With the World Cup now less than a month away, the list of injured players likely to miss out on football’s showpiece event is steadily growing. And it’s not just those on the fringes of the squads who are having their dreams shattered by fractures, tears, twists and pulls. There is growing number of big-name stars who are banging their heads against the walls of the treatment room.
The likes of Diego Jota, Reece James, Kalvin Philips, Ngolo Kante, Paulo Dybala, Matthijs de Ligt, Raul Jimenez, Alexander Isak, Marco Reus, Angel di Maria, Paul Pogba, Kyle Walker and Georginio Wijnaldum are all either completely ruled out or unlikely to make it.
You could make a rather handy team out of that little lot.
And with so much domestic football to be packed in over the next few weeks, it’s reasonably certain this list will grow substantially before the big kick-off on November 20.
Of course, coming in the middle of the season rather than the summer, this year’s World Cup is unique in its timing. But to be fair, I don’t think that has anything to do with the injury list.
In fact, you could argue that coming after three or four months of regular domestic football, players should be at peak fitness as opposed to when tournaments are held at the end of a gruelling season. And a fit player is less likely to damage their bits and pieces than a tired, drained one.
I heard someone say recently that, as Qatar approaches, international players should hold back a bit while playing for their clubs, thereby avoiding any dream-shattering injuries. But, although I am no expert, I am led to believe that playing at less than 100 per cent, not committing to challenges and generally taking things easy is exactly the sort of behaviour that increases your chances of getting injured.
The reality is that the only sensible thing for any player with World Cup ambitions to do is to keep on playing the way they have always played. Be committed and enthusiastic and hope the injuries stay away. Because, let’s not forget, if the football gods don’t want you to play in a World Cup, they will always find a way to achieve their aims… no matter how cautious you may be on the pitch.
If the football gods don’t want you to play they will always find a way
Just ask Santiago Canizares. Spain’s first-choice goalkeeper, fresh from a brilliant season with Valencia, was gearing up for the 2002 World Cup after pushing his way to the top of his country’s pecking order. But in the days leading up to the tournament he dropped a bottle of aftershave, stuck out a leg to stop it from smashing on the floor and severed a tendon in his foot in the process. His World Cup hopes, dreams and ambitions shattered by one sweet-smelling, if unconventional, intervention from the football gods.
On that basis, there really is no point in holding back on the pitch when what happens in the privacy of the bathroom can be as dangerous as full-blooded Roy Keane tackle…
Klopp just playing the game
Jurgen Klopp’s pre-game comments last week, when he said Manchester City could “do what they want financially”, could be described in many ways. Deliberate, unfair, jealous, provocative, accurate, ill-judged – all have mileage, depending on which side of the fence you sit.
But claims Klopp was being xenophobic, which have arisen during the week, feel very wide of the mark.
To my mind, he was just pointing out that those clubs that are owned by countries – namely City, Paris Saint-Germain and now Newcastle United – are not operating within the same financial restrictions as the rest of the clubs.
I’m really not sure how that can be interpreted as the Liverpool manager being anti-foreigner. And let’s not forget Klopp is a German, working in England for American bosses, so it would be a bit rich for him to be xenophobic.
Ultimately it was probably nothing more than a bit of pent-up frustration at Liverpool’s start to the season combined with a dash of genuine annoyance that some clubs do have unlimited budgets.
Or maybe it was just good old-fashioned mind games. And if it was, they seemed to do the trick didn’t they…?
Ah, the curse is true
So, the curse of the Manager of the Month Award is just an old wives’ tale, right? I’m not so sure.
After a flying start to the season, Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom deservedly scooped the August award for taking his team to the top of the league. But that was only a short month, so apparently the curse didn’t kick in. However, he kept up the good form in September and scooped the award for a second time.
And that double whammy appears to have sparked the curse into life.
In October, United have played five games without winning a single one. In fact, they have only picked up two points this month after scraping a couple of draws, and are now playing like a team heading for relegation.
Fair enough, the situation hasn’t been helped by a swathe of injuries which has taken most of the first team out of action and seen 17-year-olds making their league debuts.
But again, isn’t that precisely how a curse works – throwing a variety of spanners of all different shapes and sizes into the works on a regular basis.
Damn that award.
New kid on the block
Nice to see Karim Benzema scoop the Ballon d’Or this year at the ripe old age of 34. Well, ripe for a footballer, that is.
The Frenchman became only the second player after Luca Modric to break up the Messi-Ronaldo dominance that has dominated this award since 2008.
In that time, Lionel Messi has taken the prize home seven times and Cristiano Ronaldo five. Tedious, but probably deserved, if we are being honest. Having said that, given the way their respective careers are heading, it’s unlikely either will add to those totals.
Anyway, congratulations to Karim. Enjoy your time at the top because I suspect we might be about to enter a decade where this award is dominated once more.
This time by a certain young Norwegian lad…
E-mail: James@quizando.com
Twitter: @Maltablade