A player of Liberia (red shirt) is chased down by a player of Philippines (yellow shirt) at the Walker Stadium.

Let’s not sugar coat this thing: The behavior of some players of the Diaspora Team of Liberia at the Walker Stadium last night was an embarrassment to the Big Fans. Being a Head Coach of a team, like anything else, is a matter of wearing a different hat. It is not the same thing as being a parent, a fan or a role model; a coach has responsibilities beyond these including controlling the temper of its players on the bench. Something Coach Lewis of Liberia clearly failed to do.

The Liberia faceoff with Philippines was a chance this past Sunday and quite frankly a missed opportunity to slow their momentum. They had many chances that came and went. The squad of Coach Lewis looked flashy, but put forth a concerted effort to do what they could with limited possession, stifle the Philippines attack, and look to create scoring opportunities. The most damaging aspect of the game was not the loss per say, but the substitutes on the bench screaming and yelling whenever they don’t like a call from the referees. From the sidelines, we witnessed players on the field being distracted by their own team members. The eyes don’t lie and the staggering number of Liberia players talking to each other at the Walker Stadium had their Big Fans abuzz. Still, it remains a bit too early to pen a eulogy just yet, although a difficult road is in front of Liberia. The fact that they have five remaining group games before the knockout stage offered them a chance to build some momentum and start winning over their crowd once again.

The Diaspora World Cup