After watching England play Montenegro last week, I was struck by a few things. Firstly the appearance of both Barry and Parker in the same team at this level is quite remarkable. Certainly both are good players in their own rights but, their lack of pace caused the English defence significant problems as the game progressed. Why Gareth Barry is playing continues to baffle, for my money he should be not even be in the squad. Against Napoli this season his fallibility contributed to the visitor’s goal and at this level he offers nothing! Parker is an even stranger case a man who never featured for England regularly suddenly becomes a mainstay after one good season in a relegated team! Imagine any serious nation selecting these two players in the middle of their team. England will improve with the ascension of Wilshere and Cleverly into their squad but to be brutally honest they still wouldn’t grace the pitch for any of the leading European nations.

Now to the back four, over the course of the last year or perhaps longer John Terry has become increasingly dogged by poor defending. In fairness to Terry he is a wholehearted lad but, imagine him facing Van Persie, Villa, Rossi or even Benzema in the last ten minutes of a Euro game and we all know who we’d put our money on. The time has come for England to place their trust in their youthful talent. A centre back combination of Jones and Smalling with Jones as an inspirational captain is certainly an exciting prospect for football fans across the continent. In addition to these two the option of Lescott, Walker, and Richards but to name a few offers much promise. The sight of such a youthful backline would undoubtedly contribute to a quicker and more agile team that could take the championships by storm.

Now onto the man of the moment Wayne Rooney, the criticism after his red card has been totally out of order. Remember Zidane, Blanc, Keane, Maradonna all world class players who each have had the occasional bout of red mist during their international careers. For England to succeed then Rooney must be given the support he needs to prove his place amongst the game’s elite. A one game suspension is not the end of the world, it will be up to Walcott, Bent, Carroll and Welbeck to secure England’s opening game goes off without a glitch. The need for England to finally perform on a major international stage is long overdue and frankly the parts are all in place for them to realise their potential with the talent at their disposal. If they played Spain tomorrow in the European Championship final the team should be: Hart, Richards, Jones, Smalling, Cole, Young, Gerrard, Wilshere, Walcott, Rooney and Welbeck. Now that team with some practice and encouragement could certainly trouble Spain, Germany or whatever else the continent has to offer. If this happens then maybe, just maybe Fabio may be Sir Fabio before long and Harry will have to keep his mouth shut over how he should be the next England manager.

Supporting the England national team is like a never-ending seesaw of excitement juxtaposed with disappointment. On paper, England have always fielded squads with some of the best players in the world which spark intense hype. However, England seem to always fall short of their lofty expectations in a variety of ways on the big stage. Even as recently as England’s draw with Switzerland, many doubted the team’s chances and coupled with disparaging comments from former greats Gary Neville and Paul Scholes who called out the team for their lack of possession and selfishness respectively, the future of England looked quite dark. However, after watching England’s 3-0 victory over Bulgaria, maybe there is room for guarded optimism.

First of all, let me state that in no way do I think England are back as perennial favorites for the Euro Championship. Spain, Germany and the Netherlands are the three best teams on the planet and are arguably leagues ahead of anyone else. However, is it that hard to fathom England as the 4th best team in the world at the moment? With Brazil, Argentina, Italy and France all struggling, teams like England and Copa America winners Uruguay have risen through the ranks at least in FIFA’s eyes anyway.

So what makes this England squad better from past ones that have painfully fallen short? For one thing, Fabio Capello’s last days could become inexplicably symbolic as a changing of the guard.Whether it was intended or not, Capello is now taking the reign of an England roster that is showing more spirit and life than in previous years.

For one thing, Capello may have finally come to the realization that fielding the players with the greatest name recognition doesn’t necessarily guarantee successes. Old stalwarts like Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand look to have become a part of an”out with the old, in with the new” motto where younger and less injury prone players are starting to be utilized more.

From the backline and beyond, England look more revitalized with some new faces peaking at the right time. England captain John Terry may have a new partner going forward in Gary Cahill, the 25 year old from Bolton whose impressive form is warranting his place in the starting eleven. Cahill’s strong, physical performances and his surprising goal-scoring touch which has been seen for both club and country makes you wonder how he didn’t get transferred despite heavy interest from Arsenal and Tottenham.

Besides the usual presence of Ashley Cole, Capello decided to utilize Chris Smalling whose versatility as a right-back has been recognized through a series of impressive performances. While Bulgaria didn’t have much to offer in terms of attacking opportunities, Smalling has shown that he could become a regular on the team due to his hard work, resolute defending, and surprising speed up front which results in a series of crosses.

