No World Cup 2010 For These Lot

What do George Best, Ryan Giggs, Eric Cantona, George Weah and Alfredo Di Stefano all have in common? They were all world class players in their prime but never got the chance to show people their talents on the biggest stage of them all – the World Cup. The fact that there are only so many qualifying places ultimately means that certain players will miss out on the great tournament and it could be argued that the international stage is where the greats truly become legends of the game (you don’t seem them looping goals from Pele’s Santos days or Maradonna’s Napoli stint). So in 2010, who are the talented that will be watching the tournament from home wishing that their fellow national compatriots were as brilliant as they were?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic:

The big Swede has often been criticized for failing to perform in the big games and his first season at Barcelona has left many questioning the player’s credentials. But Zlatan has his fans, and it’s clear that Barcelona would not spend the ridiculous amount of money (and swapping the world class Samuel Eto’o) if they didn’t think that Ibra was good enough, and rumours that he will return to Turin giants Juventus may be nothing short of fantasy. Whether Sweden’s problems lie with Zlatan is up for debate however, as the player who has never been a stranger to international goal droughts may not be realising his full potential for his country; something often claimed when the player is donning the famous Barcelona shirt.

Petr Cech:

I often feel sorry for Cech, because due to his status as one of the top goalkeepers in the world, his mistakes are often over analysed and amplified by the media. Never the less, he has been a solid goalkeeper for both club and country, and despite being blamed (and blaming himself) for Czech Republic’s exit to Turkey in Euro 2008, he will no doubt remain his nation’s number one until he decides to hang up the gloves. What is even more remarkable is the fact that Cech is still only 27 years of age, so hopefully for Petr his absence from this particular World Cup will be a one off. The Czech Republic is still regrouping after the majority of a golden generation retired, the likes of Berger, Koller and of course Nedved have all now gone and this has made it difficult for the nation to be the force they once were.

Luka Modric:

Did anyone else see Modric’s goal on the final day of the Premiership for Tottenham against Burnley? It was truly spectacular and Modric has developed well this season, so much that you can barely open up a British newspaper without seeing his name linked with one of Europe’s elite. But Croatia had a difficult group and fell short of both Ukraine and England and failed to recreate the domination over the English they displayed in the Euro 2008 qualifying. Modric was injured for Croatia’s crunch game against England at Wembley, and this led to acquisitions that this was intentional by the Premier League in order to aid England’s chances. Modric is the heart of the Croatia team, and despite a lack of height, he can still pull his own weight on a football pitch and isn’t afraid of anyone.

Mirko Vucinic:

It’s strange how international footballs youngest nation, Montenegro, can hold such an amazing player, but Vucinic has been in fine form this season and indeed the past several. Chelsea fans will remember Mirko well, after he smashed home two goals against them in the 2008-09 Champions League and now that Roma are looking like a much more dominating outfit, Vucinic is playing with a lot more confidence and has been a big part of Roma’s title and cup push. Vucinic is Montenegro’s record goal scorer with 8 goals (seriously) and would appear to be the spearhead of the team, yet the rest of the team is considerably weaker, thus diminishing Vucinic’s chances of ever being seen on the world stage and I fear that he may never get the recognition that he truly deserves.

Shay Given:

Arguably the Premiership’s top goalkeeper, and arguably he should be looking forward to the tournament this summer if it wasn’t for THAT goal. Many people in England often joke that they wish that Given was English, the same way they wished Giggs would have chose to play of England to solve their never ending left midfield headache. He made his name at Newcastle United, and people often believed that he managed to save the Toon Army points much like Schmeichel used to for Man Utd. He’s kept up this form for Man City and is still regarded as one of the top players in the league. He was selected in the team of the decade by many Premiership fans and no can doubt his credentials. But that one goal from France ruined Irish dreams and denied many fans across the world a chance to see Given making world class saves, it also led to a number of Irish people bizarrely destroying their Henry hoovers in protest.

Emmanuel Adebayor:

I love Adebayor, I think most people that aren’t a fan of Arsenal (or probably Man Utd) love Adebayor as he is the funniest man in football at the moment. Does anyone else feel that when he scored that famous goal against Arsenal, he ran down the pitch like a horse? There’s also this little gem of a story I’ve pointed out in previous articles and there is a wealth of videos on YouTube of Adebayor dancing, whether it be in car parks or to half time music. Luckily, the BBC has moved quickly to sign Adebayor up as an analyst for British football fans, meaning one of the top strikers in the Premiership will be involved in this year’s World Cup. Thank god for the BBC!

