Thuram is almost certainly the most thoughtful and socially aware footballer currently plying his trade at the highest level. The game needs as many more Thurams as it can find, and the world needs them even more badly.

At the time, I very much thought the Zoro incident was a missed opportunity. Instead of trying to talk him out of walking off the pitch, I would have hoped that Adriano and Cordoba had gone with him. The fact that they didn’t says a lot about the degree to which such behaviour is considered “part of the game” by players here, no matter how much it may pain them individually. Commercialisation is never a substitute for social awareness and political engagement, and your criticisms of some current examples are trenchant, but perhaps there is a role here for some campaign that could potentially have a vanguard effect. I’ve suggested elsewhere that a campaign featuring not just players of colour and the likes of Ibra and Mutu, but also Italian icons like Totti, Buffon, Gattuso and Materazzi might have an impact. Even there getting together for such a purpose, as opposed to assembling to shill for sportswear or cell phones, would be a good thing, especially if Lillian could find the time to join them.