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Team chemistry is arguably the most important ingredient required for a team's success. On-pitch co-existence is crucial, and for 90 minutes, all players must be operating on the same wavelength. However, this isn't always the case.
We've heard of feuds between players - they're common. However, fights with teammates are quite rare. But they aren't entirely unheard of. Sometimes it's ego, pride or just plain contrasting personalities, or sometimes even club rivalries that the players aren't able to set aside that leads to these clashes within their national teams.
Here are five teammates representing the same national team who legitimately hated each other.
5. John Terry and Rio Ferdinand
We don't blame the English fans when they speak of their golden generation with a tinge of sadness. England's golden generation failed to win any trophy. Rio Ferdinand believes this was because of was their inability to put club rivalry behind their backs while on international duty.
Forming the defence for the Three Lions back then was the Manchester United defender himself and Chelsea captain John Terry who Rio labelled as an 'idiot' in his autobiography #2sides.
The hatred the players had for each other within the English squad was real. As is evident from the autobiography, the former West Ham player shared fractious relationships with Lampard, Terry and Gerrard. Ferdinand and Lampard who shared rooms at West Ham for five years between 16 and 21, didn't speak a word following their transfer to the rival clubs.
Rio's relationship was only worse with Terry. In 2011, Terry was investigated following allegations of racial abuse. He had ‘allegedly’ gone off on one of Rio's brothers, Anton Ferdinand. The police got involved, looked at the footage, and after their investigation, the FA took matters into their own hands.
He was eventually charged with "abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour in reference to the ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race of Ferdinand." Rio wrote - "I've never actually spoken to John about the case. I no longer talk to him, but even three years later, I find it impossible to forgive or forget the pain he put us through."
4. Alvaro Arbeloa and Gerard Pique
Fans of the Spain National Team hate Gerard Pique. Real Madrid players hate him even more, and Alvaro Arbeloa hates him the most. The two have since clashed multiple times both on social media and on the pitch with Pique taking the feud one step forward by saying that he has never considered Arbeloa a teammate and even compared him to a cone.
Pique mocked the Los Blancos after they were eliminated from the Copa Del Ray for playing an ineligible player. Pique's tweet in reaction - shown above - didn't have a single word.
Instead, he let the emojis do the talking. However, the Madrid full-back hit back at Pique. Speaking to a journalist of La Galerna, he claimed that Pique was "obsessed" with the club from the capital.
"Arbeloa insulting me? He said he is my friend, but he's not, he's just someone I know, he is a conocido ( Spanish for cone)" Pique replied.
3. Robert Lewandowski and Jakub Blaszczykowski
Before joining Bayern, Lewandowski's first taste of German football was with Borussia Dortmund. It was under Klopp that he became teammates and friends with Jakub Blaszczykowski, his fellow Polish international.
This rift with club colleague Blaszczykowski supposedly stemmed from the pair’s opposing political beliefs - the specifics of which never came to light. It is believed that Kuba is a supporter of the Civic Platform, while Lewandowski is much closer to Law and Justice.
However, these gaps widened in 2013. While on international duty, Jakub was injured and so Robert took over the captaincy. The Bayern striker was establishing himself as one of the world’s top strikers at that time as a result of which Poland’s manager chose to retain him as captain.
Lewandowski over many interviews stressed that he would not be willing to give up his captaincy. After regaining fitness, Jakub wasn't recalled to the squad. Poland daily Gazeta Wyborcza later reported that the coach had decided to maintain the harmony of the dressing room. The winger spoke out against the decision stating he was 'hurt' in conversation with Bild.
Lewandowski is even rumoured to have invited every member of the Poland setup to his wedding, aside from Blaszczykowski.
2. Mauro Icardi and Maxi Lopez
The striker pair were once the best of buddies and childhood friends. They were team-mates at Sampdoria when they turned into foes. Icardi entered into a relationship with and later married Lopez’s wife, Wanda Nara. Lopez has since refused to even acknowledge his former team-mate’s existence while Icardi claims they were never friends, to begin with.
Mauro married Wanda less than six months after the divorce between Lopez and Nara. It got even worse after the younger striker started posting photos of Lopez’s children on Twitter and got them all tattooed on his arm after becoming their stepdad. According to an Argentine journalist, the Mafia got involved and even threatened to break Icardi's legs.
When they face each other on the pitch, they refuse to shake hands, and their Twitter wars show us that their friendship’s still dead.
1. Gokhan Tore and Hakan Calhanoglu, Omer Toprak
The tale of the soured relationship begins from back in 2013, following Turkey’s loss against Holland in their final 2014 World Cup qualifier. Toprak, his friend and Calhanoglu were at the national team hotel before their flight back to Germany the following morning.
Gokhan Tore, a former Chelsea youngster who now plays for Besiktas, had allegedly been fuming over an alleged affair between his former girlfriend and Toprak’s friend. He was determined to get even – even if his team-mates were in the way. Accompanied by a gangster, Tore forced his way into Toprak and Calhanoglu’s room.
Calhanoglu, explaining in an interview with the German TV channel ZDF said:
“Gokhan’s friend walked over to Omer, pulled out a gun from his jacket and told him he would be shot if he didn’t lay flat on the floor."
“I was hit, and then I was lying in a corner. He then came up to me and said: ‘Don’t move or I will shoot you. I was curled up in the corner of the room. I couldn’t move; I was scared for my life.”
The incident, which died down in circumstances that are not entirely clear, was quickly covered up.
“After this happened, we didn’t want to end Gokhan’s career, so we kept quiet”
Following this, Töre did not return to the national team until October 2014, when Bayer Leverkusen suspiciously claimed that both Çalhanoğlu and Toprak were injured. The following month, despite both players regaining full fitness, they were both left out by manager Terim for a Euro 2016 qualifying match against Kazakhstan as Töre remained.
Çalhanoğlu questioned his omission from the team, while Terim defended his own decision and said that Töre deserved to be forgiven. However, the two are reported to have reconciled, and we can hardly believe that.