Another important observation from the match is how Capello is finally letting up on the strict 4-4-2 formation which has stifled the creativity and fluidity of England’s attack. With Gareth Barry and Scott Parker providing adept roles as defensive midfielders, Capello has used a quartet of attacking options in Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young, Stewart Downing and Theo Walcott to wreak havoc up front. What’s interesting is that all four of them have experience as wingers so maybe their is a certain sense of understanding they all share when creating chances.

Capello’s 4-2-3-1 formation has allowed England to have a great balance of defensive cover coupled with relentless attack. An integral factor to England’s potential revival is the revival of Wayne Rooney, who looks as motivated and dangerous as ever for Manchester United and nowfor England. He seems to have formed an instant connection with winger Ashley Young as the two can torment opposing defenses with incisive passing and finishing. Rooney’s long documented goal drought may likely become a thing of the past as he’s linking up with the likes of Young and Downing.

In advance of the Euro Championship next year, England also look to reap the benefits of young players taking charge of the squad. Youngsters like Phil Jones, Tom Cleverley, Jack Wilshere and even Andy Carroll represent the national team’s bright future in the years ahead. The young stars of England likely feel they have much to prove and may offer more dynamism than old stalwarts like Frank Lampard whose role as a regular is under serious threat. Injuries and age have clearly taken its toll on Lampard and if Capello is serious about moving ahead, he can’t rely on the same usual faces who just aren’t as good they once were.

As England looks ahead to upcoming matches, one always hopes that complacency doesn’t overtake the team as it has done so often in the past. Whenever it comes to supporting England, one should always expect the unexpected as they have always been known for intense hype and marked disappointment. However, I’m optimistic with England as they are finally starting to look like a team rather than a bunch of selfish, overly-scrutinized mega-stars coupled with rising talents more interested in attracting interest from the big clubs. This team looks hungry as ever with players who have fought to earn their place on the team and must continue to play well to maintain their place in the starting eleven. Both the young and experienced players all seem to play with chips on their shoulders to prove that England can be a force to be reckoned with again.

While this weekend’s football extravaganza in the city of Barcelona made for instant gratification, a more intriguing story developed as England’s bid for the 2018 suffered a huge blow.  The strangest thing about it was that it wasn’t delivered by one the nations against which England is competing; it came from the BBC.

The BBC aired a program only days before the decision of who will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups goes to vote, and on it, alleged that three voters in Thursday’s decision received payments in the past, and that yet another voter was involved in illegal ticket sales for the 2010 World Cup.  A description of the accusations and the accused can be found here.  The two men of interest to England’s bid (as they were seen as likely England voters prior to the program’s airing) are Cameroonian Issa Hayatou and Trinidadian Jack Warner.

Many analysts believe that the BBC effectively tanked the chance for England to host the highly desired competition by ostracizing men who were likely to go with England in the voting round.

But punishing England for the BBC’s action seems both strange and normal to me.  And it’s not as if the program is an official inquest.  These men aren’t losing their jobs or facing prison time (yet).  And most importantly, Panorama, the program where the claims are made, was not produced by the England 2018 bid.  In this sense I feel the presumed non-votes from the accused men are strange.

But it also seems natural (but not logical) to be upset at the England bid when the British Broadcasting Company runs one’s name through the mud, especially if you are a power in the football world.  After all, the BBC probably stands to gain more from a World Cup in England than elsewhere, and so in this sense refusing to vote England is a “punishment” for them.

In the immediate scheme of things, England will probably lose the vote.  Russia have been touted as favorites now that no one believes that England team can pull a rabbit out of a hat, especially when England’s little brother just cut a hole in the bottom of the hat, so to speak.

But now Jack Warner has come out and explicitly supported the USA bid for 2022, but not going so far for England.  Instead, he implicitly did so by singing the praises of the FA, yet it still looks to be lost for England.

My question is whether or not this is fair.  The bidding process is a disaster, apparently hostage to the egos of men who aren’t objectively looking at the bids, but instead treating the whole process like a huge football wheel and deal.

And the question of the free press in football, especially with regards to how FIFA runs the World Cup is another issue to which people ought to pay attention.  As I have discussed in the past, there was an uproar in South Africa when FIFA wanted to effectively ban reporters who would write stories that cast FIFA in a negative light.  And, as Soccernet puts it, “Russia now looks the most favoured outcome for 2018, and it is heavily speculated that one of its attractions to FIFA is a lack of a free press which may seek to expose the machinations of the governing body.”

