"We Were Robbed!"

It can be hard to identify players who are destined for great things, genuine world class talent is a rare commodity but the German football community knew they had something special in Sebastian Deisler. As with many football prodigies Deisler’s name was recognised in footballing circles from a young age, achieving regional fame in the areas surrounding Freiburg after bagging a remarkable 215 goals in the German equivalent of the kiddies Sunday League. It was inevitable that a football career beckoned and by age 15 Deisler was called up to the German youth team and signed onto the books of Borussia Mönchengladbach academy. A few years later Deisler would go to the Under-17 World Cup and excel once more, being voted the tournament’s second best player behind a player who might be familiar to one or two of you – Ronaldinho. It was only a matter of time before Deisler would make the step up to the bigger stage and by 1999 that day was growing ever closer.

Meanwhile, having been a dominant throughout the 90’s the German national team was in trouble. Following the 1998 World Cup it was clear that young talent coming through was not anywhere near the quality on it’s way out. France 98 saw players of the calibre of Lothar Matthäus, Jurgen Klinsmann, Thomas Häßler, Andreas Möller and Thomas Helmer all entering or beyond the twilight of their careers. A quick look around the emerging talent of the Bundesliga did not inspire confidence with Bayern Munich stalwarts Jens Jeremies and Carsten Jancker the front runners to step into the national team. Even the most die-hard Bayern figure in the form of Franz Beckenbauer showed little confidence in their ability to re-ignite national pride referring to them as “Rumpelfußlers” which essentially means scrappy footballers. That was a fair observation of course but coming from Beckenbauer it was perhaps viewed a being an “at best” sort of comment which implied the distinct lack of perceived talent on the horizon.

As March 6^th 1999 arrived so did a turning point in the life of Sebastian Deisler. When in the 75th minute of his Bundesliga debut against 1860 Munich, Deisler picked the ball up inside his own half and with youthful exuberance, and perhaps ignorance of what would follow, weaved his way 60 yards up field and smashed the ball in the back of the net. From that moment a star was born, a man on whose shoulders the weight of German football expectations were laden from that very moment. The media immediately went into over-drive comparing the goal with a famous cup winning goal scored by the great Gunter Netzer. Netzer for those who are not aware of him is a Monchengladbach and Germany legend through the 60’s and 70’s. Netzer eventually moved on to Real Madrid leaving Germany being revered as one of the finest passers of the ball ever to play the game and with 108 goals in 297 games a prolific goal scorer from mid-field too. On March 6^th, 1999 Basti Fantasti became a symbol of hope for the German football faithful.

By the time Euro 2000 arrived only Matthäus and Haßler remained from the great players of the previous three World Cups. Matthäus was 39 by this time and playing in the MLS with New York/New Jersey Metrostars and was a shadow of the player who had earned 149 caps and led his country to greatness in 1990. Haßler At 34 was no better but seemed determined to play on until the 100 cap barrier had been broken.  Regardless, Deisler was taken with the squad, aged 20 and after recovering from a cruciate ligament rupture during his debut season with Hertha. Despite this Deisler was handed two starts of the three games Germany played. The Germans of course crashed out along with England, the reigning champions and a team revered for being a tournament team finished bottom of their group and without a win. Deisler himself was not considered at fault as even by the most extreme expectations a 20 year old should not be the one and only hope of German football, not one who had a significant injury just that previous season. However, the exploits of Euro 2000 entrenched what was a growing sense of panic among German football fans that there was no hope for their national team, nobody to pick up the mantle and restore national pride.

It was during his time at Hertha where things began to unravel for Deisler but to those who were around him even as a youth team player with Gladbach the signs were there. Deisler was always a self conscious, introverted young man who suffered heavily with homesickness upon moving to north to join Gladbach’s academy at age 15. At that time computer games filled the void. The decay of his parents’ marriage was also a big drain on his own personal feelings of security to the point where he used money from his first professional salary to buy them a house in a bid to rescue their doomed marriage. At Hertha though those feelings were exacerbated a hundred fold since not only was he the future of German football but the biggest commodity for Hertha Berlin by a long, long way. Deisler became the face of the club and while he was earning plenty of money from the situation he was never the type of person who knew how to deal with the trappings of stardom. In a rare interview with Zeit (Time) in 2009 Deisler talked openly about how players were living fallacious lives. “I just wanted to play football, to talk about football but suddenly everything was illuminated as if in headlights” (give or take my translation may be not 100% perfect so here is the original article) he goes on to speak about how people wanted to know where he bought his perfume, jeans, watches and how Nike wanted him to play in White boots but he refused. Deisler did not wish to draw attention to himself, he simply wanted to play football. In the same period Deisler recollects “Sometimes I lay in bed and prayed: Dear God, I cannot do it” then saying “I cursed even my talent. I was too good, in order not to be noticeable. Is that a crazy thought?” and it were these moments that laid the foundations for what was to come as later in his career.

In October 2001 Deisler had a second severe knee in jury and missed the rest of the season it would be his final game in Berlin. He had agreed to join the Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich much to the frustration of the Hertha fans. The move to Munich surprised people in Berlin and when the story was leaked by Bild of his receiving DEM 20m in the deal it caused outrage. The headline questioned his supposed desire to avoid the limelight by publishing a picture of the cheque on the front page with the headline Are his leg’s too heavy now? The Hertha fans were not happy to see their star player leaving and what was once “overwhelming affection” for Deisler quickly turned to bitterness and anger. Deisler having been injured at almost the exact time of the report being released was in the U.S. being treated for his knee when the uproar began. Deisler recalls receiving death threats and hate mail from disgruntled fans only furthering his need to withdraw from public life. Deisler himself described how he lived “behind blinds” in his flat and his sister gave up her job to move to Berlin simply to give him someone to talk to. Deisler’s mental state of mind was clearly not that of a man who should be living in the public eye, but so far the problem had remained a private one.

