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Sulmaan Ahmad: Fabio Capello could have learned more tonight playing Football Manager
No surprises as second string Lions get bossed by Brazil
14 Nov 2009 20:20:00
By Sulmaan Ahmad
One of the ultimate clashes of culture, style and unrivalled history within the football world was turned into a circus in Doha, as England's A-listers dropped like flies in the build-up to the friendly against Brazil.
What proceeded was nothing more than a commercial training exercise; a classic in name turned into more of a nonsensical game in nature, as all the fringe players attempting to put their best foot forward simultaneously resulted in an aimless and helpless performance against the most well-oiled football team the world has to offer.
The loss of several key players - some whose withdrawals have been more highly criticised than others - left Capello fielding a virtual B-side that was never going to stand a chance against Brazil. Only Spain could put forward a second string legitimately capable of putting up a fight in a fixture of this nature. It's no shame, no surprise and contrary to popular pre-match hype, it doesn't give us anything to think about, either. They are the second string for a reason.
There is a good reason why Shaun Wright-Phillips is behind Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott and David Beckham in England's pecking order on the right-wing.
Likewise, Fabio Capello already knew that not too much can be made of Glen Johnson's occasional defensive lapses when watching the likes of Wes Brown struggling to keep up with what Johnson would produce even on an off day.
Matthew Upson, like Gareth Barry and even James Milner, can comfortably cope when alongside the likes of a John Terry, Frank Lampard or even an Aaron Lennon figure, but take them away and it becomes a very different story.
Jermaine Jenas will be relying on a series of injuries in order to make it to South Africa.
Pointing to the promising performances from the likes of Rooney and Foster, or the solid showing from Bridge, is simply reaching for points of note that are barely even there. At this stage, in this environment, this match taught Capello as close to nothing about his players as is humanly possible.
The only matter that may have been of interest to the more astute observers was how Brazil's solid 4-2-3-1 setup mirrors Capello's preferred setup for his best England XI.
Capello, therefore, needs to hedge his bets on his stars returning to top form at club level sooner rather than later, so that the Gerrards may match the Kakas, the Rooneys the Robinhos, the Lampards the Melos, the Rios the Lucios and so on.
England have never had the second string to win a World Cup, and that was never going to change tonight.
One of the ultimate clashes of culture, style and unrivalled history within the football world was turned into a circus in Doha, as England's A-listers dropped like flies in the build-up to the friendly against Brazil.
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What proceeded was nothing more than a commercial training exercise; a classic in name turned into more of a nonsensical game in nature, as all the fringe players attempting to put their best foot forward simultaneously resulted in an aimless and helpless performance against the most well-oiled football team the world has to offer.
The loss of several key players - some whose withdrawals have been more highly criticised than others - left Capello fielding a virtual B-side that was never going to stand a chance against Brazil. Only Spain could put forward a second string legitimately capable of putting up a fight in a fixture of this nature. It's no shame, no surprise and contrary to popular pre-match hype, it doesn't give us anything to think about, either. They are the second string for a reason.
There is a good reason why Shaun Wright-Phillips is behind Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott and David Beckham in England's pecking order on the right-wing.
Likewise, Fabio Capello already knew that not too much can be made of Glen Johnson's occasional defensive lapses when watching the likes of Wes Brown struggling to keep up with what Johnson would produce even on an off day.
Matthew Upson, like Gareth Barry and even James Milner, can comfortably cope when alongside the likes of a John Terry, Frank Lampard or even an Aaron Lennon figure, but take them away and it becomes a very different story.
Jermaine Jenas will be relying on a series of injuries in order to make it to South Africa.
Pointing to the promising performances from the likes of Rooney and Foster, or the solid showing from Bridge, is simply reaching for points of note that are barely even there. At this stage, in this environment, this match taught Capello as close to nothing about his players as is humanly possible.
The only matter that may have been of interest to the more astute observers was how Brazil's solid 4-2-3-1 setup mirrors Capello's preferred setup for his best England XI.
Capello, therefore, needs to hedge his bets on his stars returning to top form at club level sooner rather than later, so that the Gerrards may match the Kakas, the Rooneys the Robinhos, the Lampards the Melos, the Rios the Lucios and so on.
England have never had the second string to win a World Cup, and that was never going to change tonight.
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|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
|
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