Shouldn’t FIFA be more concerned with its own process and the potentially illegal actions of its members?  Of course it isn’t.  FIFA laughably markets the World Cup as a celebration of different cultures through football.  It just seems the free press isn’t a trait FIFA cares to celebrate.

Amid the sort-of joy and sort-of pain that comes with the wins and losses of international friendlies (barring of course, the big rivalries that were played out on Wednesday — Argentina/Brazil, Spain/Portugal, England/France, etc.), FIFA managed to slip in an innocuous report on their website, complete with a link to a 23-page PDF evaluating the candidates for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup.

And, shockingly early as it seems, “on 2 December 2010, the FIFA Executive Committee will announce its verdict and award the hosting rights to the two best candidates.”

Personally I’m still in a state of semi-exhaustion from the recent World Cup and the seemingly immediate uptake of the club season with all the drama of a suddenly competitive Premier League (do we have Manchester City’s money to thank?), a Real Madrid team that looks set to challenge Barcelona after two years of impossibly meek performances from Los Blancos, and the slide of Inter that coincided with the arrival of Rafa Benitez.  And now all of a sudden FIFA will make or break the hearts of hundreds of millions on Dec. 2.

So what does the longish report tell us?  What is buried in those 23-pages?

As it turns out, a whole lot of OK news for pretty much everybody.

The big question pertains to England and the reality TV worthy spat between the FA and the Russian Football union that resulted in some jingoistic nation bashing and not a whole lot else.  FIFA remained silent on the well publicized issue in this report, which isn’t terribly surprising given the ultra technical nature of the thing.  As an example from FIFA about Russia’s transportation issues:

“The country’s vastness and its remoteness from other countries, coupled with the fact that the high-speed railway network is limited and would only link six candidate Host Cities by 2018, would put pressure on the air traffic infrastructure, potentially causing transfer challenges in view of the lack of alternative means of long-distance transport. The current air traffic situation is to be improved throughmajor upgrades and capacity increases to the majority of the airports.”

If you braved that FIFA-always-attempting-to-be-neutral paragraph and are hoping for England for 2018, then you’re probably happy.  In short, the paragraph stated that transportation is an important feature of the World Cup and Russia’s infrastructure is currently inadequate.

But every nation was given a finger wag by FIFA.  It’s just hard to tell precisely which finger wag is a big deal.  For instance, FIFA raised concerns over legal issues regarding the United States’ bid, citing a lack of government guarantees.  This would seem to be a major issue, although FIFA noted that the USA has hosted a great deal of international events and the government has always complied in the past.

Similarly, the Iberian bid was questioned for not having a clear enough security plan, although again FIFA conceded that they would likely have solved such details in time to host the tournament.

In fact, the biggest criticisms that cannot be foreseeable altered to satisfaction in the next 8 or 12 years pertains to location and bid type.  For Spain/Portugal and Holland/Belgium, FIFA expressly notes that double bids are more challenging due to the “administrative, logistical and financial challenges” of two nations.

The other serious problem for FIFA seems  to be money.  In Australia, Korea and Japan, FIFA has noted that due to the time differences, “the income from Asia/Oceania would need to be increased substantially to offset the likelihood of loss of revenue in Europe.”

A last concern was the devastating heat of Qatar during June and July, which was essentially cited as a health risk to most people at the tournament, although such sentiment was phrased in far more polite language.

I would assume these three concerns would be FIFA’s greatest since they cannot be easily altered the way hotels, and even stadia and transport infrastructure can be, but FIFA’s history of making political decisions ahead of football ones suggest these obstacles aren’t insurmountable.

In conclusion, I sense England has come out of this evaluation slightly ahead of their rivals for 2018.  The criticisms against the bid seemed less severe than against the others, although again, in FIFA’s arid and conscientious tone, it is difficult to tell.

As for 2022, I feel the USA is an attractive option because of the very high potential for revenue (the highest ticketing revenue of all the bids) and its history in hosting.  Qatar has novelty but lacks the draw of all the other host countries in my lifetime.

With a UEFA winner guaranteed from 2018, the bids from Spain/Portugal and Holland/Belgium for 2022 have been rendered void due to consecutive hosting rules from FIFA.  With the remaining options, I feel that the winner will either be USA or Qatar (advantage US), based on the simple assumption that revenue loss will deter FIFA from the Asia/Oceania time zone.

