2010 FIFA World Cup's most Green Goalkeeper
BBC termed it a “moment of complete calamity, and the English fans just held their heads in disbelief. This was the moment that would haunt Robert Green for a long time to come.
He was not Fabio Capello’s first choice as a goalkeeper for their opening match against the United States. Now will Capello question his judgement call which led England to draw their match against the US?
This West Ham united player was called up for England’s world cup squad, but little did he realise his excitement would soon turn into horror when a shot from Clint Dempsey in the fortieth minute deviated and slipped out of the hands of Green conceding a goal for England. This was his debut appearance in a world cup group match for England, as he missed the previous cup due to a groin injury, but it seems as if it was a debut that he would rather forget than cherish.
There are certain pundits of the game who feel it is unfair for Green to shoulder the entire blame. Most critics point fingers at the use of the new Adidas Jumbalani ball, which causes the ball to deviate away from the keeper due to its odd bounce. He is known for his exquisite hand to eye coordination but this time his error could prove to be too costly for England. His teammates do believe it was the ball that is to be blamed, which according to them was worse than the ball that was used in the Champions league.
At the very moment the ball slipped in to the net, Green probably felt the world caving in on him and upon his return to the locker room he probably thought all gazes would have been on him. But what is important now is for Green to bounce back. He needs to get his confidence back and not buckle down under pressure. If he has a good next game, he needs to take the positive out of it rather than living in the past. Green now desperately needs the support of his teammates to recover. They should put the USA match behind them and pretend it was not calamitous.
Green may get the support from the rest of the English squad, but it is the pressure from the English public that he may not be able to evade. It is the public that tends to remember the faux pas even if you have a spectacular record and that is more so in the world cup games. It is the same public that idolizes its footballers and puts them on a pedestal, but one mistake and they have the power to topple them from the top spot.
Football is like a religion in England, thereby increasing the pressure on the players. England goes into world cups under immense scrutiny from its people. They would be subject to severe criticism if they are to be knocked out before the quarter finals. Thus, every player goes into a match with added responsibility on their shoulders. Such incidents have taken place before with Stuart Pearce, Gareth Waddle and Chris Southgate facing the wrath of the nation after missing penalties.
There are some circles in England that believe that players fare much better in the league matches than they do for international matches. Some believe that it’s the fact that any mistake during league matches will not lead them to be labeled as the ‘bad guy’ of the team, thus the less the pressure the better the performance. Maybe this is what Green felt, who has had a great record with first Norwich and the West Ham United. In fact it was his performance in the league games that helped him get the call for the world cup squad.
England will now face off against Algeria on June 18, and its not just physical preparation that will be instrumental but more importantly the mental frame of each player. England players can blame the odd nature of the ball, but the less pressure they put on Green, the more chances of him being a great defender of the goal post.
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