Andrei Arshavin:

A player that was never really noticed until later in his career, he almost joined his boyhood heroes of Barcelona before going to Arsenal where has has since impressed and become an important part of their team. But despite the depth and strength Russia had this year, they failed to qualify and were knocking out in the play-offs by a plucky Slovenia side. In four years time Arshavin will be 32 and a chance to see him in the 2010 World Cup would have seen him in his prime and many would have considered Russia to be a dangerous proposition. Russia are probably the best nation not to go to this Summer’s World Cup and it’s such a shame that we won’t see the likes of Arshavin, Akinfeev and Pavyluchenko strutting their stuff on the pitch.

Any One Of A Number Of Argentineans:

It would be easy to point out a number of players from qualified teams who may not be going, but Argentina is a different case. Watching Argentina’s qualification quest was entertaining, if not a bit bizarre. But just look at their Wikipedia page for current squad and recent call-ups – that is ridiculous. Albeit Maradonna wanted to try something new against Haiti and play a bunch of players who ply their trade in the national league, but Palermo and Ortega were world class about a decade ago, not today. Then he seems determined to play an ageing Juan Sebastian Veron in midfield for every game when he has the likes of Cambiasso, Gago, Banega and Gonzalez, while Jonas Guierrez is guaranteed to start every game, no matter what position he has to play (he’s so far played in the middle, on the right, on the left and in both full-back positions at some point for his country). There is Kun Aguero, Hugain, Lopez, Lavezzi, Tevez and Milito available to him and it appears that Martin Palermo is assured a place and Hernan Crespo is coming under serious consideration, presumably for the great bench warming skills he has obtained since his return to Parma. I wonder how far he has managed to dwindle down the 90 men under consideration and the recent 4-0 hammering of Haiti will only cause more confusion. It’ll be a laugh for the rest of the world though!

Are there any other players that you would like to see at this World Cup that will be sitting at home because they didn’t qualify (or are a world class Argentinean in their prime)? Let us know!

Below is a list of teams with some quality players which will unfortunately miss the World Cup next summer:

Ireland- The Irish team may not be the most talented to miss out on qualification but certainly was unjustly eliminated by France. The Ireland squad is not as deep as other but has talented players such as Aiden McGeady who plays as a winger and/or forward for Celtic. The Irish can also count on the goals of experienced scorer Robbie Keane and the consistency of goalkeeper Shay Given. The team is coached by the shrewd Italian Giovanni Trapattoni who has won league titles in a number of countries.

Mali- the African nation boasts Frederic Kanoute who scores regularly for Sevilla, Mohamed Sissoko who is the Juventus midfield general and Barcelona’s Seydou Keita who has already scored six goals in 10 league games. Mali may not have the football pedigree of the likes of Egypt, Cameroon and Nigeria when it comes to Africa football but with the aforementioned players and Real Madrid’s Mahamadou Diarra can certainly form a well acclaimed side.

Russia- The team includes Arsenal’s Andrei Arshavin and Chelsea’s Yuri Zhirkov but failed in the play-off stage against Slovenia after losing on the away goal rule. The Russians won 2-1 at home only to lose 1-0 in Slovenia. Arshavin is one of the most entertaining players when he is at his best.

Bosnia- The Portuguese were missing Cristiano Ronaldo and yet were able to overcome the Bosnians after two identical 1-0 wins. The Bosnia- & Herzegovina team has quite the the talent with names such as Edin Dzeko, Vedad Ibisevic, Zlatan Muslimovic and Zvjezdan Misimovic. The Bosnians were beaten by a more experienced team with the likes of Ricardo Carvalho, Pepe, Deco, Nani and Simao. The Bosnians formed an entertaining and high-scoring team which ironically failed to find the net against Portugal. (Please refer to a previous article dated November 5, 2009 and titled Will Portugal Overcome Bosnia Without Ronaldo for more coverage on this topic)

Sweden- The World Cup next summer will not feature one of the most gifted big man in the shape of striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Barcelona forward has audacious talent considering his size and has so far notched seven goals in just nine la Liga games for the Catalan club. Ibrahimovic was one of the main reasons behind Inter’s domestic domination in Italy prior to his summer move to Barca.

