South Africa 2010: What went wrong with the 'Three Lions"?
Once again, the English team crashed out of a major tournament without giving a fight. Every time the three lions come to any major football tournament, they are hyped as the ‘favourites’ to lift the trophy. However, the English have found a thousand different ways to disappoint their fans with remarkable consistency. England’s football team is a combination of players who play brilliantly as individuals for their clubs but fail to impress collectively.
Here’s a look at all the factors which caused the English debacle in the FIFA 2010 World Cup.
John Terry-Wayne Bridge fiasco
A few months before the World Cup, a scandal erupted which rocked English football. John Terry, who at that time was captain of the English squad, was found to have extramarital affairs with the fiancée of his former Chelsea and England team mate Wayne Bridge. Terry and Bridge were regular starters in the English side. After this bombshell, English Coach Fabio Capello decided to dethrone Terry from the captaincy of England. The responsibility of captaincy was given to Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand. As a consequence of this scandal, Wayne Bridge went into international retirement and Terry, who before this had a standing of a respected leader, had his reputation in tatters.
Injury to Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand turned out to be a great captain for his national team. He had previously proven himself as leader at the club level when he steered the Red Devils to the 2008 Champions League title. As a captain of the English side, he turned out be a great motivator and principal. But his World Cup dream crashed. England arrived in Rustenburg, South Africa to kick-start their campaign. As the English squad was preparing for the World Cup, they lost their captain when he sustained an injury that ruled him out of the World Cup. Ferdinand was involved in a tackle with Heskey during a training session which injured his calf. After medical examination, he was declared unfit for the rest of the campaign. As a result, he was sent back home and Michael Dawson was called as his replacement. This came as great shock to England’s fans as well as England’s management, who not only lost a great leader but also a world class defender. In the absence of Ferdinand, Liverpool’s Steven Gerard was made to lead the side whereas Chelsea’s Frank Lampard was his deputy in the mega-tournament.
Green’s howler in the opening match
After the retirement of David Seaman, the English team has failed to find a replacement for the veteran goalkeeper. This World Cup was no different as Capello was uncertain for his first choice until the first match. He selected West Ham’s Shane Green in the opening match against the United States. England started their campaign in a startling way as they scored in less than five minutes of the kick-off. But a few minutes later, they were on the receiving end as a harmless shot from an American midfielder was fumbled by Green which travelled inside the English goal. In next match, he was replaced by the experienced David James which brought some sanity back to England’s defence but it took a while for England to recover from that blunder.
Inability of Gerard and Lampard to play together
Steven Gerard and Frank Lampard may be the best midfielders for their clubs and won kudos for that but they have failed to play together in tandem for the national side. This predicament was not only faced by Fabio Capello but by his predecessors Erikson and McLaren as well. They too like Capello failed to utilise the two talented players in synergy. Some critics have argued that the English side could absorb only one of them. As seen in this World Cup, both failed to manage the midfield effectively despite the fact that Gerard was played upfront behind centre forward in comparison to Lampard, who was holding the reigns in central midfield.
Over-dependence on Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney may have had a stellar season with Manchester United but the English team and management was overly dependent on him for goals. With the mediocrity of Defoe or Heskey alongside Rooney, it was not surprising to see the ex-Everton man feeling the heat. He was clearly under high pressure throughout the tournament and as midfield was failing to produce any goal scoring opportunities, it is not astonishing to see that he had a goal drought in South Africa.
Tags: