14 DAY TRIAL // This year's World Cup is sure going to be a new experience for all of us. Starting with the African teams - 3 out of 4 never played in such a competition before - and continuing with the fans, and ending with most of the players who will be present at the summer event in Germany. Due to the high number of information concerning the squad that will compete for this year's competition, it was practically impossible to keep track of the players that will take us on the wings of spectacle.
What is real news about the competition that will go under way this June is the number of players that won't be attending. Among them, we could find veterans, young talents and past sensations. They all had to settle for staying and watching it at TV, since the coaches had some hard decisions to make when it came down to the final selection. Here's a review of the main character this future World Cup is certainly going to miss.
Brazil - It has to be hard to make up your mind when it comes to selecting the players for the national team, no matter what your name is. Carlos Alberto Parreira avoided, though, major surprises, leaving none of the big names at home. Here's how Brazil's squad looks like:
Goalkeepers: Dida (AC Milan), Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Rogerio Ceni (Sao Paulo) Defenders: Cafu (AC Milan), Cicinho (Real Madrid), Lucio (Bayern Munich), Juan (Bayer Leverkusen), Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid), Gilberto (Hertha Berlin), Cris (Olympique Lyon), Luisao (Benfica) Midfielders: Edmilson (Barcelona), Juninho Pernambucano (Olympique Lyon), Emerson (Juventus), Ze Roberto (Bayern Munich), Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), Kaka (AC Milan), Ricardinho (Corinthians) Forwards: Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Robinho (Real Madrid), Ronaldinho (Barcelona), Adriano (Inter Milan), Fred (Olympique Lyon).
Argentina - Oh well, there's a lot to talk about when it comes to Argentina. Jose Pekeman made some strange choices, leaving team leader and football future legend Xavier Zanetti at home, along with one of the best midfielders in the German League, Martin DeMichelis. Argentine defense will most likely miss Inter's Walter Samuel, while a surprise pick is Scaloni from West Ham. Here's the complete squad:
Goalkeepers: Roberto Abbondanzieri (Boca Juniors), Leonardo Franco (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Oscar Ustari (Independiente) Defenders: Nicolas Burdisso (Inter Milan/ITA), Gabriel Milito (Zaragoza/ESP), Juan Pablo Sorin (Villarreal/ESP), Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo La Coruna/ESP), Leandro Cufre (Roma/ITA), Roberto Ayala (Valencia/ESP), Gabriel Heinze (Manchester United/ENG) Midfielders: Maximiliano Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Esteban Cambiasso (Inter Milan/ITA), Juan Roman Riquelme (Villarreal/ESP), Lionel Scaloni (West Ham/ENG), Luis Gonzalez (Porto/POR), Javier Mascherano (Corinthians/BRA), Pablo Aimar (Valencia/ESP) Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona/ESP), Hernan Crespo (Chelsea/ENG), Carlos Tevez (Corinthians/BRA), Javier Saviola (Sevilla/ESP), Julio Cruz (Inter Milan/ITA), Rodrigo Palacio (Boca Juniors)
England - Eriksson has had a lot of problems picking the right players than leaving them behind. The good news for English fans is that the midfield trio Lampard - Beckam - Gerrard is ready to go. The uncertainties concern the two strikers Micael Owen - still recovering from a knee injury - and Wayne Rooney, who hopes he will be fit before the competition gets under way. The surprise here is the young English sensation Theo Walcott. The complete squad is:
1 - Paul Robinson, 2 - Gary Neville, 3 - Ashley Cole, 4 - Steven Gerrard, 5 - John Terry, 6 - Rio Ferdinand, 7 - David Beckham, 8 - Frank Lampard, 9 - Wayne Rooney, 10 - Michael Owen, 11 - Joe Cole, 12 - Sol Campbell, 13 - David James, 14 - Wayne Bridge, 15 - Jamie Carragher, 16 - Owen Hargreaves, 17 - Jermaine Jenas, 18 - Michael Carrick, 19 - Aaron Lennon, 20 - Stewart Downing, 21 - Peter Crouch, 22 - Robert Green, 23 - Theo Walcott.