Note 20/11/10: This article has been edited in light of an error regarding FIFA policy.

1. Croatia – Malta

Croatia beat Malta, no surprises there.  The only reason I start with this match is its status as a qualifier.  And to talk about Niko Kranjcar.  Harry Redknapp is unappreciative of the obviously gifted Croatian and the rumors are flying that he’s looking to leave.  I’d urge Mr. Redknapp to reconsider, especially after this performance.

While a brace against Malta is no brace against Spain, Kranjcar is the sort of player that Spurs should learn to manage in order to become more competitive.  He’s got the goods to play for a top team, and a sale to an EPL club would hurt their ambition.  With Lennon still not delivering, and over reliance  on Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart becoming problematic in the face of injuries, why not give Kranjcar a spot as a right sided attacking midfielder?

Next was Argentina against Brazil in Qatar…

2. Argentina – Brazil

Although Argentina won, I have more to say about Brazil, but first – Mr. Messi.  The real positive for Argentina is that Messi can have a so-so night and still decide to run half the length of the pitch before nutmegging his marker with a low shot that beats the keeper.  Sure it was only one goal and the defense didn’t seem to be moving at 100% pace, but a friendly of this nature is never a friendly.  Second, praise for Javier Pastore, who scored a hat trick this weekend but only partially showed why a big club will almost certainly splash out big money for him this summer.  If he gels with the Argentina front three Los Albiceleste will be a horrifying opponent for everyone.

That being said, Brazil to me looked better on the pitch.  If this were a league fixture I’d say a point a piece would be fair, but since only reputations (in a friendly) were at stake, I doubt many of the players, especially the veterans, will be beating themselves up too much about the loss.

A positive they can take from this is that Ronaldinho is not finished for them.  He was perhaps too much of a fantasia (an attempted back heel goal might have been buried by a swivel and hard shot) but it was his first performance for Brazil since Dunga had decided on the players he would take to the World Cup.

Lastly, Chelsea should take heart from Ramires’ wonderful performances at the center of the pitch.  He was a great marker but also wasn’t a bad when Brazil needed men forward.  If Carlo Ancelotti was watching, he might be considering how to tinker with the Chelsea lineup to get such efforts out of the Brazilian.

3. England – France

England lose and France win; an ancient rivalry marks another event; what else can we take from this?  It certainly seems that Laurent Blanc has go his players singing the national anthem; Fabio Capello doesn’t seem nearly as interested in making his England players display the same patriotic feelings.

As for football matters, the French deserved their victory.  They created more clear chances and looked the senior team, although they, like the Three Lions, had a fresher look about them than the teams of South Africa 2010.  While France’s new faces might be more a matter of long term plan than England’s (which may have been more injury related), the integration has been done more smoothly.

With players who have amassed plenty of club caps but fewer international caps (Adil Rami, Mathieu Valbuena), Les Blues played a more balanced game.  There were no Kieran Gibbs on the pitch for France, a player thrown into England with fewer than 35 Arsenal caps in all competitions, including those tough Carling Cup fixtures!  Instead, the youngsters for France (M’Vila and Sakho) has almost 50 caps in less than a season and a half for Rennes and over 100 for PSG, respectively. Both are considered integral parts of the set up; Gibbs is a fringe presence at Arsenal, especially this season.

Extras:

The Iberian Derby was a total rout.  Sergio Ramos apparently forgot what his teammate Ronaldo can do.  Mourinho seems to have held Ramos in check to great effect for Real Madrid.  Sure, he doesn’t bomb forward to terrorize the opponents as he used to, but Madrid is no longer left exposed to counter attacks.  Perhaps Spain should take a lesson.  Manchester United will be pleased to see Nani’s boast about being a top player wasn’t all talk, either.  As for Spain, the whole world knows how they play.  They seem unwilling to change the (very effective) philosophy.  Top teams with top coaches can exploit this.

The Three Lions are landing back on their home turf today and before they even deplane, the English media will be on them like hounds. Their defeated faces will be splashed across the tabloids with horribly corny puns similar to the one shown in Nike’s ‘Write the Future Ad’.