The move to Bayern may seem a strange one to having read how Deisler hated being in the limelight in the relative obscurity of Hertha. However, there were good reasons for his decision to join Germany’s biggest club. Firstly, Deisler was certainly ambitious. It may seem like a strange combination of characteristics but Deisler wanted to succeed in football as much as any player. How else does a player rise to the standards he did during his time in Berlin, the face of German football and regarded by most as the countries most gifted player. Talent is one thing but hard work and a winning attitude are essential. When asked about the good memories from his career Deisler speaks fondly of moments, all on the pitch of course, battling with hard-nosed Croatian defender Zvonimir Soldo or scoring a beautiful goal from a tight angle away at Leverkusen. Yet, his off-field state of mind was that of a man riddled with insecurity, one who failed to meet the boyish standards of the football clichés, playing cards, meeting women, buying expensive material things… none of it mattered to Deisler and he felt alone. With that in mind though his ambition drove him to Munich and he reasoned that it would be easier to be the fish in a much larger pond than the giant whale in a puddle he represented in Berlin. Also, Ottmar Hitzfeld the Bayern manager was also from Lorrach and went to school with Deisler’s father. The two were familiar and Deisler hoped that a change would help him grow both on and off the pitch.

The knee injury sustained in October 2001 would rear its ugly head again in May 2002 when Deisler again succumbed to injury requiring a third surgery. Deisler would start only 8 games for Bayern in his debut season (02/03) and only 11 the following season. Nevertheless, in the 2003/2004 despite only managing in 11 starts Deisler’s talent once again put brought his name back onto the lips of German football fans scoring four goals in those 11 games and showing that despite all the injuries he was still capable of moments that even Bayern and Germany’s new hero Michael Ballack was not able to produce. In this period though Deisler was spending increasingly large amounts of time alone and his mental state deteriorated even further. The media and fans criticised his lack of contribution considering his large salary and Deisler felt under immense pressure he applied on himself to get fit and the pressure of public expectation.

In November 2003 Deisler phoned Uli Hoeneß who was then General Manager of the club, desperately saying “I can’t go on. It’s the end”. Deisler was eventually persuaded to stave off retirement and was finally admitted to hospital suffering from depression. After several months out Deisler re-joined the squad but suffered a re-lapse the following season and his problems continued. Eventually, Deisler was able to overcome his problems and finally become a major part of the Bayern team. During this period he converted to Buddhism thanks to his only significant friend in the Bayern side Mehmet Scholl who introduced Deisler to the religion.

2004/2005 would be Deisler’s most productive year as a Bayern player where he was able to play in 32 games and performed well. He was afforded huge support by head coach Felix Magath and when the opportunity was given his team-mates too. In February 2005 Bayern played away against Freiburg with Deisler starting the match not long after his second bout with depression. Deisler had not played well in the first half and was described as tentative or nervous. At half-time German Icon Oliver Khan spoke with Deisler giving him words of encouragement stating “you don’t need to be scared of anything, you have so much talent”. Almost immediately after the re-start Deisler scored a beautiful goal and during the celebration Kahn ran from his goal to celebrate with Deisler on the half-way line illustrating just how much Bayern were behind Deisler.

2005 was a good year for Deisler who remained fit through the first half of the 2005/06 season and was performing well, finally putting his problems behind him it seemed. However, in March 2006 his knee failed him once more when he damaged the synovial membrane ruling him out for the remainder of the season and out of the World Cup in Germany later that year. Deisler was devastated and incredibly frustrated at the vast number of injuries he was suffering and each one brought with it the possibility of Deisler’s mental state failing him once again. By the time of his return in November 2006 Deisler had once again lost his love for football and was riddled with doubt every step he made that the his knee would give up. Deisler gave one last glimpse of his ability with an outstanding performance away to Hamburg setting up both goals in a 2-1 victory for Bayern. However, as Germany would soon hear this was the end of the line for Deisler.

On Tuesday, 16^th January 2007 at age 27 Sebastian Deisler retired from professional football. Despite the best attempts of Uli Hoeneß to persuade him to remain Deisler stated he needed “an end to this torture” because “all the fun and joy has gone out of my game”. By age 27 Deisler had had seven knee surgeries and been treated twice for depression, and while many have since suggested he is weak I would argue quite the opposite. Seven surgeries in the space of seven years is almost impossible to recover from. For many players one or two knee injuries can spell the end, or at  the very least the player afflicted is never the same afterwards. What is remarkable about Deisler is that his passion for the simple task of playing the game meant that he could still be better than those around him after, three, four, five surgeries. After each comeback Deisler tantalised and treated the fans to one or more great performances but in the end as a person and as an individual he was not able to cope with everything else that being a professional footballer entails. The pressure, the attention, the laddish attitude of young men, the pursuit of wealth none of these things interested Deisler and in the end it was the circus of modern football which killed him just as much as his knee problems.

If we are going to learn anything from the tale of Basti Fantasti it is that all young footballers are human and we should not expect otherwise. Most suffer the growing pains of youth as much as any young man and all make mistakes. Deisler was a fragile young man who needed love and support, something which is startlingly absent in football, a world where the average fan is quick to turn love into hatred and jealously if the performances dwindle. As fans we assume that these men are different, after all they are paid millions to kick a ball around, and what do they have to be miserable about? Well if money equated to happiness perhaps nothing but in reality it does not and while it can be easy to expect miracles form the likes of Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi and Bastian Schweinsteiger we should always remember that players are just like we were at aged 21, there is lot to learn at a very young age and Sebastian Deisler is living proof that success is about how you succeed off the pitch just as much as on it.

With the news last week that new France National Team Manager Laurent Blanc had asked permission from the French Football Federation to exclude all 23 players that made up the Les Bleus World Cup 2010 squad, the question that was on most French supporters lips was “Good. Now who can they pick?” What I’ll try and do here is put together a 23 man squad that Monsieur Blanc could feasibly select for his first game against Norway. Taking some of the best players France has to offer and selecting a 23 man squad that I think might feature more France-based players than usual due to Blanc’s recent success at Bordeaux.

Goalkeeper:

Mickael Landreau – Nantes. Had another great season and unluckily missed out on the World Cup from the French 30 man provisional squad.

