Franz Beckenbauer says England have no player at the level of Ronaldinho Messi or Schweinsteiger
When the pre-tournament favourites were being talked about, England always seemed to be among them. Three weeks into the tournament and the English fans are now left wondering, what went wrong? The England team comprises of a number of players who do excellent jobs for their clubs, but their form never seems to stick when they put on the England jersey. Everything from nerves to bad tactics to a lack of desire has been mentioned as a possible cause. A number of other theories have also been presented to explain the untimely demise of the English at the hands of a strong German side but one seems to have slipped by, without much attention.
German World Cup winner, and one of the best players to have graced this world, Franz Beckenbauer suggested before the England vs. Germany game that the English had a tendency of playing "Kick and Rush" football. The full extent of the statement does not become clear, at first. "Kick and Rush" football is alright at times; it has even been known to help teams win competitions. The problem, though, lies in the fact that the England team are not capable of doing anything else, given the squad they have.
Simply put, the England team consists of players who do a very ordinary job for their clubs rather well. In the presence of others (who provide the creative input), the England players blossom. It is a characteristic that has led to them achieving the biggest honours at club level. However, at the international level, in the absence of that creative input, they struggle for ideas, especially when met with strong opposition.
John Terry, in his outburst, suggested that only Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney were capable of any creativity in the England squad. An admirable attempt by the Chelsea Captain to shed some light on England's problems, but he was about two places off on the real number. Truth is, England have no player capable of doing something a Ronaldinho, Messi, Zidane or even a Schweinsteiger could do.
The suggestion here is not that the English players are not talented; they are. They have just specialized in the same kind of talent. Wayne Rooney tapped in close to 40 goals last season and with all due respect to him, it really wasn't as good as it sounds. England's most creative player did not score a single goal from outside the penalty area; that really puts things in perspective.
Joe Cole, England's other 'creative' player, hasn't had a good game in years and even when he has had them, it has been due to the work of players like Michael Essien, Claude Makelele and Didier Drogba in his former club side, Chelsea.
Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are the only two players in the England team who are sometimes capable of delivering the kind of performances international football requires in every single game. But Gerrard is undisciplined, goes for the spectacular way too often, and gives the ball away even more frequently. And Lampard? Well, let’s just say Gareth Barry is no Essien and with a 4-4-2 formation, he doesn't have the licence to roam around freely the way he does for Chelsea.
In short, England are fairly ordinary. Put each of these players in other teams and they will almost certainly perform the way they do for their clubs. Their talents just don't supplement each other and that is not their fault.
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