Three Lions and much ado about Rooney

England

Don’t we all love England, the home of football? Yes, the English do make a lot of noise but never match it with performance in the field of play. 1966 World Cup triumph is a distant memory but the English brag about winning the Jules Rimet trophy (not World Cup yet).

England has suffered two consecutive quarter-finals exits in the 2002 and 2006 editions. A second round exit in USA ’94 in the hands of Argentina after a penalty shoot-out; the game many will remember for all the wrong reasons when David Beckham was sent off after a moment of indiscretion. In 2002 in the Far East Brazil continued where Argentina left off; dumping Sven Goran Ericsson’s England out of the Mundial in the quarter finals. The Brazilians did go on to win the trophy in Korea/Japan; the English consoled themselves losing to the eventual Cup winners wasn't bad after all. There was also a Latin flavour to England’s penalty shoot-out exit in Germany four years ago. Portugal administered the knock-out punch this time around. Once again, the game was mired in controversy as ‘Boy-Wonder’ Wayne Rooney was sent-off for petulance. The role played by Cristiano Ronaldo (then Rooney's Manchester United colleague) was truly despicable. Ronaldo was the villain in England for many seasons after that World Cup incident. After all said and done, England were out of the World Cup on penalties, classic English exit!

If Cristiano Ronlado was to blame for England’s exit in Germany 2006, Beckham/Simeone in 1998, what about 2002? Shall we say sheer Brazilian brilliance? I will let you be the judge of that! The English can boast of some of the best players in the world, true! Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and John Terry are all world class. Not long ago, England were beaten 2-0 by Spain in an international friendly and the English looked ordinary, not world-class stuff I must admit. England's hopes rest on the young shoulders of Wayne Rooney but can Wazza strut his stuff at the World Cup without losing it?

“England, Algeria, Slovenia, Yankees (EASY)”, so read an English daily describing Group C after the World Cup draws were made last year. Isn’t that sheer arrogance or is it over-confidence? England may rue their overconfidence when the World Cup starts. Undisputed, Fabio Capello is a great coach, but on the club level. His foray into the international scene is proving to be a success so far. In South Africa his credentials will come under scrutiny, it will be no surprise should England falter in Group C.

The dearth of home-grown talents is a recurring decimal in English Football circles but I beg to ask where young players like Joe Hart, Adam Johnson, Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young, Micah Richards and Gabriel Agbonlahor come from? England fails when it matters most because the English believe having the best league in the world (English Premier League) translates to having the best football team in the world. All can see that it is a wrong assumption; the English should take a cue from the Brazilians.

Capello has talked about a possible player ‘burn-out’ of English players due to the long, hard season in England. Not right Mr. Capello, mind you not only English players going to the World Cup feature in the EPL. Say the Ivory Coast perform below par in South Africa; they can as well lay the blame on the long, hard season in England (citing Didier Drogba’s performance for Chelsea). Such flimsy excuses should be far from Capello’s itinerary. Player ‘burn-out’ is the sole preserve of the next team on our list of ‘underachievers.’