And the whole country is going to be grilling Capello, the players, FIFA, the location, and even the way the EPL is run. Right now, as I type this, England’s (least) favourite Italian is being questioned with more intensity than the Spanish Inquisition.  No surprise. England is going to look for a single scapegoat to bear their string of poor performances and German slaughter. We saw hints of this when Capello swiftly shut down John Terry’s all-team meeting and the English media immediately pounced on Terry in attempts of making him a backup scapegoat—just in case the English lost.

England, I ask you, why can there only be one reason why you failed to revive 1966? Because, really, aren’t a combination of all of the above named factors a reason why you lost?

Capello’s not perfect, that’s a fact. But no one is. Not even Maradona. Sure, he spent too much time trying to find the right starting XI, made some tactical errors, refused to pull out underperforming superstars like Rooney and barely acknowledged the team’s request for Joe Cole to play. But that’s his style. Capello does things his way and while critics may say that he should’ve adopted the less-harsh English method, it probably would have lead to a quicker downfall and probably not a qualifier.

The players are always the hardest and the easiest to blame. The so-called Golden Generation of footballers were supposed to pave the way to a victory that only dreams could concoct. But everybody underperformed. Nobody seemed to have the heart to play. Nobody seemed to want it after Robert Green’s howler. The whole team scored a total of 3 goals. Lampard had arguably the best game of any of the players, but even then, his semi-lackluster performance didn’t debut until the threat of elimination was made very real. Speaking of…

USA fans will forever lament the two discounted goals, but they won’t moan about it nearly as much as England will Lampard’s. The call to FIFA for the inclusion of instant replay and better refereeing will be louder from the British Isles than anywhere else. (Except maybe a jilted Mexico). And with FIFA staying mum on their ref’s performances, it’s not going to make matters any better. To be fair, this is probably England’s best argument for their loss, as an equaliser would have drastically altered the momentum of the second half and prevented such a blitzkrieg.

The environment is always one of the first to be blamed for poor performances: altitude change, a wintertime World Cup, poor pitch conditions, vuvuzelas, etc. I’m surprised the team hasn’t lashed out at the Jabulani ball yet…oh, wait.

The most outrageous argument that has come up thus far has been against the number of foreign players that are allowed to play in the EPL. English players are apparently not getting enough playing time and feel suffocated by the number of foreigners in the clubs. Okay.

When it comes down to it, England have only themselves to blame. Maybe Capello’s no WAGs rule had something to do with it…

England have limped to two draws in World Cup Group C action, having failed to score in 176 consecutive minutes following Steven Gerrard’s spectacular 4th minute strike versus the United States. Once again England are underwhelming in an international tournament, or are they?

The reality of the situation is that England is severally limited squad with a manager who is a novice to major international competitions. Despite a remarkable club record, Fabio Capello has generally managed front runners, the likes of Real Madrid or Milan. England in terms of international football is the equivalent of  Aston Villa or Athletico Madrid, and Capello’s methods seem to fall short. Capello is known for strong discipline and knee jerk tactical flexibility: he has never had a true system rather being adaptable and fluid in his methods (perhaps too fluid when it comes to a mediocre side like England). For a Three Lions team on the decline with players that cannot consistently play with a sense of style or purpose (as proven regularly in the past) he was probably a bad fit. Then again, almost any manager would be a bad fit for this group of England players.

Many England fans once again have entered a major international competition lacking perspective and respect for the level of opposition the “mighty” Three Lions face. Without any decent frame of reference, we were once again subjected to cries of England having the best set of players in the world, the best manager, and the easiest group. English fans and writers once again engaged in drunken punch of self delusion and fantasies of grandeur without ever considering the quality of the opposition or England’s own limitations both player and manager wise.

England’s midfield lacks a true ball winner, like Owen Hargreaves. The midfield also lacks the type of central midfielder that can hold the ball and dictate the flow of a game. The lack of tactical variety and defensive technical adeptness in England’s Premier League where the entire squad plays, limits the skill level required to in a midfield role in the league. On a weekly basis, much more technically gifted and efficient passing midfielders are on display in Germany’s Bundesliga and Spain’s La Liga than in England. Exceptions such as Arsenal’s Cesc Fabergas, Everton’s Tim Cahill and Manchester United’s Paul Scholes are obvious, but none of the three players just mentioned is currently available for England selection.

England’s attack is reliant on the best player on the planet (arguably) finding space, creating his own scoring opportunities and finishing chances. This is a herculean task even Pele may not have coped well with. A dysfunctional midfield has forced Wayne Rooney to drop deeper and deeper in midfield to get adequate service and to act as a proxy midfielder because of the ineffectiveness of Capello’s 4-4-2 formation. Emile Heskey is good foil for Rooney, but he too is limited by what lies behind him, a midfield full of players who do not move the ball quickly and struggle with one touch football.

