave so much for the Milan shirt. He was obviously hurt by that, and I for one cannot believe what happened.

And that's the whole point of this article. How can a player these days be loyal, when even after 25 years of esteemed service to a club, he gets booed by his own fans on his last day.

We the fans killed loyalty, and not only did we kill it, we buried it so damn deep no one will ever be able to dig it back up.

These days as soon as a player has one bad performance, we the fans are quick to show them what we think of it.

Clarence Seedorf is a perfect example. Yes, last season the man truly did cost Milan some games. He did have some terrible performances.

But that is no excuse for the Milan fans to be jeering one of their own, especially Seedorf.

It wasn't too long ago that he was widely considered to be one of the best if not the best midfielders. He also gave Milan so much. He contributed heavily to the '03 and '07 Champions League victories and everything in between.

But I guess the fans must have short-term memory loss, because these days he is all too often booed at the San Siro.

I understand the frustration with his poor performances, but I still cannot fathom jeering a man who gave all of us Milan fans so much joy in the past.

This also happens when a player leaves a certain club. One great example-Dimitar Berbatov. 

Before he left for Manchester United from Tottenham Hotspur, he was a fan favorite at White Hart Lane. He played to his utmost for Spurs, bringing them their first cup, the Carling Cup, for over two decades.

In the 07/08 season, Spurs had the 5th worst defensive record in the league.

The only reason they ended up 11th in the league was due to the large number of goals they scored, thanks to Dimitar Berbatov. One can then understand why he left in the summer.

No matter how hard he tried and how well he played, the rest of the team wasn't up to his standard and there's was no way that he'd achieve his personal goals. Berbatov's leaving is then understandable.

And as soon as he left, the Tottenham fans turned on him. Once their idol, now their arch enemy, they said they were happy he left them. They said they hoped he'd break his leg or suffer some other injury. Others wished that "he'd be happy sitting the bench at Manchester."

In short, one minute the fans are singing and praising your name, the next they're booing you.

You ask where a player's loyalties lie today, I ask where yours are.

You ask whether or not footballers today understand the meaning of loyalty, I ask, do you?

One cannot expect loyalty from someone when they themselves are not loyal.