England has got great football legacy. They have the first association, The FA, one of the most orgnised league, Premier league, clubs with great history, and ofcourse money. Still, they fall miserably in every FIFA tournaments, with big disappointment to fans. They have never won
My thoughts about this article came from my search for best England players in history of game. I was curious and started thinking when I saw the Google search list.
Let's see list.
1. Bobby Charlton
2. Bobby Moore
3. David Beckham
4. Wayne Rooney
5. Steven Gerard
6. Alan Shearer
7. Frank Lampard
8. Gary Linekar
9. Micheal Owen
10. Gordon Banks
11. George Best
12. Peter Shilton
13. Paul Scholes
14. John Terry
List goes on like this...
In most of the lists, they have no doubt about Sir Bobby Charlton's greatness. He has won World Cup and Ballon D'or in 1966. Bobby Moore was also there along side in the historic world Cup win. He was the captain of England team when they won 1966 World Cup. He is considered to be one of the greatest defenders of all time.
We have no doubt about the talents of Rooney, Beckham, Lampard and Gerard too.
Now let's look a bit deeper into each one's career.
As you can see, most of them spent career in England other than David Beckham and Gary Linekar. Owen couldn't play much in Real due to injuries. I have always felt, Beckham has got more love and fans around the world than any other player, due to his success in and outside England. Do you feel that was a reason?
Then, I started thinking more about it.
7 among the above list played together in 2006 World Cup, let's check the team list:
Only David Beckham and Owen Hargreaves were playing outside England. This Sven Goran Ericcson managed team was great who could have won it for England. But lost to Portugal in the Quarter Finals.
Then I thought about checking latest squad , who participated in 2018 Russia edition of World Cup.
France
Croatia
None were there. I was praying to see Sancho name in list, who was playing for Borussia Dortmund, but he wasn't there. Harry Cane became top scorer and team reached fourth. This was their best result in decades, after 1990 fourth place finish.
Meanwhile, as you can see, Finalists France and Croatia had a good mix of players from different leading clubs. Experience of Luca Modric and Rakitic were key in their success, even though they were not in same club or same style of play. France had best players in most of the positions, Lloris, Mbeppe, Pogba, Pavard, Griezman , all from different clubs in different situations. Does this make sense?
In 2002, 2010, 2014 were also it was similar.
England 2002
Brazil - 2002 Champions
England 2010
Spain - 2010 Champions
England 2014
Germany -2014 Champions
In 2002 , they reached quarter and lost to Brazil. 2010, Germany thrashed them in second round 4-1. They couldn't reach second round of 2014 tournament. And each year, champions were a good mix except Spain, who were using Tiki Taka style and most of the players were from Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Nnow, let's check their coaches :
2002 - Sven Goran Ericcson - Sweden
2006 - Sven Goran Ericcson- Sweden
2010 - Fabio Capello - Italy
2014 - Roy Hugdson - England
2018 - Gareth Southgate - England
With outside coaches, and England keeping same style, they were not successful. Now, they have changed the plan to England coaches. It's working.
They have a great history of exploring and conquering world. But, why they fail to do so in Football? Is it because of money? Fear? Or comfort zone?
Experience has a big role to play in football success. Match experience and playing in different conditions matters. It also helps in understanding different playing styles and adapting to challenging situations. Consider this , England clubs are big , rich and great for sure, but spending some time in Real or PSG would make you legends - explore and conquer.
Agree or disagree? Comment and let me know
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