Stephane Ruffier – Monaco. Was called up to the 23 man squad to replace Cedric Carrasso halfway through the group stages, so might possibly escape the axe.

Nicolas Douchez – Rennes. Called up to the squad a year ago but never made an appearance.

Defence:

Rod Fanni – Rennes. Linked with a big money move away from Rennes, he should start at right back.

Adil Rami – Rennes. Was named in the 30 man provisional squad after an impressive season for Rennes, he will have his chance soon enough.

Aly Cissokho – Lyon. Was on the bench for the first leg of the playoff against Ireland at Croke Park and should be first choice left back.

Michael Ciani – Bordeaux. You’d have to think Blanc has his eye on some of his former Bordeaux team. Ciani is a big, mobile centre back.

Julien Escude – Seville. Unlucky to have only won 13 caps over the last 4 years while playing at a high level in Spain.

Phillippe Mexes – Roma. Can no longer be overlooked by the French National team coach due to his star sign.

Benoit Tremoulinas – Bordeaux. Another Bordeaux player that Blanc knows well could provide cover at left back.

Laurent Koscielny – Arsenal. Must be in contention after his €10mil move to Arsenal from Lorient this summer.

Midfield:

Lassana Diarra – Real Madrid. Was left out of the 23 man squad for the World Cup due to injury, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise for this midfield workhouse, and could even captain the side if passed fit.

Yann M’Vila – Rennes. Again in the provisional 30 but missed out being in the final 23, his debut for the national team will come very soon.

Benoit Cheyrou – Marseille. Provided a drive from midfield, goalscoring & some nice touches for title-winning Marseille last season.

Moussa Sissoko – Toulouse. Long rumoured as the next big midfield star for France in the mould of Patrick Vieria, this Malian-born player will hope to cement his place over the next few games.

Samir Nasri – Arsenal. Unlucky to miss out being in the World Cup squad; if he is over his injury worries the Arsenal schemer will provide spark & punch to the starting XV.

Yohan Cabaye – Lille. After the season he had for Lille, Cabaye will be looking for a chance to shine at a higher level and show his domestic form on the international stage.

Hatem Ben Arfa – Marseille. No question of talent, but a lack of discipline has let him down throughout his career so far. Can Blanc provide the guidance that this mercurial winger needs?

Forwards:

Loic Remy – Nice. There’s no argument that this ex-Lyon player will not be playing for Nice for too much longer, they would do well to see if appearances for the les Bleus team will drive his price even higher.

Karim Benzema – Real Madrid. Again unlucky to miss out on the World Cup, but he does need to be playing regularly at this stage of his career; either for Real or someone else.

Bafetimbi Gomis – Lyon. The ‘Black Panther’ provides muscle and aerial presence, and something different to the other striking options.

Louis Saha – Everton. Only 18 caps over 6 years, when fit Saha would provide a veteran presence in an otherwise youthful squad.

Emmanuel Riviere – St Etienne. Led the line superbly for les Verts last season and can also play on the wing which might push Blanc to blood him at International level sooner rather than later.

The chance is there for some of these players, or indeed any of the players that Blanc selects, to give themselves a chance of being part of the next wave of French internationals with the purpose of once again becoming a major international force in time for the home tournament of Euro 2016. Blanc has said that Benzema & Ribery will certainly form part of his squad going forward, but it remains to be seen just how many holdovers from the 2010 World Cup squad will remain. I would think these players have a chance of coming back into the squad once the suspensions are lifted:

Hugo Lloris – Lyon. Les Bleus number 1 with experience at the highest levels for Lyon

Steve Mandanda – Marseille. If the French football watching public are to be believed, the player who should be the real number 1.

Bacary Sagna – Arsenal. The best option available at right back.

Gael Clichy – Arsenal. A lot depends of Patrice Evra and whether he returns, but otherwise could be given some time as first choice at left back.

Franck Ribery – Bayern Munich. Domestic & internationsl form has been spotty of late, possibly due to off-field events, but his talent is unquestioned.

Yoann Gourcuff – Bordeaux. Blanc’s “pet project” and possibly will be the fulcrum of the international side if all goes well. Needs to put a horrific World Cup experience behind him and return a more focused player.

Jeremy Toulalan – Lyon. Was the first choice in the holding role under Domenech either alone or with Diarra alongside. But will be shifted to centre back at Lyon this season.

Florent Malouda – Chelsea. Was the player in the best vein of form in the lead up to the World Cup but was inexplicably left out of the starting XV for the first game by Domenech.

Andre-Pierre Gignac – Toulouse. Earned his place with 32 goals over the last two Ligue 1 seasons.

Ricardo Oliveira first came to people’s attention in 2003/04 with some impressive displays for Valencia, scoring a hat-trick in a 5-0 away win to Mallorca. However, Valencia were abundant in talent and despite showing promise a €4m offer from Real Betis was enough to tempt them to part with the forward. Oliveira had done plenty to deserve his place in the team but Valencia had their eye on another striker by the name of David Villa who would eventually be pried from the hands of Zaragoza a year later.

At Betis Oliveira’s career flourished and what was unknown at the time is that this was the peak of his career. In 2004/05 the Brazilian put away a startling 22 goals in 37 games for the Seville club catapulting them in 4^th spot and the Champions League. 4^th as it happens was Betis’ third highest league placing in the club’s history. Also that season Betis were able to bring home their third ever major trophy by winning the Copa Del Rey (King’s Cup) by beating Osasuna 2-1 in Extra Time with Oliveira scoring one of the goals. Having played such a big role in their success Oliveira’s star was unquestionably on the rise.

The following season started as the previous one ended, with goals. By the time Betis met Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League on November 1^st 2005 Oliveira had scored 4 goals in his first nine games when disaster struck. During the match he suffered a severe knee ligament injury that would rule him out for the entire season. At the time it seemed clear though that Betis would work to get the burgeoning star back to full health to spearhead their attack for next season.

