Tuesday, June 29, 2010

FIFA World Cup Post III

The Sorrow of England

English football fans are heartbroken. So are many fans in Malaysia.

English Premier League is the most popular football league in this country. Malaysian football fans love English stars such as Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard (though probably not Wayne Rooney). Perhaps because of that, they extend their love to England team. And they felt sad when England was knocked out of World Cup.

England was beaten by Germany 4-1. This was its worst defeat in World Cup. As expected, fingers were pointed at Capello, the coach. There were already some critics who suggested that he should step down. But seriously, how many coaches England has had in the last few years? My records go as far back as Eriksson. He was replaced by McLaren, who in turn was replaced by Capello. Coaches come and go, but England continues to flop.

I am no pundit, but I think fans and critics alike should look at other factors as well. Were English players suffered from burnout following long season of playing at club level? Does England have a comprehensive system to recruit and nurture young talents?

Now, I am bringing up a crazy idea. I know this is blasphemous. But imagine this: If the four regions of the United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland form a unified team…

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10 comments:

  1. HappySurfer6/29/2010 10:12 PM

    LOL! A UK team? Only England and Ireland have really good players. So if they do come together, the team would still be made up of mostly English players.

    You said: Malaysian football fans love English stars such as Steven Gerald and Frank Lampard (though probably not Wayne Rooney). On the contrary, MU supporters love Rooney over the other two. Btw, it's Steven Gerard.

    I foresee David Beckham will be England's coach one day.

    England's defence left much to be desired. Germany deserved the win.

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  2. Tekkaus6/29/2010 10:31 PM

    England...is too weak I guess. They are not very gifted technically. And the way they play lack penetration. Toothless. :(

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  3. Anonymous6/30/2010 12:20 AM

    The "missed" goal certainly sparked a debate!

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  4. 迷迭香6/30/2010 8:28 AM

    unlike Germany... EPL has got way too many foreigners
    wonder how often the England team had a chance to play as a team -_____-

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  5. khengsiong6/30/2010 10:58 AM

    happysurfer
    Ryan Giggs is Welsh.
    But I agree that a unified UK team will still consist mostly of English players.

    tekkaus
    I wasn't optimistic of England from the beginning.

    Zhu
    Even without the wrong judgment, I still think Germany would win.

    迷迭香
    Too many foreign players is not good?

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  6. Shingo T6/30/2010 12:54 PM

    Singapore is another pro-England soccer country. Really gotta give the English credits for their great marketing skills to get so many fans around the world.

    I'm personally rooting for Germany in the World Cup.

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  7. HappySurfer6/30/2010 3:35 PM

    Yes, Giggs is Welsh, that's why he never once got to play for country because there just isn't many Ryan Giggs in the Welsh team to make it. Besides, he's of retirement age now. Thanks to his dad's wishes, he stayed loyal as a Welsh player.

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  8. VanillaSeven6/30/2010 11:09 PM

    If those four region has joined. It will be an awesome football force! :)

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  9. khengsiong7/01/2010 10:55 AM

    shingo
    Yeah, EPL is really doing a great marketing job.

    happysurfer
    Agree that Giggs is too old. But who knows in 4-year time there may be another good Welsh player.

    VanillaSeven
    Thanks for your comment :)

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  10. Elaine Yim7/03/2010 10:06 AM

    Somebody in my family has still not got over the sadness and heartbreak of seeing England outsted. I wonder when will England bring back the FIFA trophy.

    I have an award for you. This is my link

    ReplyDelete

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