I was bitterly disappointed by the outcome of the England-Portugal game. But was even more surprised by the lack of dignity in the comments of certain elder statemen of the game or The three grumpy old men…

You know the guys seating atop of the balcony during the Muppet show. True legends like ‘Wrighty’, ‘Shearo’ should know better… and Gary ‘crisp’ Lineker should have moderated their outburst suggesting that Wayne ‘Rooo’ Rooney should scythe Ronaldo when they are both back in training ground at Carington is ridiculous:

1. It’s just a game
2. If W. Rooney wants to lift that cup he will have to learn one thing or two about behaving in front of millions of viewers, or embrace a Gazza-like destiny.
3. Ronaldo is a cheat…so what? Ronaldo was with Heargreaves the man of the match without a doubt. But his reaction is I’m afraid justified…although I didn’t link the wink…and the jury is still out on that one…

We all love the premier league, its swashbuckling cavalier attitude, high-tempo and that almost old-fashioned code of chivalry that really ensure that the game is played in the right mindset. But international football is not played that way. In European cups competitions, deficiencies are hidden by high-priced and high-quality foreign import both at manager and player’s level…(When was the last time an Englishman won the P-League? )
However, if we want it to continue, then we should also forget about winning anything at world cup or European level…
.If flair players like Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Maradona, Henry, …or the whole Italian team are ready to do it and actually win trophies at the highest level, then to use that code as an argument become a cope-out and nothing else…
An excuse for the looser or an item in the chicken rule book…

ou either want to win at all-cost because you are a winner or are ready to loose by your idea and principles.
In that case, no needs to build false expectations as you know roughly how it will end-up anyway…
You get me?

However, just reverse the situation one minute and have Ronaldo towering over English’s player crown jewels. Would you not react similarly if your teammate was hit so low? Club-mate or not…

ABOUT SVEN…

And the millions of excuses invented by everybody. Yes he made bad squad choices…Yes his relax approach was detrimental to the squad, with the WAGS making more headlines than the players…Physically? England lacked a second gear throughout the tournament, that’s a fact…although at ten against eleven they finished stronger than Portugal…You can’t help but still believe that physical preparation was not thorough…If you compare it to running teams like Spain, Ghana, South Korea, Germany,…Mentally? See below…Tactically? He had to make-do with his choices and cope with injuries, hence the tinkering.

ULTIMATELY…

The big players never lived up to their expectations and reputations…Rooney got a Red card…Albeit a dubious one…Lampard, Gerrard, Carragher missed penalties at a world-cup quarter finals. I had never seen that before….and that is not down to ability. Steven Gerrard almost won the C-League in 2005 on his own. As for Lampard, he is by a mile the best midfielder in the second best league in the world (After Spain’s La Ligua of course) and third RANKED FIFA’s PLAYER OF THE YEAR!

Those two ain’t no mug! And ‘Carra’ neither…
What happened then? It was all in the head. Mental preparation was lacking and mental preparation was probably ‘Big Phil’ Scolari’s first weapon. A dedicated student of Sun Tzu with the ability to show raw passion and emotion on the touchline and humble Luis Figo. The man has now entered world cup’s folklore as a touchline legend. Maybe just maybe the FA did their best move in the last five years, in trying to bring him to Soho Square. Pity it didn’t go through though…