The score line on the big digital panel of the Free State stadium had wrenched thousands of England fans.
4-1, the biggest defeat of the England soccer team in the history of World Cup. The exit of England was much anticipated due to its unconvincing performance, but not much had expected a 3 goals massacre from the Germans.
People may argue over the disallowed goal and cursing the Uruguayan Referee with the filthiest language they knew. But, even Frank Lampard (the Chelsea power house whose well struck shot had crossed the goal line by 1 yard, more than that) can’t deny that their sloppy defending had no ways to stop the lightning swift counter attack executed by the German attacking forces. John Terry could only have a helpless glance at the back of Miroslav Klose jersey where his teammate Matthew Upson being out paced by the Leverkusen striker.
So, what are the underlying problems that cause England, which never devoid of well known superstars like Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, failing to win the most renowned soccer competition of the planets since 1966? God Knows. England has the biggest and the most popular league in the world, the EPL, (I will be surprised if anyone tells me that they do not know what is Manchester United or Arsenal. At least, you have to know it’s a soccer club), which players exhaust their every single muscle to fight for the league champion. Yes, one of the problems lies in the previous sentence, which is the overall fitness of the players.
The hectic schedule has drained players’ energy and they usually do not have the time to relieve their fatigue. Lets narrow down to the Big 4 case to illustrate this; Teams like Arsenal or Chelsea usually has to cope with different competition such as the Champions League or the League Cup, so it is inevitable that there are 2-3 matches per week. Some regular first team players were not well rested but their hunger for victory had taken over their fatigue minds which enable them to carry on. Like John Terry, he rarely misses a league match as he is the fulcrum of Chelsea defence. (Although his scandal had caused him more distraction and trouble). At the end of the day, we can see these players carrying a totally exhausted bodies and minds, boarding the team’s plane, flying to the southern tip of the Africa continent, trying to squeeze out niche of energy from their nearly empty fuel tank. Hunger for victory must be supplied by a fully energized physical and mental condition, but the English men have none.
Maybe you will blame Fabio Capello for being incapable of leading the team, but judge from his champions-furnished resume and excellent preliminary result, we can’t really blame him. Sven Goran Eriksson is nothing and easily outclassed by Capello. Is it a legacy problem or players attitude problem? The question remain unsolved while in the mean time we can only analyse it from an outsider point of view. The crucial thing is whether the English FA and players will really learn from the previous 11 setbacks, or the same scenario will be repeated 4 years later?
The time will uncover the veil of future. See you in 2014, team England.