Egypt- Egypt receives a mention because of two hotly contested matches with Algeria which occurred in a space of four days. The two countries are the only ones to play each other three times during the World Cup qualifiers to determine which side makes it to South Africa. The team from the land of the Pharaohs was able to beat Algeria 2-0 in Cairo to force a play-off match in Sudan which was ultimately won by Algeria 1-0. The team is led by Al-Ahly’s star player Mohamed Aboutrika and counts on the goals of striker Amr Zaki who played for one season with Wigan Athletic (On loan last season). Other notable names include Mohamed Zidan who plays for German side Borussia Dortmund and Ahmed Hossam Mido (who played in England and has not featured in the recent matches for Egypt).

The other national teams which will be missing on South Africa 2010 do not contain the same star-name appeal though the likes of Togo (which boasts Manchester City’s Adebayor), Morocco and Tunisia failed to qualify from Africa while in Europe all the big guns have qualified after the France-Ireland fiasco. The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, England and Spain have all booked their place in next summer’s World Cup.

The World Cup is almost set in terms of the teams that will qualify and once the play-offs are completed it will be clear whether the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Franck Ribery will be present or missing. In the meantime, Sweden’s talented forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic will certainly not be going to the World Cup after his country failed to qualify from the same group which saw eventual winners Denmark earn automatic qualification and runners-up Portugal reach the play-offs.

Perhaps the African continent will see many of its star players missing in comparison with other regions since countries such as Nigeria, Egypt and Togo will likely miss out unless they win and results fall in their favor. Still, with the likes of Didier Drogba and Michael Essien making it to South Africa, the missing players such as Egypt’s Amr Zaki (previously on loan with Wigan Athletic) and Nigeria’s Obafemi Martins (previously with Newcastle United) do not share the same prestige and talent. Thus, the most important missing players will likely come from Europe and Barcelona’s Ibrahimovic must be one of the most talented players on the list of absentees. If both France and Portugal fail to qualify then the list will extend to include a number of other notable names.

Other players who will likely miss out due to various reasons include Italy’s Antonio Cassano who continues to be overlooked by Azzurri coach Marcello Lippi despite his influential role in Sampdoria’s strong start to the domestic league. Cassano has yet to feature in any of the matches since Lippi took over again following coach Roberto Donadoni’s unconvincing tenure. Spain’s Raul will probably be another familiar name missing once the World Cup begins next summer. The Real Madrid icon has witnessed a steady decline the past couple of years as age kicks in yet he remains Spain’s all-time leading scorer.

Two other names that could be missing on South Africa despite their country’s qualification include Brazilians Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Ronaldo is a few goals behind legend Pele on the Brazilian all-time scoring list yet he might not play again for his country due to injuries which have decimated his career. The former Barcelona, Internazionale and Milan striker is also the World Cup’s top scorer after netting a total of 15 times.

His compatriot Ronaldinho, who ironically also played for Barcelona and now wears the Rossoneri shirt, was instrumental in many of Barcelona’s victories in Spain and Europe as well as Brazil’s World Cup 2002 triumph when he scored the infamous free-kick against England in the quarter-final stage. Ronaldinho is desperately trying to revive his career after a stuttering start to the season with Milan. Unless Ronaldinho rediscovers his old form then he is unlikely to earn a recall from coach Dunga.

The Brazilian coach may spring a surprise if his roster does not include Milan’s young striker Alexandre Pato. The Rossoneri’s attacker played a fundamental role in Milan’s famous away victory against Los Galacticos and is currently beginning to fire on all cylinders. Pato was not included in Dunga’s latest squad which will play England and Oman in friendly matches.

Finally, Italy’s Lippi may also not call up Alessandro Del Piero as the veteran forward begins his journey to regain full fitness after a series of niggling injuries at the start of this season. Del Piero has often delivered for his club Juventus yet the same cannot be said of his international career with his two main contributions to the Azzurri including the ending of Germany’s hopes in the semi-final in Germany 2006 when he scored the second goal in over-time and clinching a draw against Mexico in South Korea 2002. Del Piero scored to bring the Azzurri on level with the Mexicans and helping his country qualify to the second round in the process.

Italy will perhaps miss two other World Cup winners in the shape of the returning defensive maestro Alessandro Nesta and Roma’s talisman Francesco Totti. Nesta has had a solid start to the season yet he has quit the international game despite calls for his return based on his recent performances while Totti continues to struggle with various injuries and it seems unlikely he will feature for the Italians in South Africa.