KEY POINTS:
Why should a World Cup come between a man and one of the great loves of his life - business?
That was the question French rugby coach Bernard Laporte was doubtless pondering over the weekend after a storm blew up over his business "activities".
Laporte, under heavy pressure after France's defeat to Argentina in the opening match of the tournament, allegedly came up with a wily little marketing plan to extend his already burgeoning business empire that involves restaurants, a projected casino and many other investments.
Thus, what could be neater, he probably thought, than buying up 10,000 official French rugby jerseys, signing them all personally and selling them on the internet with, peut-etre, a petit commission ...
The sums must have looked impressive. The jerseys cost €72 each but after the prestigious signature of the French national coach had been applied, Mon Dieu, suddenly they were being offered for €140.
Doubtless "Bernie the Businessman", as the French call him somewhat disparagingly, had done his sums. Had he sold out, the profit figure wouldn't have been too far short of €700,000. A highly valued signature, you might consider and not too shabby a return for an afternoon's scribbling.
Alas, as so often with the best laid plans, they turned out to be flawed. The dastardly French media heard about it and blasted the story across the pages of the daily sports paper, L'Equipe.
How could the national coach, a man destined to become France's next sports minister in Nicolas Sarkozy's new Government as soon as this World Cup is over, be involved in such things? Should not his mind be pondering more pressing issues, like trying to find a way for France to retain a realistic prospect of actually winning this World Cup, than how to flog 10,000 rugby jerseys ?
Even so, Laporte revealed himself to be a man of strong convictions. Challenged on the issue, he proposed a special deal (presumably, he didn't specify a set period only when this unique offer would apply). He suggested that the price of the jerseys would be reduced to around €110.
Furthermore, and this is always a popular act for a man in the merde, he proposed giving a donation to charity from his proceeds.
And a most generous gesture it was, we should all concede. After all, at the specially reduced prices (hurry, these crazy low prices cannot possibly last) Laporte would still stand to make €350,000-400,000.
Now even with the French up in arms at this moment about rising prices in their country, especially for bread, that would surely buy Laporte enough baguettes to last him for the rest of this World Cup.
Especially as France don't look like getting any further than the quarter-finals, if that far ...