As it turned out though the relationship between Oliveira and Betis President Manuel Ruiz de Lopera would sour significantly resulting in the Seville club eventually fining, refusing to pay and then selling the striker. The problem occurred after Oliveira was loaned to Brazilian club Sao Paulo upon recovering from injury. The move was viewed by Betis as a chance for him to recover match fitness and for Oliveira it gave him a chance to catch the eye of Carlos Alberto Perreira and be selected for Brazil’s 2006 World Cup squad. As the loan came to it’s conclusion Sao Paulo had one significant game remaining – the final of the Copa Libertadores (the South American Champions League). Oliveira wanted to play in this match but Betis were insistent upon his return despite FIFA granting a special allowance since the game had been unexpectedly delayed. However, Betis were unmoved and demanded their player return. Oliveira did return but nine days late. This prompted a fine of €1m and drove even more of a wedge between the club and player. Oliveira was clearly frustrated at being forced to miss what was personally a huge game for him with Sao Paulo and with the additional fine on top he came up with a unusual excuse for not being fit to train. President Lopera told reporters Oliveira was injured by “the shock from being fined €1m”. The fines continued to roll in first with a fine for breach of contract and then later for having an un-authorised medical test with suitors A.C. Milan. Eventually, it became apparent that the player would be sold with A.C. Milan at last taking the player to Italy for a fee reported to be around €17.5m plus Johan Vogel heading to Betis. Oliveira and the notoriously emotional Lopera exchanged pleasantries via the media with the Brazilian striker stating he would never return to Betis and the Betis president saying he would not have him anyway. Either way Oliveira’s time at Betis was over, seemingly providing yet another example of a player who had once promised great things along with the likes of Joaquin, Denilson and Rafael Sobis, some of whom came after Oliveira.

At Milan things actually got worse for the striker where he endured a shocking time despite scoring on his debut. The striker managed only three goals in 26 appearances for the Rossoneri. It has since been suggested that the stress of his sister’s kidnap in his native Brazil was a major contributing factor in his poor play but either way Oliveira’s career had taken an enormous fall from grace in the space of two seasons.

In 2007 Oliveira was sent on loan to Real Zaragoza where alongside the under-rated Diego Milito he scored an impressive 18 goals in 37 appearances. Despite that a horrific defensive record and a lack of goals outside of Oliveira and Milito consigned Zaragoza to relegation. Zaragoza still were determined to keep their impressive loanee and stumped up the €10m agreed fee for the player to make the move permanent.  Oliveira for his part had set in motion what seemed like an impressive revival for his career and he unsurprisingly continued to score goals in the second tier of Spanish football. Oliveria’s revival continued successfully until something quite unexpected happened when Oliveira was sold to Betis for a fee of €8.9m.

This move was something of a shock arriving in January 2009, especially after Betis President Lopera had recently declared he was not interested and that Oliveria’s “knees are screwed”. While this was a shock it was also not a particularly great career move given Betis’ precarious position on the verge of relegation. Oliveira performed well for Betis with Lopera signing his praises once more but in the end it was not enough to save Betis from relegation.

The sad thing about the return to Betis was that it represents the short term mentality of so many footballers (and perhaps those advising them) have towards their own careers. Oliveira had risen very high, very quickly culminating with a move to Milan, one of football’s true giants. This was a move that he could not be blamed for taking and yet you cannot help but feel that had he been more considered in his actions a career at the top would inevitably have come. Players are so quick to jump ship to the big teams in the modern game with players exhibiting a keeping up with the Jones’ mentality to the amount of money they earn. However, so many players move at the wrong time or to the wrong club without really considering the details. While people may suggest hindsight is wonderful thing, and that Oliveira was simply unlucky I beg to differ. I was refreshed to hear Eden Hazard of Lille (a future star in my opinion) say he had plenty of time to make his mark on the big stage, it is rare. Hazard can be the star at Lille for a few years until it is obvious the big stage beckons. I feel Oliveira could have been in the same type of bracket as players like David Villa, not in terms of overall quality but in terms of being a goal scorer every season for his club. If you can do that a time will eventually arise where it is clear that a player is ready to make his big move. Oliveira, coming off the back of a serious injury made the wrong decision and the lesson we can learn with his story is that on-field productivity does not make you a star because Oliveira did have that apart from is season in Milan. To be a star you must be successful on the big stage when the opportunity presents itself, if you fail the chances are there is no way back.

Ricardo Oliveira signed for Abu-Dhabi based Al-Jazira on a contract worth €14m. I think his career could have given so much more.

Lille (4^th last year): Always a dangerous team in Ligue 1, and they showed it on a bigger stage during their Europa League campaign last year. Coach Rudi Garcia has a wealth of attacking options to choose from and his team are always hard to play against as evidenced by their top 3 finishes in 2004/05 & 2005/06.

Last years team were the top scorers in Ligue 1 and finished with a goal difference of +35.  Players like Eden Hazard (5 goals, 8 assists), Yohan Cabaye (13 goals, 8 assists), Ludovic Obraniak (4 goals, 8 assists), Pierre Alan Frau (13 goals) & Gervinho (13 goals) can win games on their own, and adding Sow from Rennes (9 goals) will just add to their attacking options.

But, are these players going to be able to duplicate the seasons they had last year? Can Cabaye, Frau and Gervinho all score 13 goals each again, and can they reel off separate winning streaks of 6 games & 5 games again? Can they even keep these players?

Hazard is one of the most sought after targets in European football and is being tracked closely by almost all of Europe’s top clubs, although he has stated that he has years ahead of him to play in the Champions league and doesn’t see the point in moving from the starting lineup at Lille to a bench somewhere else, which makes a refreshing change.

Gervinho, who had looked impressive on the stage given to him at the World Cup for the Ivory Cost, has also been linked with a move away after only one season. Lille can cope with a European campaign as evidenced by their showing last year, but can they cope with losing players if the vultures come circling. They usually have to sell players each close season as they always have done, but they will replace those players as they always have done too wiuth cheaper alternatives and keep pushing towards a top 3 place.

Player to Watch: Yohan Cabaye. With 13 goals and 7 assists last year, this 24 year old French midfielder put his name in the frame for a call up to the National team but never quite got there. Maybe playing for an so-called “unfashionable” team like Lille hurt his reputation, but he is often the heartbeat of this side and one of the most consistent performers in Ligue 1.