Today, we are subjected to taunts about Fabio Capello’s fitness for the job. As I stated on the World Cup Buzz Group C Preview podcast, I would choose Bob Bradley, the (highly experienced) US coach over Capello at the international level. My statement, widely ridiculed at the time has now become somewhat prophetic. Capello’s major flaws are that he has never managed in a three match round robin group and have made squad selections in the type of manner a club manager would. Secondly, he had never worked with a group this limited in terms of technical ability and tactical awareness. Given this later statement, it is difficult to see many managers doing well with this England team.

Yet the delusional nature of England fans continues to persist. I’ve read numerous account of fans now believing the team is being hurt solely by Capello and another manager could have led England to winning the World Cup. Firstly, England is still technically alive to win the World Cup 2010 and the traditional top national teams have underwhelmed themselves, so the gap between England (and the USA, Slovenia and Algeria for that matter) and the top nations is actually smaller than I had believed it to be before the tournament. Secondly, with very few vocal England fans actually watching and appreciating foreign leagues and national teams outside Europe, the case can be easily made that Capello’s England is not underachieving but simply hitting its natural level with a group of overage and overworked players. (Fixture congestion in England is perhaps the worst in the world.)

England’s footballing limitations were obvious for anyone who looked carefully enough pre-tournament. Yet, fans have abused and mocked players, creating a level of expectation which is impossible to meet without incredible luck or match fixing. It is the fans along with their enablers on Fleet Street who have created this atmosphere of backbiting and defeatism that have brought whatever chance and quality England does posses screeching to a halt. The fans themselves owe the Three Lions squad an apology. To imply the team is not trying because despite their best efforts they are not meeting a completely unrealistic and unattainable goal is simply criminal. To verbally attack Wayne Rooney, who wears his heart on his sleeve and David Beckham is unforgivable and bring English fans into disrepute for the world to see.

The squad led by skipper Steve Gerrard are owed an apology from the fans whose delusions of grandeur doomed England’s dressing room psychology before the tournament even began. A goodwill gesture would be for the fans and tabloids to formally apologize to captain Gerrard and wish the side well in its do or die clash with Slovenia on Wednesday.

OTHER GROUP C THOUGHTS

• For the first time in its history, the USA have achieved results against two European sides in a single World Cup. In some ways this is a high water mark for the program, but the side still has yet to win a World Cup game against  non CONCACAF opposition since the first group game of the 2002 World Cup. That’s eight consecutive draws or losses against the rest of the world.
• I loved the way Algeria moved the ball in the midfield yesterday. The Desert Foxes could have won Group C if midfield maestro Mourad Meghni was available for the competition. That’s how even Group C has been. As it stands, Algeria is likely to finish last in the Group.
• Slovenia has not meet my personal expectation for their play either tactically or technically yet in this World Cup. Despite this, they lead the weak group with four points and simply need a draw versus England to advance.
• The American media has been in a frenzy about the disallowed Mo Edu goal that would have given the USA all three points yesterday versus Slovenia. Yet, little or no time has been spent on the obvious blown call where Clint Dempsey should have been sent off in the first minute for viciously leading with his elbow. Either the official was incompetent, or simply did not want to affect the game reducing one team to ten men with eighty nine minutes of football left to play. We saw Daniele De Rossi sent off and suspended three additional games for a similar elbow against the US in 2006.

Lippi makes his choices

Some English pundits have dubbed it the group of EASY. England, Algeria, Slovenia, and Yanks (USA), but like every World Cup group that does not feature a true accidental qualifier (like North Korea or New Zealand) each team in Group C has enough quality to cause problems.

England, no doubt has the highest profile players in the group, but a legitimate question exists as to whether they are actually the best collective unit in the Group. The last twelve months have seen both the United States and Algeria surprisingly advance deep in major international tournaments, and Slovenia shock Russia to qualify for the World Cup. Russia, of course was highly touted after piping England for a Euro 2008 spot and advancing to the semifinals of that tournament.

Also complicating matters is evaluating England’s preparation for this World Cup. High profile friendlies are always helpful, but the Three Lions have not played a competitive match against a side that qualified for South Africa 2010 since losing to Portugal in the 2006 World Cup.  By comparison, England’s first Group C opponent, the USA has played 14 competitive matches since 2007 against World Cup 2010 qualifiers, including two against favored Brazil.

