Rooney, Rio and Terry out of the World Cup: An Alternative England

It’s the morning of Saturday, 22nd May and Fabio Capello is within a week of naming the definitive England party of 23 which he will lead to the much-anticipated World Cup finals in South Africa in just a few days time. Yet, with typically ghastly timing, his best-laid plans are laid to waste.

Wayne Rooney provokes eerily-familiar frenzied tabloid headlines (“Roo-Knee Wrecked”; “Wayne’s Sprain Pain in Spain”) by tweaking his right knee in the process of grabbing Manchester United’s opening goal in the Champions League final in Madrid. A Roo-less United go on to lose 8-1 to an unexpectedly rampant CSKA Moscow side and England’s premier striker is ruled out of action for more than a month.

It gets worse. Within hours of Rooney’s misfortune, recently-installed captain Rio Ferdinand stages a remarkable eve-of-tournament walkout; following his dream career in TV production by accepting a lucrative offer from ITV to oversee the resurrected 80s telly ‘classic’ Beadle’s About (starring former Bristol Rovers striker Peter Beadle as prankster-in-chief).

The grieving nation is sent into a state of sheer apoplexy when it is later announced that the remaining members of the England squad (including deposed skipper John Terry) are kidnapped and held captive by an extremist faction of Fathers 4 Justice, headed by a masked man known only to the authorities as ‘W. Bridge'.

So, facing such a (vastly improbable) scenario, what’s an England manager to do?

Here’s an alternative 23 for Signor Capello, a notoriously avid reader of footballingworld.com, to peruse. Included are a number of the disregarded or unheralded English players that have performed with distinction this season, without even a sniff of international recognition.

Goalkeepers

Steve Harper (Newcastle United). Definitive one-club man, benefitting from his longest first-team run in years. A paragon of consistency with top-class reactions; Harper is currently revelling in a new club clean-sheet record.

Lee Camp (Nottingham Forest). Undoubted star of Forest’s charge up the Championship table; recently handed the skipper’s armband.

Scott Loach (Watford). Under-21s no.1, sensibly gaining invaluable experience in the Championship rather than rotting in Premier League reserves.

Defenders

Michael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur). If there can be such a thing as a defensive lynchpin at White Hart Lane – a renowned graveyard for central defenders – this season Dawson has been it. Certainly less error-prone than previously, his improved authority and consistency has led to the Spurs captaincy and plaudits from the press and fans alike.

Roger Johnson (Birmingham City). Has, along with defensive partner Scott Dann, surpassed all expectation during his first season at the elite level. Blues’ recent success has been built on the bedrock of his calmness on the ball and relentless appetite for headed clearances.

Sol Campbell (Arsenal). Notwithstanding the fact that the erstwhile Notts County employee cannot cut it for more than 90 minutes per week, he brings a wealth of experience and is regarded by no less than Arsene Wenger as a model professional. Emergency back-up.

Gary Neville (Manchester United). Injury has quickened the apparent decline of this England stalwart, but his vintage performance in the Champions League home tie with Milan reminded us of his long-underrated talents. Perfect captain material.

Danny Fox (Burnley). A short-lived stay at Parkhead brought mixed reviews and the Clarets’ form since his January arrival has hardly provided a ringing endorsement of his defensive talents. However, offensively able left-footed left-backs are a rare enough breed and he is a talented set-piece specialist.

Chris Smalling (Fulham). The 20-year-old is Old Trafford-bound and has impressed on his intermittent appearances for Fulham this season. The new Rio?

Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace). Should be commended not only for his loyalty to Palace in their hour of need, but also his confidence, pace and progressive play. Can cover either full-back position.

Midfielders

Michael Mancienne (Wolves). Permanently out on loan from Chelsea while he awaits the decline of the immovable incumbents at centre-half, this has proved to be something of a breakthrough season for the versatile starlet. It seems that a deep-lying midfield role has brought out his best qualities.

Phil Neville (Everton). Accredited with much of the praise for the Toffees’ meteoric post-Christmas rise by David Moyes. Glossing over his occasionally inglorious international past; Gary’s younger brother is a true Mr Consistency, is versatile, and, like big bro, is perfect captain material.

Jack Rodwell (Everton). Regular appearances this season have provided a platform for the powerful midfielder to shine. Has impressed in a more attacking role of late, yet many predict a great future for Rodwell at centre-half.