Things to Consider:

• Can they repeat last years goal output?
• Will they be able to hold on to all their players for another crack at the top 3?

With England’s poor showing in yet another world football tournament, all corners of the football-watching public & media have thrown up the usual arguments as to why this happened:

• Players playing too many games during the course of the season – overlooking the fact that the players from other countries have, in some cases, played more.
• The lack of technical skill displayed by British players (not just the national team but British players of all ages), something that we insist on comparing against other nations who seem much more comfortable on the ball.
• A foreign manager who doesn’t “get” what the nation needs.
• The players lack of passion owing to the huge wages they’re paid by their clubs and them being out of touch with reality.
• England’s players not being as good as we/they think they are.
• The formation was all wrong.
• The team/squad selection was wrong.
• The ball was over the line.

Of course, this early exit from another international tournament had led to calls that we should just scrap the players from the full squad who have failed when given yet another chance and just promote all the players from the under 21s. Apparently they would show they required level of passion needed but possibly not anywhere near the required level of skill to be able to do any better.

One thing that tends to get overlooked is why we expect what we do from our national team. Why do we expect them to get to the semi-finals of a tournament as a matter of course when recent form doesn’t suggest they will and we then find it a huge disappointment when they don’t?

Since England lifted the trophy in 1966, we have advanced as far into the World Cup as nations like Turkey, South Korea, Uruguay, Belgium, Sweden, Bulgaria, Croatia, Portugal & Uruguay have by reaching the semi-finals once, Poland have been there twice. This is the level we are at.

Our national team play is not on a par with Italy, Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil or Argentina. You might argue the case that our players are on a par in some cases with players of these teams, but as a nation we cannot expect to equal these countries results as we have shown nothing in the recent past that puts us at being their equals, we are inferior to these countries. We shouldn’t be looking at a semi-final berth as being the minimum that we expect from England, we need to be looking at a semi-final place for England as being a hugely successful tournament. What we should expect is that England emerges from their group. That is all, anything after that is a bonus.

Let’s compare and contrast England and Germany, two nations who seem intertwined together with history stretching back decades & centuries. Two nations who met this last World Cup, in a game that England fans thought would be a formality in their misguided advance to the trophy but ended up being a reality check as to what their nation could achieve.

World Cups since 1966

Germany have been involved in all 11 to take place. They’ve won it twice, come 2^nd four times, come third twice and never failed to reach the quarter-finals.

England have been involved in 8 out of the 11. They’ve reached the semi-finals once, the quarter-finals four times and never failed to reach the knockout stage.

European Championships since 1966

Germany have been involved in 10 out of the 11 to take place. They’ve won three times, come 2^nd three times and been semi-finalists once.

England have been involved in 7 out of 11. They’ve been semi-finalists twice and quarter-finalists once.

Let’s now award 1 point for getting to the quarter-finals, 2 points for getting to the semi-finals, 3 points for getting to the finals & 4 points for winning the trophy. Over 22 tournaments Germany get 50 points & England 11 points.  So why do we assume therefore that we are on an equal footing to Germany as a football nation?  If we compare ourselves to Portugal for instance, who I see as nearer to us in terms of international performance in recent years, Portugal have played in 9 out of the 22 World Cups & Euro Cups since 1966 and scored 8 points from 3 semi-final & 2 quarter-final placings, averaging 0.88 points per tournament. England in the same period played in 15 tournaments scored 11 points at an average of 0.73 per point tournament, while Germany have played in 21 tournaments and scored 50 points averaging 2.38 points per. This confirms the truth that is England are not even close when it comes to comparing ourselves with Germany, they are more successful at getting to the tournaments in the first place, and then progress further and have had much more success within each tournament itself.

Should we be expected to win international tournaments due to our past history? Well we won the World Cup in 1966 but just because we did it doesn’t give us the divine right to win it every four years since. We have a successful domestic league but that doesn’t guarantee that our English players will succeed in every major tournament that they play in, considering the amount of foreign players who make up the majority of the squads in the Premier League. We have good, and in some cases, great English players, but if you were putting together a world XI, looking at this totally impartially, would any English player actually get in?

I do place some of this blame into the culture in this country, especially the way we hype our players up to a level that they cannot reach or maintain. As soon as a young player shows some amount of promise at any level (and these levels are getting younger & younger every year), he is tagged as “the next such and such…”, told everything he does is fantastic and is given untold riches early on and can achieve an inflated amount of self-worth to the point where he may actually believe that he can do no wrong and will have no conscience or accept any blame for when things do eventually go wrong. Or is he able to adapt to situations where tapping into a reserve of inner strength in order to overcome the odds, when he has never wanted for anything and has every whim catered for at all times? We overuse phrase such as “world class”, “best of his generation”, “golden generation” and apply them to players who do not deserve them, we need to realise that we have some great players in this country who have shown what they can do on the domestic & even European stage, but these players need shaping into being able to produce that form on the international stage and knowing that playing for their country is not a right, but a privilege.

But most of all we need to dial down our expectations for our country; it’s natural to assume that as we can beat teams convincingly in qualifying that we should beat teams convincingly in the tournament itself. But consider this, there are 53 teams starting of in European qualifying for the World Cup, and only 13 of these go through to the tournament itself, which leaves 40 nations outside looking in. Therefore the better teams are more evenly spaced out and we will play weaker teams in qualifying that we should be able to match up against better and perform better against, but that any of the teams that get through to the World Cup will be of a higher calibre, therefore any team you play in the tournament itself will be one of the 32 best teams in the world and a lot nearer in terms of ability and especially teamwork.

England needed a reality check. The World Cup of 2010 provided it. England are one of the best 32 teams in the world, maybe even being one of the best 16, but they’re not in the top 8 on form from the last 44 years so we shouldn’t expect a last 4 or even last 8 place to be ours for the taking, it should be something we aspire to get to and be a monumental achievement if it does happen in our lifetime.

