Gombau to curb his enthusiasm

Adelaide fans love Josep Gombau; he’s an infectious character who looks like something out of a comic strip with the added crazy moves and mad dashes down the flank.

One of these days someone’s going to accidentally play him through. Oh Josep, it could only happen to you.

But on New Year’s Eve, the football community was subject to a most unsightly scene when the impassioned Mr Gombau went for one of his usual right-wing sprints. Only this time it wasn’t passion, it was rage, and he wasn’t celebrating a goal but charging at Wellington Phoenix skipper Manny Muscat and his boss Ernie Merrick.

Just moments earlier, the 10,000-odd fans at the game had witnessed what appeared to be Muscat pushing striker Pablo Sanchez into the portable seats that make up the bench at Coopers Stadium. As the arms and legs of Sanchez and the substitutes went flaying about, along came Gombau, finger in the air and fury in his eyes, hurling a few choice words at the tourists.

Josep, don’t do that again.

No matter what happens on the pitch, no one has the right to encroach on the technical area of the opposition. It’s the area that crucial in-game decisions are made and where players begin their warm-ups. In this case, it was Ernie Merrick’s area and Gombau was a fool to break that bond. He might as well have burst into the change rooms as the ‘Nix hit the showers and dispatched his verbal onslaught.

Also, it’s rubbish to see a fourth official pushing a coach away. That’s what the people saw on New Year’s Eve at Coopers Stadium, though, as the incident briefly boiled over.

What Gombau did shows no respect for the game, for the opposition coach and for the officials.

It also shows no respect for his senior player in Sanchez, who is surely able to conduct himself in an appropriate manner on the football pitch. Having your coach sprint down the flank screaming “He tripped my boy! I want vengeance!” in his best Marge Simpson voice only encourages ill-discipline in his side. It tells the players it’s okay to do what you like if you don’t like what’s happening on the football pitch, and as a coach that’s not okay.

When Kevin Muscat and John Kosmina came to blows all those years ago, it made our entire league look barbaric. Whilst Gombau-gate wasn’t anywhere near that incident on the moron-scale, it still wasn’t great and it’s something he has to curb.

Josep Gombau, you’re a cracking addition to our league. The fans and the media love you, and the cameras are always fixed on you. You’re also a very good coach, and you've turned your club around quite dramatically. But Mr Gombau, you’re not above the game. Don’t act like you are again.