Lee Bowyer (Birmingham City). To build a respectable career from the ashes of such a loathsome past takes a certain amount of character, which few people would’ve credited Bowyer with in years gone by. Compensates for declining lung-power with intelligent runs from deep and canny interaction with club cohort Barry Ferguson.

Kevin Nolan (Newcastle United). Considered a Gerrard-lite in his younger years, Nolan has rediscovered his shooting boots in the second tier and revels in his newfound seniority at club level. The FourFourTwo/Coca-Cola Football League player of the year.

David Dunn (Blackburn Rovers). In a previous era, Dunn was oft-touted as the solution to England’s left-sided problem. Unfortunately for him, so was everyone else from Steve McManaman to Trevor Sinclair. Only a calf injury prevented the 30-year-old from building on a lightning start to the campaign (six goals in his first 11 games). Plus ça change.

Adam Johnson (Manchester City). Failed to make it past the provisional selection for the recent Egypt game, this delightfully old-fashioned winger should be a shoe-in.

Peter Whittingham (Cardiff City). Possessed of a left foot of wonderful dexterity, the former Villa man has been scoring relentlessly in the Championship. Can certainly handle the step up to the Prem, should the Bluebirds successfully negotiate the promotion playoffs.

Jack Wilshere (Bolton Wanderers). Every World Cup squad needs a wild-card; a callow youth with abundant talent but zero experience. Already making a significant impact at the Reebok Stadium during his first ever extended first-team run.

Forwards

Darren Bent (Sunderland). Has not impressed upon previous call-ups, but his Premier League goalscoring record is irrefutable. Possible weakness: taking penalties against giant, erratic Brazilian goalkeepers.

Bobby Zamora (Fulham). What a season. What a transformation.

Andy Carroll (Newcastle United). The big man has firmly established impeccable boxing credentials (ask Steven Taylor) and has shown similar prowess in and around Championship penalty boxes this year. Brings to mind a young (for ‘young’ in this instance please read ‘late-twenties’) Luca Toni.

Michael Chopra (Cardiff City). Like Bent, a true fox-in-the-box in the classic style. His late, late derby winner against Swansea this weekend showcased how ‘Chops’ earned an early reputation as the ‘new Michael Owen’. That billing was an over-estimation, as unhappy times in his native North East have proven, but he still sure knows how to sniff out a chance and bury it.

With this alternative squad – a rag-bag collection of gnarled veterans and not-quite-international bright young things – England might still expect to give World Cup group opponents Algeria, Slovenia and the USA, a good run for their money, but an exit in the last 16, against stiffer opposition, would surely await. It might be a nightmare scenario for some, but should Signor Capello need to resort to Plans C, D and E, then we can rest assured that the nation’s hopes will be in safe hands.

Based on club form this season, which players would you nominate for an England squad shorn of its stars?

Toni topples Inter and turns title race around

In an ever-tightening Serie A scudetto race, a quirk of the fixture list saw the two table-topping giants from Italy’s fashion capital each facing snappy underdogs from the Eternal City on the final weekend of an eventful March. Inter (1^st) and their bitter rivals Milan (2^nd) met Roma (3^rd) and Lazio (16^th) respectively, with the nerazzuri’s league form apparently suffering as a consequence of their determined focus on European matters and Milan, still suffering from their Old Trafford shellacking, counting Messrs Nesta, Pato, Abbiati, Beckham (all injured), Ronaldinho, Pirlo (both suspended) among an extensive – and expensive – list of absentees.

Coach Leonardo was still able to field a strong line-up for the Sunday night visit of Lazio; opting for a rare 4-4-2, with Pippo Inzaghi partnering mainstay Marco Borriello up front and Clarence Seedorf featuring alongside Flamini, Ambrosini and Abate in midfield. An intriguing tactical battle was in prospect, because Eddy Reja – recently in for the jettisoned Davide Ballardini – selected three centre-halves, with Stephan Lichtsteiner and Aleksandr Kolarov as wing-backs.

The mastermind of precious back-to-back wins in the biancocelesti’s relegation fight, Reja has clearly galvanised a group of players that often looked dispirite under the previous incumbent. Despite an early setback – Borriello converted a penalty won by Flamini’s 17^th minute surge into the box to put Milan one ahead – there was little to suggest that the visitors could not compete on an even footing with opposition from the other end of the league table.

