International Fix

Tuesday night will see history being made as England face Ghana for the very first time in senior international football. In its build-up the match has already captured the imagination as a record 21,000 fans will be in attendance showing their support for the Ghana national team. The figure is officially the highest ever for an away support for an England home fixture.

On a personal note I luckily will be attending the game, as the clash will pit my country of birth and where I have grown up, against my country of origin. I never could have envisaged that such an encounter could have ever taken place, and secretly hoped it wouldn’t. Why you may ask? Well quite simply I would have split loyalties, but either way the Wembley contest should be a spectacular sight.

With a sale-out 90,000 crowd, the recent discussion points in the build-up have also been centred on the sudden departures of top England players from the match. Players include recently re-installed captain John Terry, and his fellow Chelsea teammates Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard. Also absent will be Wayne Rooney and Matt Dawson of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs respectively. A decision England coach Fabio Capello deemed appropriate with these players featuring heavily in the weekend Euro 2012 qualifier win against Wales in Cardiff, and additionally the players being earmarked as key protagonists for their particular clubs and up-coming UEFA Champions League ties.

Hot of the heels from all the fallout of Capello’s decision to give the captain’s armband back to John Terry, the newspaper ink has barely dried before the England coach has again found himself under the usual media hype and public attention by omitting these players from the England camp. With Capello feeling it would be better suited if these players left the England fold for the encounter with Ghana, many have said from an English perspective this is a sensible decision by him. With such high profile players missing, the theory is that it will provide opportunities to the perceived fringe players and new additions to the setup to stake a claim within the squad and possibly team.

Examples include Scott Parker, Jack Wilshire, and Andy Carroll as undoubtedly it grant Capello a further opportunity to monitor how such players can perform on the international stage. Particularly when established players may be missing from duty due to injury or suspension in future matches. Fielding such players allows the England coach to have the confidence in knowing that he has the strength in depth with the personnel to aptly step into the breach. A key fact with Wayne Rooney who’s England season is already over, as he will be suspended for the next Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland in June. Not to mention creating a situation of healthy competition for England team selection within the squad, which I feel, is always of beneficial use for a manager of any sporting team.
 

However there is also a vocal camp that is unhappy with Capello’s decision, with views that he has disrespected the value of international fixtures by letting these players go. Rendering a feeling that the up-coming friendly fixture with Ghana as a pointless exercise for the peripheral players to be used at Wembley Stadium. Much belief is that there needs to be a core group of established players that some of the supposed ‘untried and untested’ players can work alongside with, to see if they can perform and excel at this level.

From my perspective it’s a tough call and can appreciate both sets of opinion. Nevertheless as a football fan and keyed up about the up-coming match, my first thoughts when I heard Capello’s decision in letting these players go, turned from excitement to slight disappointment. I have watched many a football match in the stands but I have never watched the likes of John Terry, Wayne Rooney, and Frank Lampard up close and personal in the field of play. Despite watching various other entertainment events at Wembley Stadium, I have never watched a live football match at the venue and this announcement somewhat dampens my anticipation.

A feeling that is not exclusive to me alone as quite a few individuals that I have spoken to share the same disappointment also, with both sets of supporters claiming that the game has become a dud game with such players missing. A practise that is nothing more than elaborate training session before a live audience, especially to those fans travelling long distances both nationally and globally to the ground. With this it has brought up the never-ending discussion topic of club verses country, and all engulfing importance that the UEFA Champions League has created.

Up until last year I always felt international friendly matches and qualifying games were nothing more than a nuisance, which creates a void of two whole weeks from club campaigns and competitions. I enjoy the major summer based tournaments of international football like I think most fans do, but hated the mundane process of reaching these tournaments.

But seeing first hand the excitement, interest, and development of unearthed player talent on show that I feel World Cup 2010 can be defined as, I then accepted that international football is of major importance and its existence should be safeguarded in world football, and not diluted beyond recognition by club football. Plus for the paying public who have invested time, money, and travel amongst other resources into watching international football matches regardless of the context, should really deserve better.

I understand the actions of Capello and he alone is not the only international manager who has sent players back to their clubs rather than feature for this week’s friendly encounters.  But unfortunately managers like Capello and his fellow international equivalents are in the unenviable position of being damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Consistently fire fighting a situation or justifying a choice made.

Club managers would be in uproar if one or several of their players returned back from international duty hurt or severely injured for the foreseeable future, negatively impacting on up-coming club fixtures. Perhaps rightly so particularly when caused in a friendly match, but then part of me feels that such acts only encourage international football to be second rate and take a back seat to club efforts during the season. Is club football and the ever importance of finance involved in this domain ruining international football?

It is increasingly looking that way, but I have always considered international success was the pinnacle of the game. Like rugby and cricket, both of which are team sports with a competitive provincial level similar to football. But it seems unlike football the focal point in these sports is designed at achieving international success with other regional contests falling in line and helping facilitate that aim. Shouldn’t football be of the same mindset in helping to nature and develop global accomplishment? Surely winning the football World Cup is the top achievement a professional can aspire to, is it not?