Bordeaux (6^th last season):

Last year they were the anti-Marseille, as their exit from European competition after a Champions League quarterfinal defeat to Lyon didn’t see them go onto a winning streak, but instead do the complete opposite, by going into a tailspin in the league where they only picked up 8 points from the final 9 games to drop to 6^th, outside of the European places for 2010/11. This went against everything that that had happened to this point as they started to ship goals where before they were almost impenetrable.

One huge loss when the season ended was when Laurent Blanc announced he was leaving to replace Raymond Domenech as coach of the national side, and a few eyebrows were raised when Bordeaux legend Jean Tigana returned to France after 10 years of managing abroad to replace him. Is Tigana the inspiration this club needs or is this more of a cost-cutting exercise with the lack of Champions League revenue this season?

Marouane Chamakh, who has been the main source of goals, has finally left for Arsenal on a Bosman, after what seems like a years worth of flirting across the channel, but talisman & focal point Yoann Gourcuff is still there at the time of writing and if Bordeaux can persuade him to resist the advances Lyon or abroad, and stay for another crack at the league, then they may find their way back into the top four places. This is a huge if however, as Gourcuff, who had a even more wretched World Cup than the rest of the French squad, may think he has achieved all he can at Bordeaux and may think the grass is greener at the Stade Gerland or elsewhere. Another possible departure might be Captain Alou Diarra, as he is being heavily linked with a move to Champions Marseille which would further weaken the starting 11.

But will a lack of European football give a relatively small squad the chance to concentrate domestically whereas OM & Lyon will have their Tuesdays & Wednesdays taken up with Champions League matters?  It may well be a double-edged sword, as no Champions League football could mean a renewed push domestically and a return to the top three. But will players such as Diarra, Wendel, Yohan Gouffran, Jaroslav Plasil & Fernando Cavenaghi want to stay after helping the club reach the quarter-finals last season or want to follow Gourcuff if he leaves?

Tigana has made no new investment at the time of writing, which is a reflection of the transfer market in France in general, although Loic Remy of Nice, Brandao & Ben Arfa of OM have all been linked recently. Remy has said he would jump at a move to the Gironde, before the Premiership started calling, but Bordeaux apparently don’t have anywhere near the funds needed to fund a big signing like Remy without selling players first. So if they have to sell Gourcuff and/or Diarra to fund their rebuild, this season may be one of transition, but if Gourcuff stays and Bordeaux find it in them to get back to the top, this could end of being a much better season for them after all.

Player to Watch: Gregory Sertic. This young midfielder is thought of as the heir apparent as to Gourcuff as a playmaker in the middle of the park, and should get to make more than the 12 appearances he managed last season. An U-21 international for France, he could blossom this year if Bordeaux decide that selling Gourcuff will help them going forward.

Things to Consider:

• Will Gourcuff stay or go? Everything hinges on this.
• Can Tigana inspire the players to stay & try for Champions League qualification?
• Will the lack of money mean sales have to be made?
• Can they replace Chamakh’s goals and ability to operate as a lone frontman?

The 2009/10 campaign was an unmitigated success for Bayern who returned to the summit of German football winning the Bundesliga title and the German Cup. As if domestic dominance was  not enough the German giants made it to the Champions League Final for the first time since winning the trophy in 2001. They were ultimately defeated by Joes Mourinho’s Inter but having not gone past the Quarter Finals since their win in 2001 a trip to the final represents a significant return to form for one of Europe’s sleeping giants. It seems that Bayern Munich are very much out of hibernation.

The sudden change in fortunes can be attributed in no small part to two Dutchman in the form of manager Louis Van Gaal and winger Arjen Robben. Van Gaal had a somewhat shaky start to life in Munich with expectations as high as ever some early defeats put him under intense pressure. However, just before the close of the transfer window Bayern signed Robben from Real Madrid and in doing so saved the4ir season. It might seem unfair to give Robben so much credit, especially with Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thomas Muller having such impressive seasons but I certainly got the feeling that it was Robben who opened things up and made by far the biggest impact last season. His goals in the Champions League alone meant Bayern would not have got so far without him.

Van Gaal for his part made Robben so effective in making the decision to move Ribery to the left wing and Robben to the right. This allowed him to cut inside onto his left foot (the only foot he uses) and finish the season with 23 goals in 37 games in all competitions. Robben was eventually voted German player of the year and had comfortably the best season of his career.

While it was Robben who gave the team a match winner there were signs of immense promise form all areas of the squad. Thomas Muller having emerged in the latter part of the 08/09 campaign assumed a far more important role in the team. He mainly played as a central attacking mid-fielder and played his more natural wide role when either Ribery or Robben were injured. In both positions he showed an impressive positional sense in front of goal, as we saw in the World Cup, finishing the season as second leading goal scorer with 13 goals. Muller does not immediately strike people as a extremely talented player but he has proven he can score goals at any level so far in his young career. Muller may well be the star of tomorrow for Bayern and is definitely a player to keep an eye on.

It has been silent on the transfer front this summer for Bayern but one player who will be available to them next season who was not is Toni Kroos, who has returned from a highly successful loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen. Kroos is yet another attacking mid-fielder who I would not expect to be able to break into the team immediately but I think  this period may be the start of a decline in the star status of Frank Ribery so do not be shocked to see Kroos get more opportunities than expected and along with Muller he may represent the future of Bayern Munich for the long term. Regardless, I fully expect Bayern to be among the title contender for the upcoming campaign.

Player to watch: Bastian Schweinsteiger – It would be easy to go for Robben or Muller here but I think it would be hard for either of those to improve dramatically next season. Robben in particular will find it hard to improve on last season but Schweinsteiger is only just beginning to show just how good he can become. The young mid-fielder has long been touted as the future of the club but he is finally realising this potential after moving top a deeper mid-field role. “Schweiny” showed during the World Cup just how good he can be and with one eye on a big money move to one of Europe’s elite don’t be shocked if this young man has a season to remember.

Things to Consider:

• Can Robben emulate his form from last season?
• Is the defence strong enough to keep them ahead of the improved opposition?
• Will they be able to keep all of their key players?