Italy - Nothing is certain in the Italian squad. With the grotesque corruption scandal that Italian football is going through, coach Marcello Lippi is more concerned to show up for interrogatories than naming the squad. Another blowout for the Italians is the absence of Christian Viari, who suffered a knee injury while playing for Monaco. He will play football again by the end of the summer. Sampdoria's Aimo Diana is another missing piece for the "Azuri", who will have to play with the next squad:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Angelo Peruzzi (Lazio), Marco Amelia (Livorno) Defenders: Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Gianluca Zambrotta (Juventus), Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan), Fabio Grosso (Palermo), Cristian Zaccardo (Palermo), Massimo Oddo (Lazio), Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Marco Materazzi (Inter Milan) Midfielders: Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan), Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Simone Perrotta (Roma), Francesco Totti (Roma), Simone Barone (Palermo) Forwards: Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus), Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan), Luca Toni (Fiorentina), Alberto Gilardino (AC Milan), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Udinese) Stand-by players: Morgan De Sanctis (Udinese), Daniele Bonera (Parma), Marco Marchionni (Parma), Franco Semioli (Chievo)
France - Raymond Domenech will have to prove what he's capable of this summer. With the majority of the players fit for the summer, he'll have no excuse in case of failing. One of his contested decisions is leaving behind Mexes, the young Roma defender, who had a stunning season so far. Another leave-behind is striker Anelka, who has not yet recover his past form. Domenech is to attack the World Cup trophy with the next squad:
Goalkeepers: Fabien Barthez, Gregory Coupet, Mickael Landreau. Defenders: Eric Abidal, Jean-Alain Boumsong, Pascal Chimbonda, William Gallas, Gael Givet, Willy Sagnol, Mikael Silvestre, Lilian Thuram. Midfielders: Vikash Dhorasoo, Alou Diarra, Claude Makelele, Florent Malouda, Patrick Vieira, Zinedine Zidane. Forwards: Djibril Cisse, Thierry Henry, Franck Ribery, Louis Saha, David Trezeguet, Sylvain Wiltord.
Spain - Luis Aragones has had the possibility to chose from large number of players. Coaching with no pressure, since all of his successors have managed poor performances in the European and Word Cup final tournaments, Aragones could give Spain the big break this summer, even if Raul, one of the most prolific strikers of his team, is not yet at his best form. No surprises here:
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Liverpool), Santiago Canizares (Valencia) Defenders: Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Michel Salgado (Real Madrid), Antonio Lopez (Atletico Madrid), Asier del Horno (Chelsea), Pablo Ibanez (Atletico Madrid), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Juanito (Real Betis) Midfielders: Xavi (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Jose Antonio Reyes (Arsenal), Joaquin (Real Betis), Luis Garcia (Liverpool), David Albelda (Valencia), Xabi Alonso (Liverpool) Forwards: Raul (Real Madrid), Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid), David Villa (Valencia)
Holland - Finishing an almost perfect qualifying campaign, Marco Van Basten has the advantage of youthness in his team. Even if they are not so experienced, the Hollandaise players will most certainly play without any stress. During the qualifiers, Van Basten had to make some hard decisions, like leaving Edgar Davids or Seedors behind. Huntelaar is another drop-out for the Hollandaise coach, who decided to take only 3 strikers. Here is the complete squad:
Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United/ENG), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax) and Henk Timmer (AZ Alkmaar) Defenders: Khalid Boulahrouz (SV Hamburg/GER), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Barcelona/ESP), Tim de Cler (AZ Alkmaar), Kew Jaliens (AZ Alkmaar), Jan Kromkamp (Liverpool/ENG), Joris Mathijsen (AZ Alkmaar), Andr? Ooijer (PSV Eindhoven), Johnny Heitinga (Ajax) Midfielders: Mark van Bommel (Barcelona/ESP), Phillip Cocu (PSV Eindhoven), Denny Landzaat (AZ Alkmaar), Hedwiges Maduro (Ajax), Wesley Sneijder (Ajax) and Rafael van der Vaart (SV Hamburg/GER) Forwards: Ryan Babel (Ajax), Dirk Kuijt (Feyenoord), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United/ENG), Robin van Persie (Arsenal/ENG), Arjen Robben (Chelsea/ENG) and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (PSV Eindhoven)
And here is where it ends. I tried to make a final recap of the main contenders for the World crown this summer. Of course, there is always the possibility of one or two surprises, but the bottom line is that these teams will give their best to go for the final victory. Portugal seems to be the only one outside the above teams that may have a chance to make something happen. If we take under consideration the fact that a lot could still happen until the WC gets under way - injuries, scandals (Italy, Holland) - a lot is to be expected in the few weeks. Until then, we'll just have to wait and see.