Algeria’s 3-2 quarterfinal CAN victory over Cote D’ Ivoire sent shockwaves through African football. Twice the Algerians rallied from a deficit, and finally sealed the game in extra time. Slovenia’s two leg victory over Russia in the UEFA qualifying playoff was even more surprising. The small Balkan nation, previously qualified for World Cup 2002 and Euro 2000 but were not fancied to come out of a group with 2006 qualifiers Czech Republic and Poland as well as Northern Ireland and Slovakia, both squads with multiple high profile players.

If anything, England had the softest road to the World Cup of any of the Group C participants. That’s not to say they aren’t the strongest side, but that reinforces the reality that Fabio Capello, a master pragmatist of tactics and preparation must redouble his efforts to instill a team spirit in the Three Lions at the same time as ensuring the team is prepared for three very tough opponents.

A number of players can stake a claim for being part of the best team in the world at this early period of the European domestic leagues. However, very few players standout the way those listed below have in terms of their contribution to their team, their role as leaders, and certainly their crucial involvement in their respective clubs.

Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon- the Juventus and Azzurri custodian is back to his best and his outstanding saves have ensured the Bianconeri remain on course to qualify from their group in the Champions League as well as continue to challenge Internazionale for the Serie A title. Buffon has conceded only one dubious goal in Europe against Bordeaux. He saved the Old Lady on numerous occasions both in the domestic league and Europe. A poll in a previous segment of the website revealed that 65% of our readers voted for Buffon as the goalkeeper expected to be the best in South Africa (Please refer to The Best Goalkeepers in South Africa article written on November 5, 2009). Buffon has also been instrumental in Italy’s qualification to South Africa 2010.

Defense: John Terry, Carles Puyol, Maicon Douglas and Giorgio Chiellini- (Please refer to The Best Defenders Headed To South Africa piece written on November 11, 2009)

- Terry is quite influential and anchors the Chelsea defense which has conceded a mere eight goals in 12 Premiership matches. He is one of the players Fabio Capello will be relying on to help England safely navigate through the group stage. Terry is one of the most respected and acclaimed defenders in the world. His name and that of Chelsea have been linked together since the Premier League titles began to arrive at Stamford Bridge during the Jose Mourinho era.

- Puyol is the captain of a Barcelona side which won the treble last season and has conceded only seven goals in 10 la Liga matches up to this point.

- Maicon is the flying right-back who not only retrieves the ball for Internazionale but often starts attacking moves from his flank. He is one of the Nerazzurri’s most prized assets. The Brazilian has more votes than Terry, Puyol and Manchester United’s Vidic put together in our poll in the article mentioned above.

- Chiellini is the player who adds steel to both Italy’s and Juve’s defensive line. He can score the occasional goal but is renowned for his solid tackling and tough approach to the game. He is expected to lead the line once Fabio Cannavaro retires. Almost half of our readers who voted in a poll chose Chiellini as the best defender heading to South Africa.

Midfield: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marek Hamsik and Xabi Alonso

- Lionel Messi is one of the main catalysts behind Barcelona’s treble last season and has continued his devastating form for his club having notched seven goals in la Liga this season. His performances with Argentina are not as impressive but then perhaps that is down to Diego Maradona’s ill management of the players at his disposal as well as his debatable choice of players and tactics. When firing on all cylinders, Lio is a nightmare for defenders.

- Cristiano Ronaldo could perhaps be the only player from the current best 11 to miss out on South Africa 2010. Despite injury, Ronaldo has already found the back of the net on five occasions in la Liga not to mention his four goals in the Champions League. He will be hoping that his country will overcome his absence to beat Bosnia to qualify to the World Cup. The Portuguese hold a 1-0 edge after the weekend home win against the Bosnians.

- Marek Hamsik is perhaps a surprise inclusion to many but he has been one of the rising stars in Serie A the past couple of years and has helped Slovakia qualify to next summer’s World Cup. Hamsik is a wanted man and elite clubs in Italy and Europe have shown interest in his capture. It will only be time before he is snapped up by a bigger club than Napoli. He has already scored seven goals in Serie A this season including his brace in the stunning come-from-behind victory against Juventus in Turin.

