The joy of making a 30-man provisional World Cup squad is nothing compared to the crushing misery of failing to make the final 23. To be so close, yet so far, from what might be considered a minor peak of footballing achievement short of actually, say, winning the thing has to break the heart.
For some, there is perhaps an early sense that they're there for experience and team bonding with the future in mind. Take Germany's fledglings called in for training camp Kevin Volland and Max Meyer were never really considered likely to fly to Brazil, yet served their purpose over a productive week in South Tyrol.
Then there are the untimely injuries that rob squads of their prize talent, some of whom were hurt after the June 2 squad deadline. (FIFA rules allow for injured players to be swapped out for replacements up to 24 hours before the team's first World Cup game.) While the likes of Diego Costa and Luis Suarez were deemed worthy of a spot despite lingering niggles and knacks, there are others about whom the physio wasn't so upbeat.
With the above in mind, we take a gander at a squad's worth of players whose Brazilian experience will be sadly limited to the TV or personal holiday variety.
Marco Reus, MF, GER
The final send-off game before heading to a major tournament is also the last chance for players to pick up ruinous injuries which is exactly what happened to Germany's red-hot attacker on Friday.
A partially torn ankle ligament on the cusp of half-time vs. Armenia has ruled Dortmund's dynamic, do-all star out of a summer jaunt in South America, leaving Joachim Loew having to plan for yet another crucial absentee.
Reus isn't the first player removed from consideration since Loew narrowed down his squad to 30 players for camp -- Lars Bender, below, is another notable loss but this one might be less harmful than first thought. Of course Reus is in the form of his life and figured to be an automatic starter vs. Portugal on June 16, but Loew can call upon several able deputies.
For one, Lukas Podolski has bags of World Cup experience and has always been more productive for country than club. Andre Schuerrle has impressed in small doses and could fulfill some of Reus' brief from wide positions.
We'd be lying if we claimed Germany won't miss Reus, but their World Cup chances are far from blown.
Franck Ribery, FRA
Another huge name, another massive loss. Ribery's lingering, nagging, recurring back complaint was deemed too significant to risk in Brazil, forcing Didier Deschamps to scramble in Remy Cabella to fill the Bayern winger's cavernous boots.
Ribery's been flirting with the peak of world football for years now, winning every trophy in sight with Bayern and ending 2013 in the top three for FIFA's Ballon d'Or voting. Though at less than his best for much of 2014, his pace and persistence are priceless assets on Les Bleus' flank.
So what now? Deschamps must scramble to readjust but the fact remains that France still has a strong core in midfield. The trio of Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi and Yohan Cabaye combine flair and force in a dizzying, effective blend. Mathieu Valbuena packs a big punch from wide positions while up front, Olivier Giroud and Karim Benzema will still make an annoying habit of troubling opposing goalkeepers in a generous group (Honduras, Ecuador, Switzerland).
The likely, direct replacement for Ribery is Antoine Griezmann, whose youthful hubris should see him flourish against timid defenders. But will it be enough? One suspects, as noted by a prominent French journalist on Twitter, that Ribery's absence is harder for France as a whole than Deschamps and his squad, but it will be intriguing to see if Griezmann and Cabella and match the elder statesman's productivity and menace. This is their chance, after all.
The other issue is Samir Nasri. Deschamps' decision to omit him was made on firm principles rather than individual merit; jokes about Nasri being on the beach will only elicit a laugh from Les Bleus supporters if the team thrives in his continued exile.
Another injury for France? Lyon midfielder Clement Grenier, whose thigh/groin issues forced him out. Southampton's Morgan Schneiderlin will replace him in the 23, just reward for a fine season in the Premier League.
Roman Shirokov, MF, RUS
This one is big not because of the name involved -- few outside football hipsters might profess to know much about the 32-year-old midfielder -- but because of his role within the Russian team. As Michael Yokhin put it, he is their Cristiano Ronaldo, their Lionel Messi, their anchor and guiding light.
Fabio Capello's team will benefit still from a gentle line of opponents -- South Korea, Algeria and Belgium is as close to a best case scenario given Shirokov's injury -- but their squad lacks the kind of calm creator in midfield to replace their injured captain. Their is a lot of time before their first group game on June 17, but is that enough?
Landon Donovan, MF, USA
Now for the "big" omission, especially if you live west of the Atlantic Ocean. There comes a time in any professional footballer's life when they are considered no longer worthy of that which came so naturally and automatically.
For Donovan, that would be a spot on a World Cup squad. Given his elder-statesman appeal and alt-soccer swagger, Donovan's versatility was deemed by all to be a guarantee.
Until, that is, Jurgen Klinsmann decided not to pick him. While we've dissected the decision (and tweets of naughty offspring) ad nauseam, we may never know why Donovan was deemed surplus to requirements.
What we do know is that for every poorly hit Brad Davis cross or confounding defensive error by Timothy Chandler -- and, perhaps, every minute enjoyed by new recruit Julian Green -- the reasons for his omission become that much harder to justify.
Jesus Navas/Alvaro Negredo, MF/FW, ESP
You're a pair of players in a strange land, playing for a team with sky-high aspirations and two not-insignificant price tags to live up to. You both adjust sharply, forming menacing components of an attack already littered with world-class, self-motivated individuals. Your debut season stats, in arguably the world's strongest league, speak for themselves: 30 games, four goals and seven assists for one, nine goals in 21 games for the other.Yet you're both omitted from the defending World Cup champion's squad in favor of Santi Cazorla and Fernando Torres.
