Gerard Pique. Why does he retire from international football?

Whether or not you believe that, in the words of Samuel Johnson, “patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”, in the case of the long running battle between a section of Spain’s ‘fans’ and Gerard Piqué, it is often mis-directed, inaccurate or as it is in this case, just plain wrong.

Booing a particular player or players for misdemeanours, real or imagined, has long been the modus vivendi of fans across the world. Spanish fans are no different; come to that, nor are the English - ask Wayne Rooney.

Gerard Piqué’s announcement that he will retire from international football after the next World Cup comes on the back of a chorus of boos and cat-calls and a war of words, largely fuelled by a Madrid media, alleging a lack of patriotism from the Catalan centre back when defending the Spanish cause.

He will be 31 by the end of the Russia World Cup and prior to the latest controversy, had already decided that it would be his last major international competition.

But the straw that broke the camel’s back occurred following a scurrilous lie that caught fire on the social media sites and was then picked up by both of the main Madrid sports papers (Marca and also Diario AS).

The allegation on social media was that he had cut the sleeves off his shirt because it had the Spanish symbol and colours on it. It was simply untrue and at least Diario AS had the good grace to apologise for the error subsequently.

But enough was enough. It was all becoming too tiring, too boring. Piqué made his announcement.

At this point it’s worth pointing out that Piqué has demonstrated his loyalty to the shirt since he was 15 year old. He has represented his country at every level from Under 16 to the full national side for who he has played 84 times, winning Spain’s only World Cup as well as their second European Championship in a row.

He was also, as far back as 2006, a member of Spain’s Under 19 European Championship winning side.

The late Tito Vilanova, the Barcelona coach that trained him from his early days at La Masia, said of Piqué that “without him the building would collapse,” and replacing him at the heart of the defence will not be easy bearing in mind the paucity of quality Spanish central defenders available.

There is the false notion that Piqué’s main reason for calling it a day with Spain has only to do with the whistling and booing, and that the Spain fans reaction had to do with his views on a proposed referendum on Catalonia’s independence.

He has taken part in some of the marches but all he is saying is that the people of Catalonia should be allowed to have a vote to decide the matter one way or another.

But let’s be clear about this; this isn’t why he is being whistled.

If you want to back to the root of why he is being barracked you need to go back to a party held by Cristiano Ronaldo on his birthday just hours after his Real Madrid side were thumped 4-0 by rivals, Atletico in February last year.

The Colombian singer, Kevin Roldan was the musical turn that night and he would soon find himself overwhelmed in a publicity maelstrom that not even the most Svengalian of music publicist could ever remotely have dreamt of creating.

The repercussions and recriminations surrounding CR7’s birthday bash reverberated among many factions at the Bernabeu and at the end of the season the 'impish’ Piqué was not about to miss the opportunity to stick the boot in on the old enemy.

As Barcelona celebrated the treble he picked up the microphone and announced, “Thank you to all the staff for your help, and thanks Kevin Roldan! It all started with you!”

The whistles now are a payback to Piqué from Real Madrid fans. It’s as simple as that.

What followed was a campaign that was, yes slightly political, but mostly fuelled by a media in its search for a common enemy.

Basically, they just went for him, except of course that Piqué is made of strong stuff and took everything that came his way and frequently returned it with interest.

The media loved it of course and the ante kept rising as did the volume of the whistles being directed at him.

This has hardly to do with his politics and everything to do with the great divide that is the Barcelona/Real Madrid rivalry.

Fans feel that it is their right to boo and whistle, louder and more frequently than before, in the direction of whoever they feel inclined to. The masses have also been empowered by the huge rise in the social networks and the media, meanwhile, are more than happy to stoke the fire.

Does it help the side, the country? Almost certainly not.

Piqué’s decision to call it a day is a shame, although not unexpected. What is unfortunate is the manner by which it came about.

He said years ago that he wanted to retire at 30 but subsequently changed his mind. When he retires from international duty it will be to give his all to Barcelona.

Off the pitch he is a shrewd businessman creating Kerad Games the producers of the Golden Manager game and employer to some 20 people in Barcelona. Whenever he decides to bring the curtain down on an outrageously successful football career it’s fairly safe to assume that his retirement years will not be spent trying to perfect his golf swing. He will prepare himself to be the president of FC Barcelona.

Most importantly he is a player that has always known his shortcomings, either temporary or permanent, and how to address them. He realised almost three years ago with the arrival of the Luis Enrique that he was no longer at that time one of the three top centre backs in the world.

What followed was a long hard look at himself as he started training on his own as well as with the team, and serious conversations with those football people who he trusted in a bid to regain his focus and hunger.

He is now back where he belongs with a mixture of that Carles Puyol type of physical endeavour along with the liberated, creative, possession based, attacking approach for which he is so well known.

It remains to be seen just who will inherit his shirt in the Spanish side and whether or not they can achieve with 'La Roja’ just what the unfairly maligned Piqué managed to. I very much doubt it