The unorthodox style of Diego Armando Maradona in the 2010 World Cup campaign has been the focus of news reports for over eighteen months now and such was the pressure and expectation of his nation the squad was one of the earliest arrivals to their South African base. Having barely qualified, following a disastrous run of results, Argentina reached the finals bringing a squad littered with great names – Lionel Messi; Javier Mascherano, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain, Walter, Samuel, Diego Milito and Gabriel Heinze - leaving behind equally capable alternatives – Esteban Cambiasso, Gabriel Milito, Fernando Gago and Javier Zannetti – so rich is current talent.
But Maradona and controversy have always dominated the world cup ever since his first appearance in 1982, having missed out in the home tournament in 1978 because Manager Cesar Luis Menotti thought he was too young at eighteen to play. In 1982 at the Estadio de Sarria in Barcelona he was sent off in the second round match against Brazil for a vicious tackle on Batista; in 1986 it was the "Hand of God" goal and then a weaving 55 metre run gliding past Peter Beardsley, Peter Reid, Terry Butcher and Terry Fenwick to score for a second time in five minutes; in 1990 losing in the final to Germany in an ugly affair and then being expelled from USA ‘94 after failing a drug test in Foxboro Stadium at the end of the match against Greece.
But in South Africa the madness that is Maradona has seen his team convincingly qualify for the round of 16 having won their two group so far with 5 goals in favour – and the first hat trick of the tournament from leading scorer Higuain. But amidst the calm waters this week Maradona suggested that Pele “should be put in a museum” reviving their ongoing spat once again after the Brazilian legend dared comment on Argentina's tactics in the first match. Once again Maradona making himself the centre of world cup controversy.
In contrast the poe-faced and alleged ice cool Fabio Capello and his Italian back room team were one of the incoming favourites to the 2010 World Cup after an unbeaten qualifying campaign. Yet his demeanour during the match against Algeria was tetchy and a lesson in a variety of Italian gesticulation as Algeria secured an unexpected draw against a disorganised and nervous looking England team. With a make or break game now left against Slovenia next week as the only way to get through to the round of last 16.
A win is a must in order to avoid the memories Gelsenkirchen in 2006 when England lost to a winking Ronaldo of Portugal; the quarter final loss to Brazil in 2002 when Ronaldinho single-handedly undid Sven Goran Ericsson's XI in Shizuoka and the fall to Argentina in Saint Etienne in 1998 on a night that David Beckham was despatched early to the dressing rooms.
But the below par performances so far against USA and Algeria point to the World Cup of twenty tears ago in Italy when England were drawn in a group along with the Republic of Ireland, Holland and Egypt all based in Sardinia. In the opening fixture against Ireland in Cagliari the pundits had it set as an upset to rival EURO ‘88 in Stuttgart. However it was not to be.
In a tedious game Gary Lineker scored within the first ten minutes and the an Irish nation waited until the 73rd minute when Kevin Sheedy finally struck a low shot that would beat Peter Shilton - the game ending in a draw. Then draw against Holland and a victory over Egypt placed England at the top of the group and a spot in the round of 16 against Belgium.
In Bologna the game went the full distance with the industry of Paul Gascoigne, Steve McMahon, John Barnes, Chris Waddle and Gary Lineker unable to unravel Eric Gerets and company with the solitary goal from David Platt settled the match. In a highly contested quarter final against Cameroon an improving England found expansive nature of the African Champions hard to handle despite an early goal from David Platt. Cameroon went 2-1 up twenty minutes into the second half. However it took two goals from Gary Lineker in the 83rd minute and the last minute to secure an uneasy passage to the semi finals - on the foot of close scare by Cameroon legends Roger Milla and goalkeeper Thomas Nkono.
And so it was at the Stadio delle Alpi in Turin that England would meet their real old enemy - in every sense - bringing back memories of West Germany at Wembley in 1996; West Germany in Leon in 1970 when the unfortunate Peter Bonetti failed to stop Beckenbauer’s effort and then Madrid in 1982 when Rummenigge hit the crossbar with the only chance of the night with Peter Shilton completely beaten.
In 1990 though neither side was able to fashion a clear-cut chance in the first half with the deadlock only broken on the hour mark when a free kick from Andy Brehme was deflected by Paul Parker. With 10 minutes left on the clock Gary Lineker scored for England forcing the game into extra-time during with a highly strung Paul Gascoigne receiving his second yellow card of the competition.
Prematurely worried that he would not make the final Gascoigne need not have worried as Germany won the penalties after Stuart Pearce’s shot was saved and Chris Waddle’s went wide.
But for a penalty miss, history will recall, England could have made the final and in many ways it was testimony to the late Sir Bobby Robson that the disorganised side that had started their campaign in Cagliari against the Republic of Ireland lacking in imagination made it so far. In 2010 some of those characteristics start to look vaguely familiar - even for Stuart Pearce - and so anything becomes possible at a major championship.
In looking at the sideline against Algeria it was hard to believe therefore that the man known as “Psycho” – Stuart Pearce - looked the calmest in the dug out with Fabio Capello a study in Italian dramatics as he oversaw his team apparent inability to deliver on his pre match tactics. As he nears the zenith of England’s 2010 World Cup his team need to deliver and perhaps the only men on the bench capable of relaying the pain of another failed championship to the players are Stuart Pearce and David Beckham. They know more than most the sense of need for England to deliver and that the time has indeed come for the superstars of the Premier League to answer their nations call – albeit with a potential meeting with Germany once again looming in the next phase.
The fear of that reality for those highly paid players seems to be the major issue and all pundits pointing to the weight of an expectant nation as the inhibiting stylish and fluid play.
German footballing legend Franz Beckenbauer has been scathing of England's playing style after their opening game at the World Cup and perhaps identified the unspoken problem by all the soccer pundits and that is -the real quality of the Premier League for English players and the England team. .
"It looked to me as if the English have gone backwards into the bad old days of kick and rush."
"I am not sure if the England coach Fabio Capello can still change much there," he told South African newspaper the Times.
"The English are being punished for the fact that there are very few English players in the Premier League as clubs use better foreign players from all over the world."
Beckenbauer, who captained his country to World Cup victory in 1974 and was the manager when they won in 1990, believes England's problems are the result of a shortage of talent in the Premier League – in other words a shortage of English talent in a league awash with imported stars.
Based on the results so far who could argue with The Kaiser
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First published June 19, 2010
They’ve only once made a major final (WC 1966) and that was as host nation – their record over a very long time is piss poor for a country with such a large football playing population and clearly long outdates the Premier League e.g. in 1974 they failed even to make the WC finals and also sometimes failed to make the Euro finals.
ReplyDeleteTo some extent they’ve recognised that they’ve got deficiencies with players’ skills and since the seventies they’ve tried to fix this with the youth academy, but looking at the ouput you’d have to say they’ve still got a problem with their youth coaching/talent development. Also, too often they’ve picked the wrong manager, Bobby Robson being an honourable exception. They ignored the likes of Clough and overseas talent to pick some real dills like Graham Taylor and Glenn Hoddle – what did Hoddle really achieve at club level to suggest he was up to the job?
Gabriel McDowell