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| Captain Fantastic |
As I chilled out the other day watching 1999-2005 era FA Cup/ English Premiere League classic matches featuring the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Man United, Chelsea, etc., I couldn't help but single out two players in particular that were absolutely deadly: Steven Gerrard for Liverpool and Frenchman Thierry Henry for Arsenal. On one hand, you had Captain Fantastic aka Stevie G, the GREATEST English footballer this writer has ever witnessed and 'Titi', a one-man strike force that absolutely terrorized English defenses during that same time period. So, with particular focus on Mr. Henry and to a lesser extent Captain Fantastic, I started to think about when and why did such a prolific player's career start to turn for the 'worse'? Was it age? Was it tactics? Did EPL defenses suddenly figure these guys out? No. The answer is plain and simple: it was The World Cup. That's right, the pressure (and more importantly) the mental and physical fatigue that footballers endure during World Cup years has a profound NEGATIVE effect on players the season immediately following the event (Gerrard) and for some it unfortunately affected the remainder of a player's career (Henry).
So before you jump down this America Soccer Fanatic's throat, let's take a walk back in time to 2005-2006 season. Henry played with Arsenal in the following competitions: English Premier League, UEFA Champion's League, and The FA Cup. Although Chelsea dominated the EPL, Arsenal was forced to compete with Tottenham down to the wire to hold on to 4th place (and the all important Champion's League Qualifier spot). While in the Champion's League, Arsenal had a great tournament, making it to the final match where they eventually lost to Ronaldinho's magnificent Barcelona squad . Henry ended up making 45 appearances that season, which naturally took a serious physical toll on his body coupled with the mental anguish of losing the CL Final and not coming close to Chelsea in the EPL. So instead of taking the summer off to relax, recharge, refresh, and recover mentally and physically, guess what Titi was doing a few weeks after losing to Barca?? That's right, hooking up with The French national Team to prepare for the 2006 World Cup. We all know how that ended thanks to Zidane's infamous headbutt. As well all know, Henry's 2006-2007 EPL season was cut short due to injury and he was NEVER the same after (even during his time at Barca, he never quite showed the brilliance he displayed with Arsenal).
To a lesser extent, Liverpool have suffered mightily during the current EPL season and I attribute this to having a less than 100% Stevie G. Of course, the England/Liverpool captain didn't play nearly the games that Titi played (in 2005-2006) due to England's early exit from the 2010 World Cup. However it stands to reason Gerrard's season (and Liverpool's) would have been much more productive had he not have the 'medical condition' I coin PWCS: Post World Cup Syndrome.
With that said, I humbly submit a list of world class players currently suffering from PWCS and who haven't quite shaken the ill effects of participating in the 2010 World Cup. Would love to hear back from our readers on this.....more importantly, which of these greats will never recover???
As always,
Dear Old Sabre
- Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
- Fernando Torres (Liverpool/Chelseas)
- Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan)
- Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
- Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
- Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)
- Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
- Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)
- Carlos Puyol (Barcelona)
- Simao Sambrossa (Athletico Madrid)
- Diego Milito (Inter Milan)
- Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
- Kaka (Real Madrid)
- Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow)
- Douglas Maicon (Inter Milan)
- Florent Malouda (Liverpool)
- Diego Forlan (Athletico Madrid)
- Javier Mascherano (Barcelona)
- Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
- Walter Samuel (Inter Milan)
- Philip Lahm (Bayern Munich)
- Daniele De Rossi (Roma)
- Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)
- Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
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