How Do You Say "Boo Hoo" in German?

Sorry Germany, you won't be seeing this facial hair/jersey combo again any time soon.

As if the Cole saga and the Kris Boyd moaning weren't enough, it appears that Poor/Afflicted Footballer Syndrome has reached the mainland, and in particular, the German national team.

Kevin Kuranyi, the prolific 26-year-old Bundesliga striker (84 goals in 202 games is decent, right?), was a little disgruntled about being omitted from the 18-man squad for the World Cup qualifier against Russia over the weekend, so much so that he upped and left at half-time.

The end result? Manager Joachim Low doesn't want him back as long as he's in charge.



Here's hoping young Kevin feels good about his decision in the long-term. He didn't get picked for one game, and now he's out of the running for any future Germany games? Sure, it's predicated upon Low being in charge, but do you think any future coach is going to feel enamored to pick this malcontent?

Reports suggested that Kuranyi was about to retire from international duty shortly, but it's the classic "You can't quit... you're fired!" routine as Low beat him to the punch:

"As a coach, you have got to make decisions like this and you expect that some are hurt or disappointed, but that is my job and the players have got to accept it. It would have been advisable for him to come and talk to me or one of my colleagues. But none of us knew what had happened - we just sat on the bus and waited for him. I am disappointed with the way he acted. I can understand his disappointment, but he should not overreact - that is not right."

Kuranyi's having a tough season, but it doesn't excuse such petulant behavior. Germany are having a difficult time finding strikers who can score goals (something I thought England were struggling with, although not recently!), but he would have had another turn sooner or later. Klose couldn't score a goal if the posts were a mile apart, so it was merely a matter of time until the Wheel of Fortune landed on him again.

And yet, it wasn't enough for ol' Kevin, and now he's going to have plenty of spare time not helping his country to win their first significant tournament since 1996.

So, another sob story invades the news landscape. Who's next: Karim Benzema? Someone Portuguese? Antonio Cassano pulling a gun on Marcelo Lippi?