I have watched 4 World Cups in my life (3 of which I could genuinely follow), and I have never before felt so much antisetiment towards so many managers as the biggest tournament approaches ...
ITALY: my disgust with Lippi has been well-documented, even on these forums, so I won't harp on about it (look at the image below for one of the main points of my protests) ... if you want to know more, let me know, and I will be more than glad to fill you in ...
FRANCE: Domenech refuses to pick Italy-based players, including the world class Sébastien Frey and Philippe Mexès (and maybe even David Trezeguet) ... his reasons include astrology, and I would suggest idiocy as well ...
ARGENTINA: Diego Maradona has decided not to pick Pupi Zanetti and Cuchu Cambiasso ... not only should they be automatic selections, but Zanetti should be the prime candidate for captaincy ... and what's worse is that Burdisso is somehow selected -- that man is a disaster waiting to happen ... there is no rational logic to Maradona's selection on this matter; but should I really have expected rationality from "El Diego"?
BRAZIL: Dunga has jettisoned the traditional ginga for an ugly fast counterattacking style ... at times, some of the natural skills do squeak through into some of their play, but it is just not often enough ... almost every football fan has a Brasil jersey somewhere in their wardrobe because Brasil bring their sublime skills to the pitch on the big occasion, and play to entertain while winning as well (one without the other is pointless as far as I am concerned) ... they won the Confederations Cup, but never has a Brazilian triumph been hailed less around the World ... as a result of Dunga's deplorable change in tactics, players who would provide flair and colour, but aren't perfectly suited to quickly sprint from their defensive box to the other end to score a quick goal on the counter, are not going to feature ... Ronaldinho has been indirectly told that, no matter what he does for Milan, he won't go to the World Cup ... Pato won't get a start ... Ronaldo, even if he gets decently fit, will likely not get picked ... Dunga has his 23 set, and his starting XI sorted ... no amount of performance from now till May will change his mind ... and no amount of showing him classic footage of the great Brazilian teams will put him off his tactical preferences ... tragic ...
NETHERLANDS: I don't have too much against van Marwijk at the moment, though I was quite unimpressed with the team selection in the last friendly (check the Oranje thread for details) ... one man who is surely not going to be selected, and who I think would be invaluable to the team, is Clarence Seedorf ... he has had a resurgence of sorts at Milan, and his ability to read the game confirms the fact that he is an intellectual, on and off the pitch ... his experience would have come in handy ... this is the least of my "begrudgements" (compared to Italy, for example), but I definitely feel it warrants mentioning ... I also think that Van Nistelrooy should go to South Africa (to come off the bench as an impact substitute), but his case is unlike Seedorf's: you see, Ruud still has a chance because he is playing in Germany now, and that is a very good thing in van Marwijk's book ...
most of the players that I have mentioned who won't be in South Africa currently play in the Italian league ... that is no coincidence; I happen to follow calcio the most, so I will notice it more when players from there are not picked ... I'm still looking forward to the World Cup, but my World Cup experience will not be as good as it should have been ...
are there are any players you guys think will be undeserving left out, and will thus compromise your World Cup experience? any other managers who deserve a verbal flogging in this thread?
ITALY: my disgust with Lippi has been well-documented, even on these forums, so I won't harp on about it (look at the image below for one of the main points of my protests) ... if you want to know more, let me know, and I will be more than glad to fill you in ...
FRANCE: Domenech refuses to pick Italy-based players, including the world class Sébastien Frey and Philippe Mexès (and maybe even David Trezeguet) ... his reasons include astrology, and I would suggest idiocy as well ...
ARGENTINA: Diego Maradona has decided not to pick Pupi Zanetti and Cuchu Cambiasso ... not only should they be automatic selections, but Zanetti should be the prime candidate for captaincy ... and what's worse is that Burdisso is somehow selected -- that man is a disaster waiting to happen ... there is no rational logic to Maradona's selection on this matter; but should I really have expected rationality from "El Diego"?
BRAZIL: Dunga has jettisoned the traditional ginga for an ugly fast counterattacking style ... at times, some of the natural skills do squeak through into some of their play, but it is just not often enough ... almost every football fan has a Brasil jersey somewhere in their wardrobe because Brasil bring their sublime skills to the pitch on the big occasion, and play to entertain while winning as well (one without the other is pointless as far as I am concerned) ... they won the Confederations Cup, but never has a Brazilian triumph been hailed less around the World ... as a result of Dunga's deplorable change in tactics, players who would provide flair and colour, but aren't perfectly suited to quickly sprint from their defensive box to the other end to score a quick goal on the counter, are not going to feature ... Ronaldinho has been indirectly told that, no matter what he does for Milan, he won't go to the World Cup ... Pato won't get a start ... Ronaldo, even if he gets decently fit, will likely not get picked ... Dunga has his 23 set, and his starting XI sorted ... no amount of performance from now till May will change his mind ... and no amount of showing him classic footage of the great Brazilian teams will put him off his tactical preferences ... tragic ...
NETHERLANDS: I don't have too much against van Marwijk at the moment, though I was quite unimpressed with the team selection in the last friendly (check the Oranje thread for details) ... one man who is surely not going to be selected, and who I think would be invaluable to the team, is Clarence Seedorf ... he has had a resurgence of sorts at Milan, and his ability to read the game confirms the fact that he is an intellectual, on and off the pitch ... his experience would have come in handy ... this is the least of my "begrudgements" (compared to Italy, for example), but I definitely feel it warrants mentioning ... I also think that Van Nistelrooy should go to South Africa (to come off the bench as an impact substitute), but his case is unlike Seedorf's: you see, Ruud still has a chance because he is playing in Germany now, and that is a very good thing in van Marwijk's book ...
most of the players that I have mentioned who won't be in South Africa currently play in the Italian league ... that is no coincidence; I happen to follow calcio the most, so I will notice it more when players from there are not picked ... I'm still looking forward to the World Cup, but my World Cup experience will not be as good as it should have been ...
are there are any players you guys think will be undeserving left out, and will thus compromise your World Cup experience? any other managers who deserve a verbal flogging in this thread?