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 Republic of Ireland will take on France in the World Cup play-offs which commence next weekend in what will be an intriguing clash between the shrewd Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni and the much-maligned French national team coach Raymond Domenech.

Trapattoni’s record speaks for itself with successful spells almost everywhere he coached yet his most notable job prior to taking over Ireland ended in miserable failure with the Azzurri. Trapattoni was unconvincing and seemed stuck in the past using tactics which did not suit the abilities of the Italian players at his disposal. However, since taking over Ireland’s coaching duties, he was able to create a solid unit as evidenced by the undefeated run in the group stage not to mention conceding just eight goals in the 10 matches played. Trapattoni’s most notable results came against his home country with Ireland snatching a 1-1 draw in Italy and wasting two points at home after a late Alberto Gilardino equaliser gave the Azzurri a share of the spoils in a feisty 2-2 encounter. He will be counting on ‘keeper Shay Given to try and keep a clean sheet in the first match in Ireland before traveling to France for the return clash.

While the schedule does not serve the Irish well, the absence of the likes of Franck Ribery (pictured above), Samir Nasri and Patrick Vieira as well as David Trezeguet will work in Trapattoni’s favour. Both Ribery and Nasri are out due to injury (Arsenal’s Nasri just returned but is not fully fit) while Vieira has been overlooked due to his limited appearances for club Internazionale. As for Trezeguet, the Juventus striker does not seem likely to feature again for Les Bleus as long as the bizarre Domenech is in charge of the national team. It is quite unfortunate considering the striker’s scoring record with both France and Juventus. Despite criticism of his shortcomings outside the box, Trezeguet has often delivered for the French, most notably when he scored the famous winner against the Italians in the Euro 2000 Final. Domenech and Trezeguet rarely saw eye to eye and the striker’s penalty miss during the World Cup in Germany against none other than the Azzurri may have set Domenech in his stubborn ways to overlook the goal poacher.

It will be crucial for the Irish to keep a clean sheet in the first match and travel to France without having conceded any goals. With the likes of Thierry Henry, Karim Benzema and Nicolas Anelka spearheading the attack, France will most likely be able to find the net when it hosts the Irish in the return leg on November 18. France won the World Cup in 1998, followed that up with a dramatic overtime win in Euro 2000 before stuttering in World Cup 2002, and then finished Runners-up to Italy in the culminating match of Zinedine Zidane’s illustrious career. It was a controversial loss for the French as the legendary Zidane was sent-off to undermine his country’s chances of winning after he had lifted the nation on his shoulders to Berlin.

Will an Italian stand in France’s way once again as Trapattoni’s charges take on France? The difference this time is that missing on South Africa 2010 will bring to an end a successful chapter in the history of Les Bleus. It may bring back unfortunate memories of the failure witnessed by the talented 1990s team which did not make it to USA 1994. That squad inlcuded the likes of David Ginola, Eric Cantona and Jean-Pierre Papin among others. Ireland will rely heavily on Shay Given, an organised defense and a hustling midfield as well as the striking instincts of Robbie Keane while the French will try to compensate for the absentees with Henry and Anelka (or Benzema) likely leading the line. At this point it will be unrealistic to predict the outcome knowing that Ribery will be dearly missed by the French as he plays a significant role in the team’s buildup and attacks.