Every four years football coaches from all over the world are faced
with the same dilemma - should they let players have sex with their wives
and girlfriends during the World Cup.
Most coaches try to strike the happy medium. After a period of time
without women, and often after an important game, players are allowed to
see their partners.
German daily Bild also talks about the phenomenon of World Cup babies.
Talking of coach Juergen Klinsmann's decision to let players see their
partners after their victory over Poland, Bild said: "We will know the
result in 40 weeks". Oliver Khan's three-year-old son was born nine months
after the 2002 World Cup, the newspaper points out.
Sven-Goran Eriksson had decided not to let his players see their
partners until after the group stage, but he changed his mind following
their below-par performance against Paraguay
and let the players have a "ladies day" before their second group game.
Dutch players' wives and girlfriends are based 25-kilometres from their
team-base and Spanish players need to find a room away from their
headquarters if they want to see their partners because although coach
Luis Aragones allows players to see their wives and girlfriends they
cannot do so in the team hotel.
Advocates of the "total abstinence" philosophy include Costa Rican boss
Alexandre Guimaraes and Ecuador's Luis Fernando Suarez - the theory seems
to have worked for the latter rather better than it has for the former.
The Brazilians are at the other end of the scale with coach Carlos
Alberto Parreira saying: "Sex has never been, and never will be, banned."
Although the liberal Samba stars boss does
prefer that it doesn't happen in the team hotel on the eve of a game.
Parreira admits that it is a dilemma. He says: "If I let the players
have sex then people accuse me of being irresponsible. If I ban it then
they say "how can you prohibit sex in the 21st
century."
(Agencies)