Mesut Özil having a cigarette and a glass of wine on a yacht just outside Ibiza had the internet forums, Twitter and Facebook go mad a while ago(While the German media were surprisingly rather silent about the matter). ”A bad role model” and ”The reason for Özil’s bad stamina” were amongst the most uttered phrases.
To give some perspective to the matter: Smoking and playing professional football is not an entirely new combination. Johan Cruyff smoked two packs a day, Brazil captain Socrates one pack a day. Sure, the days of smoking during training sessions have come to an end, but even after Cruyff and Socrates there have been smoking football pros. Amongst them also a number of German professional. No Schalke fan would doubt that Yves Eigenrauch gave his all for the club, despite his habit of lighting up the place in the nastiest way possible(he rolled his cigarettes himself). Read the rest of this entry