It would be too easy to slot Romania’s Adrian Mutu straight into our “Players Who Won’t Be Missed” series. Chelsea. Cocaine. It’s classic modern day football material.
But our team of players who won’t be missed in South Africa has standards. It has to be choc-full of highly annoying characters. To be included we must be convinced that a player’s presence – despite the potential for individual moments of brilliance – would sour the South Africa experience.
Somehow or other France managed to lose their opening qualifier 3-1 in Vienna. (This to the very same Austria who then went to Lithuania and the Faroe Islands on tour with Megadeath. The Austrians came home with only one point, but they make great party and met lots of pretty blond girls.) France has since only dropped two points, the result of a hard fought draw in Romania. Some would say a point gained. A 2-1 home win over Serbia was followed by two dour 1-0 home and away wins against Lithuania. Last week, France won 1-0 in Tórshavn in a game that could have been mistaken for a new age spiritualist retreat. Readers may begin to see a pattern developing here. Extracting thirteen qualifiers from this UEFA lot is not pretty. Even the French have become ugly.
FIFA’s website tends to accentuate the positive with respect to the current French outfit, noting their “potential” while reminding readers that “France has always enjoyed a more cyclical relationship with success”. We too could wax lyrical on the great goalscoring record of Just Fontaine, the “magic diamond” of Tigana, Fernandez, Giresse and Platini, as well as the champion achievements of Blanc, Desailly, Deschamps, Djorkaeff, Thuram, Zidane and Co. Thankfully, there is a more compelling story than the failure of a flaky French coach to harness France’s nouvelle vague. It is the story of the players themselves.
[So to Group 7. Serbia seem sure to advance. France are well positioned also. The rest are reliant on France falling over themselves. The golden era of Faroe Islands football may have passed.]
It is often forgotten that Austria has some football pedigree. The inter-war years saw Central Europe develop a contrasting style of play to the hoof and charge of the British game. Austrians, Czechs, Hungarians and the other nationalities and ethnic groups who made those countries dynamic and interesting, had fused football into a game based on narrow exchanges, firm organization and superior technical ability. It was known as the Danubian School.
Italy was taking notes. Austrian coaches were demonstrating the finer details on chalkboards at clubs all over the country. The cappuccinos kept on coming. Train timetables were reorganized. And the best refs always arrived on time.
[David ends his overview of Group 8 with a quick look at Montenegro]
Montenegro have a point less than Cyprus. The last of the Yugoslav Republics to fall off the Serbian rump have not won a game in qualifying, though they have secured four draws. Montenegro are no pushovers. The World Champions could only beat their former “protectorate” 2-1 at home. (Italy were responsible for Montenegro’s other Group 8 defeat, 2-0 in Podgorica.)
If’s not inconceivable Montenegro could win their remaining four fixtures, but even that will probably not be enough to secure a 2nd place playoff position.
Montenegro promise to be a football fairytale in future qualification campaigns or a right proper nightmare for some. It’s the sort of place England go to and loose.
Three defeats and three points behind third placed Bulgaria, Cyprus are not contenders. Yet, Cypriot footballers are a competitive bunch and cannot be dismissed just yet. What may seem as an exercise in improving their coefficient may suddenly ignite into a qualification campaign.
Cyprus have a game in hand over Ireland. They host Ireland next. The Irish are consistent and concede very little, but the Boys in Green are not so dominant that they can expect to prevail in the battle of divided European islands.
If Cyprus win, there may be more to say about them in September and October.
(This concludes our look at Group 8. Italy remain favorites to qualify. We will have more on Italy closer to the draw in Cape Town. Apparently the Antipodeans are still angry. Whatever. Fabio Grosso is a left back and a gentleman.)
I met Bobby Robson once. It was a Tuesday night in the late 80s. I noticed him in the carpark at Anfield. He was fiddling with stuff in his boot. He was England’s manager at the time. England were awful as usual.
[Charged with breaking down the European qualifiers, David Patrick Lane takes a moment to tell us what he really thinks. Next Group 7. Serbia, France, and yes, our Austrian friends will soon make an appearance.]
The 1970 World Cup was a watershed moment for the modern game, if for no other reason than it was broadcast in color. Color TV sets were a newfangled invention then, though many folks have continued to watch World Cups as if they were taking place in snowstorms.
There have been 10 World Cups since 1970. That’s 40 different semi finalists. Yet only four have come from outside Europe.