OL (2^nd last season):

Olympique Lyonnais are always title contenders and although they fell away during the middle of last season, a late spurt saw them reclaim second place when it seemed they would miss out on automatic Champions League qualification.

Lyon, who’ve not been out of the top 3 since 1997/98, will be desperate to get back the title that they won for 7 consecutive years from 2001/02 – 2007/08. They have the strange position of being able to bring in the best players from the rest of France’s clubs to cement their position at the top of the tree, but also find their best players moving on to bigger European clubs after a good showing on the Champions League stage.

Arguably France’s biggest and most successful club in recent years, they have decided to reinforce an already potent attack with the signing of the much heralded Jimmy Briand from Rennes. Add him to the incumbent attacking players already plying their trade at the Stade Gerland; Lisandro Lopez, Bafetemi Gomis, Milan Pjanic, Cesar Delgado, Kim Kallstrom, Ederson & Michel Bastos and you have a real threat to score their way back to the title, and although Sidney Govou has left after 13 years at the club for Panathanikos, the capture of Briand should mean he isn’t missed.

Defence is possibly their weakest area after they sold Mathieu Bodmer to PSG, as Cris & Anthony Reveillere aren’t getting any younger, although John Mensah will be back after a year spent on loan at Sunderland. Jeremy Toulalan is an excellent midfielder but might have to spend time at centreback, especially if Lyon are successful with signing Moussa Sissoko from Toulouse, but unless another signing is made in defence they could struggle to cope with a domestic & European challenge, and when Jean-Alain Boumsong is your top backup, if he even stays at the club, you know that’s just not good enough.

Rumours still persist that French number one keeper Hugo Lloris will be on the move soon, with Arsenal being linked as a possible destination. Also Lyon are possibly the only club in France who could afford the 25m buyout clause for Bordeaux’s Yohann Gourcuff, and noises from France are that Gourcuff himself who be amenable to such a move. If it happens, that would signify the end of Bordeaux’s run as top 3 contenders and cement Lyon as the team to beat, again.

Player to Watch: Jimmy Briand. A player who never quite lived up to his billing as another Thierry Henry while at Rennes, Briand will now be allowed to develop on the right hand side of a front 3 at Lyon. His pace and scoring could translate into a career best season and could well see him break into double figures in goals scored as well as into the French National side.

Things to Consider:

• They will score goals but can they keep clean sheets?
• Will Gourcuff come? If so, the title might be wrapped up by the New Year.
• Will some players (Ederson, Kallstrom) look to move on if not first choice and weaken the squad?
• Can Claude Puel inspire this group to reclaim the title or will a coaching change have to be made?

OM (1^st last season):

After ending their 18 year drought for a Ligue 1 title, Olympique de Marseilles will be especially keen to make it two in a row. Favourite son Didier Deschamps, who achieved the distinction of winning the 1992 title as a Marseille player has now done the same in his first year as Marseille coach. Deschamps has committed his future to the club, after being linked with Liverpool over the summer, he signed on for another 2 years and made a point of telling the fans that “the job’s not finished”, as he really fancies a crack at managing Marseille to the Champions League trophy in order to add to his winners medal from 1993 and complete a unique double-double.

OM’s season really took off when they were eliminated from the Europa League by Benfica in March, as that prompted a run of 7 straight wins in the league that saw them roar past Bordeaux from an original position of being 11 points behind. This in turn prompted a collapse of sorts from Bordeaux which allowed OM to clinch the title with 2 games to go. Much of their success last season was down to shrewd buys, Lucho González & Stéphane Mbia (in an unfamiliar centre-back role) who both shone in their first season at the Stade Velodrome, and their talismanic striker & captain Mamadou Niang, who led the Ligue 1 goalscoring charts with 18 goals.

OM have no problems in goal where Steve Mandanda is thought of by many as the real French number one keeper, Cesar Azpilicueta & Gabriel Heinze will operate at fullback alongside Mbia & Souleymane Diawara. Benoit Cheyrou, Charles Kabore & Édouard Cissé add bite in midfield, with Gonzalez, Mathieu Valbuena & Hatem Ben Arfa providing the craft, Niang & Brandão provide the goals.

Not much activity has taken place yet this off season, although Marseille have pulled off a coup by signing much sought after Spanish fullback Azpilicueta from Osasuna, but Deschamps has been busy trimming a bloated (& highly paid) squad by releasing Fernando Morientes, Laurent Bonnart & Cyril Rool while seeing Bakary Kone move on to Qatar.

Other players may also be on the move soon, as Ben Arfa, who has flattered to deceive in his time on the Mediterranean coast and has been mentioned as a possible target of other Ligue 1 clubs as well as England. Target man Brandão, who offers something a bit different to Niang when leading the line, has been linked to Bordeaux. Deschamps would love to replace Brandão with Andre-Pierre Gignac from Toulouse and has also waxed lyrical on bringing in a holding midfielder, with Alou Diarra’s name being mentioned. Marseille have always been a team that many players in France would leave their clubs for without too much thought, and with the carrot of being able to play for Deschamps, who is very highly thought of in France, you can expect more moves right up until the end of the transfer window.

Player to Watch: Andre Ayew. The son of Marseille legend Abidi Pele; Ayew was instrumental in getting Arles promoted into Ligue 1, while on loan there last year and carried that form into the World Cup where he was one of Ghana’s most impressive players. If he stays at Marseille this year expect him to make Ben Arfa surplus to requirements and provide a lift & spark off the bench.

Things to Consider

• Does Champions League football impact on the Ligue 1 campaign?
• Can they add extra quality to the squad from within Ligue 1?
• Does another successful season mean Deschamps moves abroad?
• Can they keep Gonzalez, who had such an impressive season?

The Rafa Benitez era is over and perhaps that is the best thing all round after Liverpool suffered an rapid fall from grace last season, failing to meet objectives on all fronts. Persistent injuries and lack of form highlighted their massive over-reliance on star players Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard while serving to illustrate only too vividly the failings of Benitez in the transfer market. Given the economic situation facing the club he was probably not the man to take the club forwards having spent huge sums of money to get Liverpool Champions League success and as far as runners up in the Premiership.