We don't know that those were the exact choices that Vicente del Bosque had to make, of course was it Juan Mata's veteran squad presence or David Villa's high-octane end to the season that kept them out?
But both Navas and Negredo have reason to feel aggrieved.
That said, there are fair arguments against the City duo. The former's injury struggles (and subsequent "I'm fine! I'm fit!" tweets) weren't enough to convince del Bosque of his value in Brazil; never mind that Diego Costa is apparently worth the wait when it comes to match fitness and overall health.
Meanwhile, La Roja's walrus of a manager won't have relished seeing Negredo consistently upstaged by Edin Dzeko in the second half of the Prem season. Despite Torres' season-long malaise, his penchant of scoring in big games earned him a barely earned spot.
Riccardo Montolivo, MF, ITA
Here's one for which no pith or jokes are really appropriate. Montolivo's fractured tibia means he won't just miss a trip to Brazil but much of the 2014-15 season; early reports following Monday's surgery have suggested Christmas as a reasonable time frame for his return.
The Milan captain is a capable, artful player on both sides of the ball for both club and country. Though Marco Verratti appears more than capable of replacing him in the Azzurri's midfield, Montolivo's absence adds another layer of concern to Italy's pre-tournament prep.
Giuseppe Rossi, FW, ITA
Another shocker from I Tricolore. Having fought manfully to return from two cruciate ligament injuries in the past couple of years, he was jettisoned from Prandelli's plans given his clear unreliability. Those injuries never quite heal; any doubts will therefore always linger.
All the goals for Fiorentina (14 in 17 Serie A games until a knee injury in January) and personal reassurances from the striker himself weren't enough, so Italy's attacking hopes rely on an equally inconsistent group.
There's Mario Balotelli, a striker for whom excellence is a choice. Antonio Cassano is a fan fave for his views on love and pastry, though his energy isn't always wisely used on the pitch. Lorenzo Insigne is creative but largely untested at this level, while the superb duo that led Torino this season, Ciro Immobile (now of Borussia Dortmund) and Alessio Cerci, might struggle to replicate their impressive rapport in the World Cup's toughest group.
Form is everything at a tournament like this, and Rossi simply didn't have enough of it.
Alvaro Saborio, FW, CRC
Few may have been expecting Costa Rica to advance from a group including England, Uruguay and Italy, but whatever slim chances they did have will have thinned further now that their leading forward is hurt.
Saborio's foot injury during a closed-door training a fifth metatarsal break set to sideline him for three months deprives the Ticos of their current top scorer and the man around whom much of Jorge Luis Pinto's game plan would have revolved.
It's also a big blow to club side Real Salt Lake, who will be without the 32-year-old for much of the MLS season as a result.
Dani Carvajal, DF, ESP
Despite being just 22 years old, all signs pointed to the young Real Madrid right-back as being a shoo-in for Spain's World Cup squad. Beyond that, all signs pointed to him being Spain's best player at the position. With Alvaro Arbeloa largely out to pasture, Carvajal's superb season at the Bernabeu only seemed to confirm his quality.
Until del Bosque opted for the versatility of Cesar Azpilicueta, Chelsea's do-all full-back comfy on either flank, and Atletico Madrid's Juanfran, a man who was injured and subsequently exposed by Gareth Bale in the Champions League final.
Carvajal will get his chance in due course. Chin up, lad.
Luis Montes, MF, MEX
Another player whose World Cup chances ended in injury, El Tri's midfielder broke his leg in last week's friendly versus Ecuador. His four-to-six-week layoff is surely of scant consolation given what he'll miss.
Though Montes would have been a likely starter in Brazil, his injury might not be too crushing for Mexico given the performance of Marco Fabian in his stead. A lovely goal and strong all-round cameo after replacing Montes may nudge him into the open starting spot in midfield. As I said above, form is everything.
Lars Bender, MF, GER
With Sami Khedira and Bastian Schweinsteiger both struggling for fitness, the 25-year-old would have offered instant reassurance in midfield were it not for a "combined muscle and tendon injury." The loss might force Joachim Low to shuffle Philipp Lahm into midfield; the ripple effect from there could easily destabilize Germany's World Cup chances before a ball is even kicked.
Ricardo Quaresma/Rafael van der Vaart, MF/MF, POR/NED
More of a memorial nod here, but Quaresma and van der Vaart represent that lost, mid-2000s generation of talent that never seemingly adjusted to the pace and rigor of the modern game as we now know it. Both superb early in their careers, Quaresma's lack of consistency and VDV's lack of athleticism meant that neither man quite hit the heights that appeared to be their destiny.
Quaresma's skill was sadly overshadowed by his temper and inability to settle. Having tried to reboot his career with Porto after a quiet/pointless spell in Dubai with Al Ahli, he was shunned in favor of Nani, the apple of Man United's eye. (Coach Paulo Bento's justification? "Nani has difference characteristics to Quaresma." Such reasons!)
Van der Vaart, meanwhile, could rarely complete a full 90 minutes at Tottenham, dispensing his prodigious, game-altering brilliance in half-hour dribs and drabs. A return to Hamburg, the home to his brightest days, was rather grim, as HSV just about managed to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga for the first time in club history.
That a calf injury curtailed his slender World Cup chances seems sadly apt.
Espn
No comments:
Post a Comment