Guest Spiria Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Why Hatem Ben Arfa grew up during rehab. Only while he sat fearing the worst did Hatem Ben Arfa realise what he needed to do to realise his potential. Newcastle United v Manchester United: why Hatem Ben Arfa grew up during rehab Much of what happened on that fateful day in October 2010 is a hazy memory. There was a heavy tackle from Manchester City’s Nigel De Jong, excruciating pain as Ben Arfa’s leg broke in two places, a stretcher, an oxygen mask and Newcastle's fans chanting his name as he was carried off the pitch. But during the months of rehabilitation Ben Arfa had his moment of clarity. He would never be the player he should be unless he changed as a person. “I did think my career could be over. It is impossible not to think a bit like that when your leg is broken in two places,” said Ben Arfa, who will relish running at a makeshift Manchester United defence on Sunday afternoon. “I was angry about it at first, but as time has passed, I’m not angry anymore. It was a hard tackle, but I’m OK and it has made me a stronger person, maybe a better person. “When you are not playing football for such a long time it gives you a lot of time to think. It made me contemplate what football meant to me. I think it was an important period. I realised a football career is something that is over very quickly. I needed to make the most of the time I had, not waste it.” For years the son of Tunisian immigrants had been talked about as one of France’s finest talents, yet he had been criticised for almost as long. He was described as selfish, volatile, flashy and conceited. He was a brilliant footballer who was in danger of never being able to prove it. Two years on from that horrific leg break, Ben Arfa is, according to his manager, Alan Pardew, “playing the best football of his career”. Adored by Newcastle supporters, who have always loved a maverick, the 25 year-old retains all his good attributes. He is explosive, unpredictable, tricky and skilful but, for the first time, he is also regarded as a team player. “I had a reputation for being hot-headed, but I feel as though I’ve grown up,” he said. “I’m calmer now, more serene, but that comes from being more mature. “Young footballers are selfish. I was selfish. It was all about me and what I did. When you are young you think about showing off, you always want to prove yourself, to be the centre of attention. “You want people to say you are the best, but as you get older you realise it’s a team game and to bring out the best in yourself, you have to put yourself at the service of the team. “I’m arriving at my peak, I’m starting to realise my full potential. I don’t think I’m quite there yet, but I’m pleased with how things are going. I’m a better player now than when I signed for Newcastle. “I’m more mature as a person and more mature as a footballer. The two go hand in hand, the basis of the player is the person. I’ve grown up.” He has grown into a footballer who is not only capable of breathtaking skill – consider the goals he scored against Blackburn and Bolton last season – but also a player who tracks back and fights to win the ball after he loses it. “Playing in England, I’ve learnt you have to work hard all the time,” he said. “When I came here, if I lost the ball, I didn’t try to win it back, now I always try to get it back. “You always have to give 100 per cent. Every game is tough, whether you are playing the best team or the worst, that is English football’s charm.” He is not perfect, of course. No questions about his absence from the France squad were allowed in this interview, although he is unlikely to play again for his country while Didier Deschamps is manager, given their spectacular fallout when both were at Marseille. Ben Arfa has not always been easy for managers to like. He was involved in a dressing-room row while playing for France at the European Championships, but it seems all he needed was to feel as loved as he does on Tyneside. “The supporters have helped me a lot, not just in helping me get back from my injury, but also when things have not gone so well for me on the pitch. “We feed off each other. It gives me that little bit extra at Newcastle I’ve not had at other clubs. They encourage me to take risks, to try and make things happen. When things go wrong, they just want me to keep going, to keep trying. I feel really loved. “It is the ideal marriage for me. I love the passion of the game here, it is incredible. I thrive on that. It gives me a lot of pleasure to play football in this country.” As much as Ben Arfa has matured, credit must also go to Pardew, as his number 10 acknowledged. “I’ve not had a close relationship with a manager before,” Ben Arfa said. “He knows when I need to be praised and when I need to be criticised. “He asks me questions. He doesn’t let me do what I want, but he doesn’t just tell me what to do either. “It’s the best relationship I’ve had with a manager and he has been very important to me at Newcastle. He is the coach who has understood me the most.” L’enfant terrible: Hatem Ben Arfa’s highs and lows 1999 Rows with Abou Diaby during a televised documentary about France’s Clairfontaine Football Academy in which the Arsenal player threatens to punch him. 2004 Debut for Lyon. Goes on to win four Ligue 1 titles and is voted France Young Player of the Year in 2008. October 2007 Debut for France against Faroe Islands after turning down chance to play for Tunisia. March 2008 Ben Arfa is rumoured to have fallen out with team-mate Karim Benzema before getting involved in a training-ground scuffle with Sebastien Squillaci. June 2008 Signs for Marseille for £9million after refusing to return to training at Lyon. July 2008 Involved in another training ground bust-up, this time with striker Djibril Cissé. October 2008 Forced to apologise to manager Eric Gerets for refusing to warm up as a substitute during game against PSG. November 2008 Bad-boy reputation enhanced when he rows with another team-mate, Modeste M’bami, before a Champions League game with Liverpool. October 2009 Fined for missing training sessions after flying to Tunisia to visit relatives. November 2009 Rows with manager Didier Deschamps on the training ground and is forced to apologise. February 2010 Wins the Ligue 1 title with Marseille. August 2010 Goes on strike at Marseille in order to force move to Newcastle United. September 2010 Scores first goal for Newcastle with a long-range strike against Everton. October 2010 Breaks leg in two places following a tackle by Manchester City’s Nigel De Jong. August 2011 Suffers an ankle injury on pre-season tour of America. January 2012 Scores a superb individual goal against Blackburn Roversin the FA Cup. April 2012 Scores another magical individual goal running from inside hisown half against Bolton Wanderers. June 2012 Picked by France for the European Championship, but fallsout with manager Laurent Blanc after their defeatby Sweden Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minhosa Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 High praise indeed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 A lot of nutters I wasted 3 months arguing with last winter need to be read that quote over and over. