Professional Or Not?

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The African cup of nations ended yesterday February 6, 2022, and as fate may have it, The Lions of Teranga lifted the trophy for the first time. It was a tough match as nothing could separate the two teams at the end of 90 minutes. There could have been an early decider in the early minutes of the first half when Senegal was awarded a penalty just four minutes into the match, but Sadio Mane was not able to convert the penalty.

Coming to the topic of the post, in the past, we have seen a situation where a player happens to reveal his fellow club teammate's penalty tactics to the goalkeeper of his country. We have seen it between Christiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos during the 3-3 encounter between Portugal and Spain in the 2018 world cup. Fortunately for Christiano Ronaldo, De Gea dived in the wrong direction. Know this, it is not wrong for players to help their goalkeeper during penalty kicks by directing them in the right direction, but when it comes from a player in the same club with the kick taker, the interpretation is usually different.

Mohammed Salah was spotted talking to Gabaski, Egypt goalkeeper before Sadio Mane's fourth-minute penalty. Gabaski dived in the right direction and saved the penalty. In as much as one cannot tell with certainty what transpired between them, there couldn't be any other conversation than on how best he can save the penalty.

Now, we won't be talking about M. Salah's action, but on a general note, the rationale behind revealing a club teammate's tactics during national encounters. There is no place like home and as such, it is right to help your national team in any way possible. Indeed, this is a very difficult topic because we may see it as part of being patriotic to one's country but the aftermath can be disastrous.

Before you answer this question, consider the following points;

What if the two players once played in the same club in the past and are facing each other in the national competition, should one of the players hide any information that can help stop the other player who happens to be a threat to the team on the ground of being professional?

Could there be a better time to do so which should not be on the pitch?

When such a hint helps the other player's team to win and the two players are still in the same Club, wouldn't it cause internal issues between the two players?

Let's hear your take, down the comment box on whether is good or not to reveal a club teammate's tactics during national encounters.