The scene: African Cup of Nations, 2006. A retired Ghanaian footballer, who "fans of English football will remember him from his highly successful period with Leeds United", has joined the Zimbabwean national team for a drink. (The following is alleged by Peter Ndlovu on footyhighlights.com. Take it with a grain of salt.) Being a sensitive and proud soul, our Ghanaian friend didn't enjoy the evening:
"The lads started giving my friend a lot of stick for his country’s loss, especially our head coach. My friend was taking it quite gracefully but, as a proud Ghanaian, I could sense his patience was wearing thin. Nevertheless, the drinks kept flowing and so did the jokes."
Soon, everyone began to head to bed. In a playful mood, some of the Zimbabwean players decided to get their own back on their manager, who had woken them up early in the morning for training sessions. They persuaded hotel reception to give them keys to his room, stormed up the stairs at 4am, and burst in ... on said Ghanaian and former-Leeds player, in bed with the manager's wife. The players fled, found the manager passed out in a hotel toilet, and tried to keep a lid on things. The next morning, one of the Zimbabweans asked the Ghanaian why he had slept with the manager's wife. He told his friend:
"When a man insults my country I insult him, by taking his woman."
There's a lesson in this for all of us, it seems: don't screw with Ghana if you want to keep your wife.
[via Kickette]