As ever, stand-in ‘keeper Dida brought his own special brand of jittery incompetence to proceedings, as Milan sat on their lead, inviting Lazio to seize the initiative. All too briefly the darling of St Andrews, Mauro Zárate – palpably a victim of ‘second-season syndrome’ if ever there was one – and strike-partner Tomasso Rocchi (just two Serie A goals so far) have struggled desperately for goals all season long in a team with just 27 goals in 31 games. It was perhaps no surprise, then, that it was a wing-back who scored a deserved equaliser for the strugglers just after the half-hour mark. Swiss international Lichtsteiner was rewarded for his prodigious work-rate with a well-taken close-range goal, after a glaring miskick by rossoneri full-back Luca Antonini.

Lazio were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty for a clear shove by Flamini on Kolarov (a reversal of roles from the first penalty incident) just inside the Milan area, but, curiously, not a single visiting player appealed for a spot-kick. Taking that, plus a later glaring miss from Lazio’s recently-acquired Brazilian defender André Dias, in to account – and given the general paucity of ideas offered by the hosts – it would have been unjust had Antonini been successful with a shot smashed against the crossbar early on in a second half devoid of inspiration. One-all then, and for the biancocelesti: a point well-earned. Surely they are ‘too good to go down’. But since when did that guarantee immunity from the drop? For title-chasing Milan – as attested to by the grimaces of touchline spectators Ronaldinho and Paolo Maldini – it was more an opportunity missed.

Such an opportunity – to draw within a single point of stuttering Inter – had been opened up by Roma’s exploits at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday evening. Increasingly invincible in domestic football – their only recent blip was the Europa League exit at the hands of Panathinaikos – the giallorossi entertained José Mourinho’s men with that very same incentive in mind: to reduce Inter’s once-formidable advantage to just a point.

A rare howler from Brazil’s no.1, Júlio César, presented Roma vice-captain Daniele de Rossi with a tap-in for the opening goal; which he celebrated in curious style by kissing his shin-pad. In response, efforts either side of half-time from Walter Samuel, then Diego Milito, each rattled the woodwork – proving Inter’s intent. It was the league leaders who were firmly in the ascendancy following a characteristically early substitution from Mourinho: in-form Goran Pandev replacing midfielder Dejan Stanković.

Their overdue equaliser owed a little to fortune, as heroic last-ditch blocks from first Jeremy Ménez – mounting a late, but likely fruitless, run for inclusion in the French World Cup party – then De Rossi, fell kindly to Milito. The Argentine striker further extended his fine scoring run from close range. Replays showed, however, that Pandev was clearly offside in the build-up.

Another slice of luck saw Maicon’s spiteful studs-up assault on De Rossi go totally unpunished – which was particularly fortunate given the same player’s later booking for a reckless challenge on Roma’s Man of the Match David Pizarro. The resolute Chilean playmaker displayed outstanding endeavour and peerless composure on the ball, once more outlining his vital importance to the Romans.

The wheel of fortune was to spin in the giallorossi’s favour soon after, as Luca Toni profited from sub Riccardo Taddei’s wild-shot-turned-precision-cross; slotting the ball past Julio César to net his fifth goal in nine games for his new club. The 32-year-old finished with the kind of aplomb which lit up his previous Serie A spell and made him Italy’s leading centre-forward for a brief but productive spell. Younger models – Milan’s Borriello, Samp’s Giampaolo Pazzini and Alberto Gilardino of Fiorentina have since moved ahead of the lumbering Modenese marksman in the Azzurri pecking order, however.

Before the winter break, while Roma were still toiling to regain ground lost from an awful start to the campaign, Toni was resolutely bench-bound and embroiled in a very public war of words with Louis Van Gaal and the rest of the Bayern Munich hierarchy. How things have changed. Capping his return to favour with a World Cup call-up really would put the cream on the cassata.

In search of a second equaliser, Mourinho was even desperate enough to throw on expensive flop Ricardo Quaresma for the final ten minutes – but the best his side could manage was another shot against the woodwork from Milito, deep into injury time. Roma even had the luxury of welcoming back Francesco Totti, to a rapturous reception, in the dying moments of a vital win.

