World Cup 2010 Absentees XI
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will grace World Cup 2010 after all. Nervous chatter of the two greatest players on the planet missing next summer’s showpiece evaporated when Portugal and Argentina finally squeezed through the qualifiers at the last hurdle. But some football stars weren’t so fortunate on the road to South Africa. Here’s the cream of the crop of top tier talent whose nations failed to reach the Finals and who will instead be watching the action like the rest of us: from the comfort of our living room.
World Cup 2010 Absentees XI
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Goalkeeper
Petr Cech. Euro 2004 semi-finalists the Czech Republic fell way short of the mark in qualifying finishing third in a relatively easy group behind Slovakia and Slovenia. Yet to return to his powers pre-head injury, the Chelsea keeper still possesses one of the safest pairs of hands in football and will be sorely missed in South Africa.
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Defenders
Ivan Cordoba. The four-time Serie A winner and 10-year Inter veteran captained his nation the last time they reached the World Cup in 1998. This time around, Colombia fell one point short of Uruguay in the race for the South American play-off berth, possibly signaling the end of Cordoba’s international career.
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Dmytro Chygrynskiy. On the back of UEFA Cup success with Shakhtar Donetsk, the giant and agile Chygrynskiy shot to fame as a €25 million signing for Barca. However, Ukraine’s failure to beat Greece in their recent Euro qualifying play-off prevents football fans from assessing one of the next generation’s star central defenders,
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Daniel Van Buyten. Having acquired 48 caps in an 8-year career with Belgium, the Bayern defender, and occasional striker, has become a linchpin for the national side. His country’s poor form in qualifying, including 6 losses in 10 games, sees Van Buyten’s versatility and goal threat relegated to the sidelines next summer.
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Thomas Vermaelen. Axnother classy Belgian defender. Vermaelen‘s career began at Ajax but he shot to fame after his move to Arsenal. The tall, free-scoring Gunner has impressed at international level. Unable to prevent Belgium finishing 4th in their group, Vermaelen‘s energy and dynamism would have been welcome in Africa.
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Midfielders
Luka Modric. The pint-sized midfield maestro broke his leg in an early season clash against Birmingham and his injury has coincided with a string of feeble national team results. While Crotia’s exclusion next summer bars a host of talented players from showing off their gifts, it is Modric’s flair that will be most deeply craved.
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Yossi Benayoun. In the absence of go-to-guys Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, Benayoun has provided the only spark to Liverpool’s play this season. Israel have been not so lucky as captain Yossi failed to inspire his nation to qualification success. A highly-technical player whose vision and touch would light up any tournament.
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Antonio Valencia. The United winger and Ronaldo stop-gap has grown into his role at Old Trafford with his incessant speed and attacking instinct. But he won’t be playing next summer. Ecuador were almost perfect at home losing once in 9 games but away from Quito they were awful; losing 5 and conceding 5 to Brazil and Paraguay.
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Attackers
Andrei Arshavin. A true genius of the modern game who can crack one from 20 yards into the top corner or weave through a packed penalty area and provide the killer pass. Russia’s shock loss in Slovenia sees the Euro 2008 hotshots fail to build on their recent success and prevents the world’s audience from again witnessing Arshavin’s wizardry.
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Edin Dzeko. The hugely gifted, Bosnia & Herzegovina frontman has formed a telepathic partnership with countryman Zvjezdan Misimovic at Werder Bremen. But the Dragons failure to overturn Portugal in the Euro play-offs means the highly sought after Dzeko will have to wait until Euro 2012 to announce his arrival on the international stage.
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Emmanuel Adebayor. Probably the best player missing from next summer’s festivities, say what you may about the man, but the Manchester City striker is capable of changing a game by himself. An absolute nightmare for defenders: supreme skill and crafty touch combined. The Togolese goal-grabber Adebayor may never play in a World Cup.
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Manager
Guus Hiddink. The Dutch master has a reputation as a tactical genius who can inspire players to perform far above their stock. Although Slovenia sent Hiddink’s Russia packing in a bad-tempered second-leg play-off in Maribor, rumors suggest Guus may yet make it to Africa… as coach of Argentina.
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Substitutions: Shay Given (Goalkeeper – Republic of Ireland). Yuri Zhirkov (Defender – Russia). Axel Witsel (Midfielder – Belgium). Alan Dzagoev (Midfielder – Russia). Robbie Keane (Striker – Republic of Ireland). Eduardo (Striker – Croatia). Dimitar Berbatov (Striker – Bulgaria).
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Other quirky first XIs:
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As the summer of 2010 draws near, this president will prepare himself to take center stage at the world’s biggest gathering of sports enthusiasts. President Obama will embrace the “world’s game’” at the pinnacle of its spectacle, and will shine brightly as the biggest star at the world’s biggest game in its most unusual of settings. As the Cup ventures to Africa for the first time in the competition’s history, the first African-American President will take full advantage of the opportunity to share his message of a “changed America” with an audience of 700,000,000+ who will tune in for the Final and the more than 5 billion viewers who will watch the full slate of games. For a President committed to “restoring” America’s image in the global community, the World Cup will be his greatest moment. World-wide “apology tours” and UN speeches reach only a limited audience, but the pulpit that is the World Cup will be limitless.
So yes, he will go. He will go and the world will embrace him. He will take with him his message of hope, of change, and of a nation recast in the image of a new and refined face on the world’s stage. He will arrive in Johannesburg not as a conquering hero but as a returning son, and he will attempt to undue the atrocities envisioned in his own mind by bowing at the alter of the world’s greatest game. The only question is whether once the applause stop and the cheers go silent, will anyone truly listen to the Chosen One and his message? Africa embraced Ali because he was a smooth talker and promised big results, upon which he delivered. South Africa rallied around Nelson Mandela because he personified much needed change and his very freedom generated hope, which has helped sustain the country’s march to actualized equality. Will President Obama finally find his moment of redemption where he will for the first time connect with citizens of the world and generate tangible results, or will this simply be another love, apology, and appeasement tour that will do little more than generate hype, big crowds, and adoring audiences but only succeed in diminishing further the nation’s position in the global community? Perhaps a more fitting question to be posed regarding our prognosticating Chief Executive would be – as he fills out his tournament bracket as he did with the NCAA Basketball tournament, will he bet on the United States when he picks a winner or will he think such a choice will represent exceptionalism and lead to yet another apology tour if we should win?
http://republicanredefined.com/2009/11/25/world-cup-2010-obamas-next-global-initiative/
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