- Xabi Alonso has been severely missed by Liverpool which lost much of its midfield structure when it sold the player to Real Madrid. The negative results suffered by Liverpool cannot be attributed to the loss of Alonso alone but it is still a testament to his importance and value to any team he plays for. Alonso recently stamped his authority in the friendly match against Argentina and led his country to a win by scoring both of Spain’s goals.

Attack: Didier Drogba and David Villa

-Didier Drogba has already scored nine goals in 12 Premiership matches not to mention the assists for a Chelsea team on top of the Premier League. Drogba has the speed and physical strength to out-muscle most defenders in England and Europe. He is a scoring threat in any match and can pop up to score a goal at any moment. He also led his country Ivory Coast to next summer’s World Cup.

- David Villa has been in demand for the past couple of years yet he remained with Valencia and his goals have helped his club to fourth place in la Liga’s standings. Villa has already scored eight times in nine games played in the Spanish league. He is one of the most dangerous attackers in Europe and the world. He will partner Fernando Torres in a lethal attack as they attempt to add World Cup 2010 to Spain’s trophy cabinet after securing Euro 2008 for their country.

There are clearly other qualified players who can make the list yet all those mentioned above have played a key role for their club and/or country. All the players, except for Cristiano Ronaldo at this stage, will be participating in South Africa 2010.

David Beckham’s journey continues as recent confirmed reports in Italy suggest that he is on his way back to AC Milan for another loan deal. We have witnessed in the past big players moving from their clubs like Brazilian legend Ronaldo moved from Inter Milan to Real Madrid, Luis Figo from Barcelona to Read Madrid, Andriy Shevchenko from AC Milan to Chelsea, Thierry Henry from Arsenal to Barcelona, recently Kaka from AC Milan to Real Madrid and other big players had to move from one club to another at some stage of their careers. Those players had purpose for the transfers, few wanted to win more trophies, few wanted to face a new challenge, some of the players contract with their clubs expired, some had problem with the management or club fans.

David Beckham’s loan spells at AC Milan are quite different of what we have experienced in the past. David Beckham moved from Real Madrid in 2007 to LA Galaxy of what at that time many believed was not a right decision because Becks was supposed to be in a better shape to play at the highest level and in the Europe as well. David Beckham had a huge impact in United States as many people turn in numbers to watch his signing at the club, those who knew him were delighted and those who didn’t were keen to see the class of the EX-English captain. The ticket sales of Beckham’s shirts were on high, people around the world turn their sight on MLS to some extent, their stadium tickets sales increased dramatically and LA Galaxy experienced something that they didn’t before.

Beckham’s spell at LA Galaxy was a little mixed, he was central to the LA Galaxy plans, it was mix with injuries and poor form as well but what important is that he made a huge difference to the team in terms of its publicity and with their standard of play. Imagine a young player of the team training with becks must have learned a lot with his football skills and about the temperament to have in different situations of the game. LA Galaxy fans have a right to point finger at Beckham because he was unable to deliver what was expected or promised to the club and the league but we should also know clearly that what really was expected? & do players always deliver what is expected from them? If we take example of European player of the year Andriy Shevchenko’s big money arrival at Chelsea, did he deliver what was expected? Did galacticos deliver what was expected from them? And there are many more examples like this if we take a look around. So what I feel appropriate is that Beckham was able to deliver what was expected of him to some extent and it could have been even more if there was not a selection problem at England squad. We all are aware of Fabio Capello man management skills and about his discipline, his judgment of the players & who knows him better than Beckham having worked under him for about a year at Real Madrid when Spanish giants historically came back in the La Liga in the last season in Spain to actually win it.

Selection nightmares left Becks with no choice but to opt for a better club in terms of reputation, a club which will catch the eye of the England chief & there wasn’t any option available to Beckham but to move away from LA Galaxy in order to represent his nation for as long as possible. I think no will one can argue that a person should first of all think about his club than country, if Fulham playmaker Dempsey faces this situation he will certainly leave the club in order to make sure that he represents United States, his country first, and I hold that in highest regards. Beckham loan spell is different from other transfers that we have witnessed in the past because he don’t want to win trophies, he don’t want any new challenge, he don’t have any big issues with the management of the club at LA Galaxy all he wants is the position in the country and contribute in it, I believe that United Kingdom is very fortunate to be blessed with players like David Beckham as he has taken a lot of LA Galaxy fans and critics against him in order to represent his country but I also believe that majority of the LA Galaxy fans also understands and respects his decision so we should all be united to wish him a good spell at AC Milan and hope he can make it to the world cup finals in South Africa 2010.