Taking into account Milan’s ever-lengthening injury list, Claudio Ranieri’s charges must now be considered the greatest challengers to the hegemony of Inter – who have Javier Zanetti, Samuel Eto’o, Lucío and Maicon missing through suspension for the upcoming visit of Bologna. Cristian Chivu’s name should have been added to that list too, but the ex-Roma defender was only yellow-carded for a stamp on Toni.

In the aftermath, Mourinho – who wore a fixed wry grin on his face during the final minutes, as if silently protesting against some unseen injustice – declined to comment; so exacerbating his tortuous relationship with the baying Italian sports media.

Inter’s sudden loss of discipline and upcoming continental diversions give further hope for their new nearest challengers. A viewpoint acknowledged by the customarily forthright De Rossi, who was more than happy to fill the media vacuum left by Mourinho’s all-too-rare reticence.

“We hope the Champions League can distract them,” said the Rome-born midfield general.

“Inter have slowed down and now we will have to spit up blood in order to finish top.”

Europa League highlights, starring: Villa, Agüero, and fantastic Fulham

It’s been a pulsating week in European football; as Sneijder, Messi and Gourcuff strode magnificently across the Champions League centre stage, provoking awe and admiration from a global audience. Thursday night offered a chance to shine for their able Europa League understudies David Villa, Sergio Agüero and...Bobby Zamora?

Fulham’s battering ram centre-forward, who can’t stop scoring at the moment, played a central role in a star-studded evening packed full of goals and breathless action which brought the continent’s second-tier competition to life.

The Cottagers had already battled through an unfeasibly crowded schedule to reach the last 16. Therefore, last week’s 3-1 reverse in Turin perhaps came as little surprise to those expecting a compact squad to run out of steam in the final stages of a long, laborious season. Given the magnitude of their opposition – 14 years ago Juventus were well on their way to Champions League glory under Marcello Lippi, while pre-Al Fayed Fulham were set to finish 17^th in the old Third Division – few predicted the kind of miraculous turnaround that the nation’s new second-favourite team, at the end of ninety credibility-defying minutes, affected.

David Trezeguet’s characteristically opportunist early goal seemed to have wiped out any remaining semblance of hope for Roy Hodgson’s men. But observers of Fulham’s travels so far this season would have found familiar the fortitude in adversity they offered up to a boisterous ‘Craven Cauldron’ crowd. Zamora’s rapid and emphatic equaliser was followed in quick order by fast-fading Fabio Cannavaro’s unfortunate dismissal for a trip on the lively Zoltan Gera. Third-choice ‘keeper Antonio Chimenti, much-maligned for his lack of authority as Juventus frittered away a three-goal lead against Siena on Sunday, acrobatically tipped away Zamora’s curling effort from the resultant free-kick.

At this stage, over in Bremen where Werder were ‘defending’ an away-goal advantage following a 1-1 draw in Valencia, the visitors from the sharp-end of La Liga had waltzed into a two-goal lead. Early goals from David Villa and Juan Mata (each crafted by David Silva) should’ve been split by a reply from Claudio Pizarro, but the big Peruvian failed to capitalise on a glorious opportunity. His partner Hugo Almeida did manage to pull one back, only for Villa to snatch another to quieten the Weserstadion, with the home team then trailing 2-4 on aggregate. The result was a forgone conclusion, or so it seemed.

Back in west London; Simon Davies – recently returning from injury, to great effect – echoed Yoann Gourcuff’s unanticipated free-kicks for Bordeaux on Wednesday by whipping a shot from a wide angle against Chimenti’s crossbar. Moments later Dickson Etuhu, wresting himself free from the hands-on attentions of a brittle Juventus back-line, headed against the outside of the post, as the Old Lady began to stumble.

A wonderful team goal soon followed; set in motion by Zamora’s deft flick, served up by Davies’ goal-line cutback, and finished by the late-arriving Gera. The roof-raising response from a capacity crowd recalled Portsmouth’s raucous reception of Milan in 2008. This battle of English minnow and Italian colossus was to have a happier ending for the Premier League team however, as off-form Diego’s clear penalty-box handball early in the second half gave Gera the chance to slam in a penalty for his second and Fulham’s third. The tie was now – remarkably – dead-level.

Following such head-spinning mayhem, there was, inevitably a lull as both sides gathered their thoughts – with extra-time and penalties now a distinct possibility. There was no such opportunity to catch the breath over in northwest Germany as, by now, Torsten Frings’ penalty and a powerful drive from Marko Marin (effectively Diego’s replacement at Werder) had levelled the tie at 4-4.