With less money to spend and a group of under-performing players Liverpool made a smart choice appointing Roy Hodgson, who had success on a shoestring with Fulham. The first order of business is persuading key players to stay at the club. Chelsea are believed to be in hot pursuit of injury prone superstar Fernando Torres and while I personally think they should sell if an offer of around £50m were to be offered I think selling to Chelsea would be a terrible decision. But if the same offer were to come from abroad I would suggest Liverpool take that deal as Torres has long been injury prone and the problems show no sign of abating. Any sale of Torres could be used to go after one of the world’s elite strikers like Karim Benzema and the incredibly talented Edin Dzeko, who might actually prove superior to Torres in the long term.

Meanwhile, another key part of the team who is rumoured to be unsettled in Argentinian captain Javier Mascherano. Mascherano was rumoured to be interested in leaving the club last summer but Benitez was able to persuade him to stay, with Benitez gone though it appears that the biggest reason for him to stay has gone too. Mascherano is arguably the world’s best defensive mid-fielder but much like Torres a sale of around £30m would likely leave more than enough money to buy a good replacement and have money to spare. One possibility is Nigel De Jong, who is likely surplus to requirements or at the very least available for the right price from Manchester City given Yaya Toure and Gareth Barry will likely force him out of the starting XI. De Jong has never set the world alight but his performances in the World Cup have highlighted just how capable a player he is and under Hodgson’s influence he would be a solid replacement.

The only significant addition so far is Serbian left winger Milan Jovanović from Standard Liege. At 29 Jovanovic could be perceived as being past his prime but he has played better in the last two seasons than at any other point in his career. Considering it was a free transfer, after his contract expired with the Belgian club, it can only be viewed as a positive move for Liverpool. However, with Albert Riera and Ryan Babel already in competition for the left wing role there are no guarantees that Hodgson will feel he deserves a place.  Jovanovic’s deal was agreed by Rafa Benitez who had seemingly no faith in Babel or Riera but Hodgson should have no such prejudice. As a result that position more than any other in the Liverpool team should be effective this season with three talented players battling it out to show the new boss they deserve to start. I will add that I personally believe that Ryan Babel has the most potential and that Riera is the best player of the three, making Jovanovic the odd man out. However, motivation and form is vital and Jovanovic has a clean slate with the fans and has been the better performer over the last year so this contest adds a fascinating dynamic to Liverpool’s pre-season preparations.

Another area that I feel Liverpool will need to address, if they are to make the sort of progress the fans want to see, is the right side of the defence. Glen Johnson is a strong attacking full-back, but one who is quite over-rated due to a lack of quality right backs in the Premiership (Bakary Sagna the notable exception), but nonetheless effective from an attacking perspective. However, Johnson has some definite positional issues defensively and anyone who saw Liverpool often last year will, I am sure, agree that he was often caught out of position in the attacking areas of the pitch. This had a knock on effect on long-standing centre back Jamie Carragher, who was left frequently exposed in the inside right position due to his scintillating lack of pace. I have held the view for a long time that Jamie Carragher is a somewhat limited defender his passion and fundamental defending skills are sound but he lacks the athletic ability to stop players who get behind the defence. Under Benitez Liverpool played an organised system emphasising defensive responsibility that worked to Carragher’s strengths. Yet, perhaps the unravelling of the structure which yielded consistently solid results was actually the Johnson signing (ironically the one right back Benitez bought who was widely viewed as a success.) His attacking tendencies I felt undermined the organized nature of what Benitez had always set out to achieve. In fact I feel that if Liverpool’s defence is to show any progress they must fix this problem.

It is hard to predict how successful Liverpool will be in the Premiership this season, they have lots of talent but there could be quite a few comings and goings between now and the start of the season. Keeping hold of Pepe Reina and Steven Gerrard is absolutely vital but there are plenty of players whose reputations exceed their play, and Hodgson is no  idiot so perhaps he can use the opportunity to make himself some money on the transfer market allowing him to build a side more in his own image. Players who could potentially be candidates for sale include Alberto Aquilani, Albert Riera, Ryan Babel, Fábio Aurélio, Lucas Leiva (at this point rumoured as a target for Sicilian side Palermo). Either way, be it with the current players or a selection of new ones anyone writing off Liverpool would be foolish. Last season hurt everyone at the club and expect their focus to be entirely on the Premiership this season unlike Spurs and the big three who will be distracted by the Champions League. Liverpool for once have the unusual advantage of being considered by most outsiders this season.

Another thing to keep an eye on this season is the possibility of Liverpool moving to a 4-3-3 system. This does not fit with Hodgson’s reputation but having added Jonvanovic the club are now being heavily linked with a move to sign both Joe Cole and Loic Remy, with the latter seeming more likely. Remy is an excellent player who would be no doubt an instant hit with the fans, given Dirk Kuyt’s familiarity with the system do not be shocked to see Liverpool adopt this trendy system at some point this season. When you look at the players in the squad it makes sense in many respects allowing Steven Gerrard to play the role occupied by players such as Wesley Sneijder for Holland or Cesc Fabregas for Arsenal.

Player to watch:

Ryan Babel – After a promising early career with Ajax Babel failed to impress under Rafa Benitez at Liverpool. However, I have long suspected that Babel is simply not a good fit for Benitez’s particular brands of football which emphasises passing and tactical accountability. Hodgson has a good record of reclamation projects and providing he is not sold Babel may be given a new lease of life. At Ajax he very much reminded me of a young Thierry Henry, very quick, direct and probably playing out of position. He likely made the wrong decision joining Liverpool instead of Arsenal but that talent is there it a question of whether anyone will care to utilise it properly. Babel is a player I will be keeping a close eye on in pre-season. If Liverpool do, as I suspect they may move to a 4-3-3 Babel would be back in his natural spot on as the pure left winger, able to cut inside for attempts at goal.

Things to consider:

• What will the squad look like at the start of the season?
• Assuming he stays can Torres stay fit?
• If Torres is sold or injured who will score the goals?
• Can Carragher succeed with Glen Johnson at Right Back, exposing his lack of pace?