Anonymous
06-25-2004, 07:34 AM
Well as an England supporter I like the rest of the country am bitterly dissapointed by last night but have to put my hand up and say we were well and truely battered by Portugal.
They were better in the tackle, attacking and generally sharper. Deco was brilliant as was the guy Andrade and their defensive midfielders. Fair play.
But let me talk of an all too familar trand in the last 20-30 years. One it is said the strongest leagues in the world are La Liga, The Premiership and Serie A. All these respective leagues national teams have continually failed to win anything on the world stage since 1982.
What dies this tell you? It tells you that countries such as France, Brazil, Argentina, Holland, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Czech Repubic etc are able to 'export' there most talented players to the big leagues - get the benefit of the best coaching and facilities while being able to 'grow' there youngsters in their own domestic leagues.
This is a luxury that England, Italy and Spain do not have. Lets face it, Rooney, Cassano and Torres are all exceptions to the rule. Most of our youngsters will be left with having to gain experience in Division One or Serie B.
If the socalled big coutries are to progress and take on France and Brazil there must be a concerted effort by the respective organisations in those countries to breed young talent from within and also not to assume taking foreign talent is the way forward.
I sincerely believe the French progression in the last 10 years has been partly (almost entirely) down to the fact that their players have had exposure to the best leagues and coaching (Dechamps - Italy, Blanc - Italy, Thuram - Italy, Petit - England etc) while allowing their youngsters to grow and mature in there own domestic league.
Don't get me wrong these countries coaching schemes and scouting networks are spot on also so all credit to them. But the point I am trying to make is it is easir for these countries to bring on talent than the so called 'BIG 3'. If we are to improve this must be looked at and addressed.
They were better in the tackle, attacking and generally sharper. Deco was brilliant as was the guy Andrade and their defensive midfielders. Fair play.
But let me talk of an all too familar trand in the last 20-30 years. One it is said the strongest leagues in the world are La Liga, The Premiership and Serie A. All these respective leagues national teams have continually failed to win anything on the world stage since 1982.
What dies this tell you? It tells you that countries such as France, Brazil, Argentina, Holland, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Czech Repubic etc are able to 'export' there most talented players to the big leagues - get the benefit of the best coaching and facilities while being able to 'grow' there youngsters in their own domestic leagues.
This is a luxury that England, Italy and Spain do not have. Lets face it, Rooney, Cassano and Torres are all exceptions to the rule. Most of our youngsters will be left with having to gain experience in Division One or Serie B.
If the socalled big coutries are to progress and take on France and Brazil there must be a concerted effort by the respective organisations in those countries to breed young talent from within and also not to assume taking foreign talent is the way forward.
I sincerely believe the French progression in the last 10 years has been partly (almost entirely) down to the fact that their players have had exposure to the best leagues and coaching (Dechamps - Italy, Blanc - Italy, Thuram - Italy, Petit - England etc) while allowing their youngsters to grow and mature in there own domestic league.
Don't get me wrong these countries coaching schemes and scouting networks are spot on also so all credit to them. But the point I am trying to make is it is easir for these countries to bring on talent than the so called 'BIG 3'. If we are to improve this must be looked at and addressed.