The definitive moment in this game arrived on 65 minutes as David Villa completed his hat-trick by thumping in from Juan Mata’s cross-field ball; Werder’s defence again AWOL, leaving Tim Weise cruelly exposed to the prowess of Europe’s most lethal marksman. Pizarro’s late goal made it five apiece, but the away goals rule accounted for last season’s beaten UEFA Cup finalists.

Into the final fifteen minutes at the Cottage, American agitator Clint Dempsey’s arrival from the sub’s bench had the desired effect as first he met Simon Davies’ excellent cross with a header which had Chimenti at full stretch. Fulham’s black-eyed boy, just back from a long-term knee injury, then sent their apparently ‘placid’ fans into raptures with a wonderful chipped goal from just outside the area. A phenomenal finish, which some pundits were quick to claim – erroneously – as unintentional; a misdirected cross. It was a fitting climax to a dream-like sequence of events for Hodgson’s heroic charges.

There was, therefore, much to live up to later in the evening, as the second tranche of ties kicked off. Liverpool were keen to avoid joining Juve as giants felled from both European competitions in one season; hosting Lille to whom they trailed 0-1 from the first leg. Frequently derided midfielder Lucas Leiva was the unlikely catalyst for the Reds’ comeback – buying a 7^th minute penalty with a surging run into the penalty area. Steven Gerrard, slowly returning to form, rattled in the spot-kick.

Mickael Landreau saved two further efforts (including one from the boot of the unshackled Lucas) before Lille’s lively starlet Eden Hazard burst through the central defensive gap left by Jamie Carragher’s dereliction of duty, only to fire the visitors’ best chance of an away goal straight at the formidable figure of Pepe Reina. Casting an eye over proceedings at Anfield – most particularly the input of his captain Javier Mascherano and the reliably erratic Emiliano Insúa – was Argentina head coach, Diego Maradona.

Maradona’s singing son-in-law Sergio Agüero used all his cunning and penalty-box nous to snatch two away goals for Atlético Madrid at Sporting Lisbon. El Kun’s timely emergence from a goal-scoring slump cancelled out Miguel Veloso’s soft free kick and Liédson’s headed goal. Sporting will feel hard done by; having a strong penalty claim (for Tomáš Ujfaluši’s clear trip on Carlos Saleiro) rejected in the final twenty minutes.

Liverpool, visibly lifted by the nature of their thumping win over EPL dead-ducks Portstmouth on Monday, were largely dominant against Ligue 1 title-chasers Lille. Fernando Torres wrapped up progress for the tournament favourites; latching onto a long-ball to punish a defensive lapse by Adil Rami. Any remaining belligerence from Les Dogues was finally becalmed as Torres knocked in a rebound from Gerrard’s shot. With that pair returning to peak form and fitness, few would bet against the Merseysiders salvaging more than just pride from their troubled season.

The pick of the night’s other ties came in Brussels, where Anderlecht staged a Fulham-esque renaissance; fighting back from an early 1-4 aggregate deficit to draw even at 5-5 with Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Hamburg. Mladen Petrić finally killed off the Belgians’ hopes with a decisive late goal (sound familiar England fans?) About one hundred miles east, in Liège, Panathinaikos turfed-out favourites Roma in the last 32, but quietly succumbed to Standard; 4-1 winners on aggregate.

Double Russian champions Rubin Kazan, enjoying a colourful European campaign which took in ‘that glorious night in Barcelona’, took defending German champs Wolfsburg to extra time. The VW-backed club were steered into the final eight though by Stuttgart-bound Christian Gentner’s composed finish, with penalties just seconds away.

Hosting Everton’s group-stage conquerors Benfica, Marseille took a 70^th minute aggregate lead through talismanic skipper Mamadou Niang. But late goals from Maxi Pereira and Alan Kardec turned the tie on its head at a wild and windy Stade Velodrome, before Hatem Ben Arfa was dismissed for a spiteful kick on Kardec in the dying moments. Both sides – Zenit and Shakhtar – that knocked OM out in the past two seasons went on to win the UEFA Cup. What price the Eagles to triumph this year?

We’ll soon find out who the Lisbon giants face next – in the tantalising draw for the quarter and semi-finals; made this afternoon, at 12 noon.