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cajun Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 A lot of nutters I wasted 3 months arguing with last winter need to be read that quote over and over. Fucking Pardew, has never known how to handle flair players etc.. I agree. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 You'd honestly never have thought he was such a bad egg when he was younger. He's always seemed like a consummate professional whilst he's been here. Credit's got to go to Pardew for that; i believe everything HBA says in that quote. It's been one of Pardew's biggest achievements here, without a doubt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEEJ Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 “The supporters have helped me a lot, not just in helping me get back from my injury, but also when things have not gone so well for me on the pitch. “We feed off each other. It gives me that little bit extra at Newcastle I’ve not had at other clubs. They encourage me to take risks, to try and make things happen. When things go wrong, they just want me to keep going, to keep trying. I feel really loved. “It is the ideal marriage for me. I love the passion of the game here, it is incredible. I thrive on that. It gives me a lot of pleasure to play football in this country.” As much as Ben Arfa has matured, credit must also go to Pardew, as his number 10 acknowledged. “I’ve not had a close relationship with a manager before,” Ben Arfa said. “He knows when I need to be praised and when I need to be criticised. “He asks me questions. He doesn’t let me do what I want, but he doesn’t just tell me what to do either. “It’s the best relationship I’ve had with a manager and he has been very important to me at Newcastle. He is the coach who has understood me the most.” Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ameritoon Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Those are great quotes. Love this man. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinny Green Balls Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 A lot of nutters I wasted 3 months arguing with last winter need to be read that quote over and over. Who's more nuts? Somebody who is utterly rigid in their opinion despite the evidence, or somebody who continues to argue with them despite knowing better? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayson Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Well its not nuts to try to communicate your pov if you think you know better, so generally the first one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Suggests that Pardew got his man management of Ben Arfa right during that tricky period last year. I always feel that the Pardew-Ben Arfa relationship could blow up at any minute though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Swift Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Ronaldo suggested Best start over Ben Arfa for a substantial part of last season. He doesn't have much credibility. Ben Arfa, from when he returned from injury in October last season, was a better player than Best, even when Hatem wasn't as quick as he is now, which was noted by many on here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki679 Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Suggests that Pardew got his man management of Ben Arfa right during that tricky period last year. I always feel that the Pardew-Ben Arfa relationship could blow up at any minute though. Demba's knee, Hatem and Pardew, Obertan's ever expanding cranium, we need to keep that guy from 24 on call or SJP will end up a smoking crater at some point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beren Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Those quotes don't really attest to Pardew handling HBA last season as he ought to have done. To infer otherwise seems a chasm-sized leap IMO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 What, you think he handled it badly? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BooBoo Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Pardew handled his reintroduction back into the side perfectly. He'd been injured for 12 months FFS. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole_Toonfan Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Not to mention how Pardew introduced the work rate into Ben Arfa's game he deserves immense credit for everything tbh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenham Mag Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 http://media.rtl.fr/online/image/2011/1127/7738828730_hatem-ben-arfa-s-en-prend-a-wayne-rooney-lors-du-solide-match-nul-de-newcastle-sur-la-pelouse-de-man-utd-samedi-en-premier-league.jpg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 You know what my favourite thing about Ben Arfa is... his walk. Anyone else noticed he has a little waddle/strut? Like some sort of footballing Patrick Swayze. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Pardew handled his reintroduction back into the side perfectly. He'd been injured for 12 months FFS. Yep. Gave him a few games here and there, sub appearances, brought him off when it wasn't working for him, etc. Spot on management imo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Thank god for Benny. We can be as shit as anyone, but with Benny we will always be a threat one way or another. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cajun Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Those quotes don't really attest to Pardew handling HBA last season as he ought to have done. To infer otherwise seems a chasm-sized leap IMO. So HBA says Pardew is the only manager to have understood him and that his treatment has benefited but it doesn't attest to his handling of him? Jesus wept! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newcastle Fan Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Worst game for us in ages. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minhosa Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 He's our only genuine creative outlet. If he left, we'd be seriously fucked. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenny Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Didn't do much today but he can't do it all on his own, the whole team needs to start turning up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ketsbaia Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Played well today, we look so much better with him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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