Sir Alex Ferguson was never one for international football, especially when it gets in the way of Manchester United’s priorities – like a kerching-tastic trip to China, South Africa and Norway this summer. The three-leg, 20,000 mile, summer tour will presumably will take place without those players on international duty at Euro 2012 and the Olympics, with tournament stars normally given additional time off by Ferguson to recuperate.
Good news for the Scot, then, that just seven Reds have been called up by the 16 teams taking part in Euro 2012, which gets underway in Poland and Ukraine on 8 June, while only Ryan Giggs and David de Gea are likely to play at the Olympics.
Indeed, when it comes to fatigue Ferguson will be delighted that just two of his players are guaranteed starters for the opening matches, while Wayne Rooney will sit out England’s games against France and Ukraine. Four further players are likely to start the tournament from the bench, and none are guaranteed qualification from the group stage.
A further six ex-Reds will also take part in the tournament, including some surprising names, ensuring a strong United interest in the tournament long after England has meekly departed the competition on matchday three!
Anders Lindegaard – Denmark – United’s 28-year-old stopper has recovered from a lengthy period out in time to make the Euro 2012 plane alongside fellow ‘keepers Stephan Andersen and Kasper Schmeichel. Lindegaard, who has five caps, is likely to start behind Anderson in the pecking order having spent much of the last four months on the sidelines. It’s no easy task for the Danes though having been drawn in the same group as Holland, Germany and Portugal.
Nani – Portugal – the winger is sure to start Portugal’s campaign in the same group as team-mate Lindegaard. The Portuguese qualified for the tournament via the play-offs, beating Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-2 on aggregate. But it was an unhappy qualifying campaign for Paulo Bento’s side, who finished behind Denmark in the group stage. Nani is likely to start alongside captain Cristiano Ronaldo and Hélder Postiga in attack.
Phil Jones – England – the £16.5 million former Blackburn Rovers defender-cum-midfielder is, perhaps, a surprise selection in Roy Hodgson’s squad given the youngster’s poor form during the run-in. But Jones’ energy and flexibility may yet prove important to England’s campaign, especially given injuries to Glenn Johnson and Gareth Barry. Should Scott Parker’s ankle problem relapse, Jones could even find himself playing in central midfield this summer – a position he struggled to master at Old Trafford last season.
Danny Welbeck – England – Welbeck, who is still nursing an angle injury inflicted by Manchester City’s Nigel de Jong, is likely to start the campaign behind Andy Carroll in the pecking order. Given the £35 million Liverpool striker’s wretched campaign this will surprise more than a few Reds. By contrast Welbeck performed admirably as United’s ‘number 9’ for much of the campaign just finished, completing an injury-disrupted season with 12 goals.
Wayne Rooney – England – the Scouser may have finished the season with just one yellow card in the Premier League, but a rash kick at Montenegrin defender Miodrag Dzudovic during England’s qualification match last October will cost Rooney appearances against France and Sweden. Rooney is sure to return for what is likely to be a decisive fixture with hosts Ukraine in Donetsk on 19 June. Whether Rooney’s return is too late for Hodgson’s side is yet to be seen, but Rooney is certainly due a better tournament than in 2010 or 2008.
Ashley Young – England – winger Young is probably his nation’s most in-form attacking player coming into the tournament, scoring a stunning goal in England’s recent friendly against Norway. The strike supplemented a fine selection of goals from the former Aston Villa man last season – a campaign that Young began and ended well, but in which he suffered a marked dip in form and fitness during the winter.
Patrice Evra – France – former captain Evra will enjoy the tournament without the pressure of Les Bleus’ captaincy. In South Africa two years ago Evra was caught in the middle of a row between players and staff, copping a lengthy ban from Fédération Française de Football (FFF) in the highly politicised fall-out after France’s early World Cup exit. This time out Evra will fight for a starting place with Manchester City’s Gael Clicy as France take on England, Ukraine and Sweden in Group D.
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Ron-Robert Zieler – Germany/Hannover96 – former junior Zieler left Old Trafford without making a first team appearance only to carve out an outstanding career in the Budesliga. Will provide back-up to Manuel Neuer and Tim Wiese.
Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal/Real Madrid – has rarely looked back since leaving for Madrid in an £80 million deal three summers ago. But tournament football is yet to bring one of the world’s finest players any joy.
Gerard Piqué – Spain/Barcelona – left Old Trafford for ‘home’ without truly making it at United, but now a core piece of Spain’s defence. Suffered a mediocre campaign with Barcelona by the player’s very high standards last season.
John O’Shea – spent more than a decade with United without truly establishing himself as first choice in any position, yet appeared in more than 400 games. Can, and probably will, play in a variety of positions across Ireland’s back-four this summer.
Darron Gibson – has failed to establish himself as a first choice player for Ireland, although is now at least a regular at club level for Everton having left Old Trafford last January.
Paul McShane – the former United junior has struggled to make an impression at the highest level of English football, having spent time with Sunderland, Hull City, Barnsley, and Crystal Palace since leaving United without making a first team appearance.
The squads
Poland
1. W. Szczesny, 2. S. Boesnich, 3. G. Wojtkowiak, 4. D. Perquis, 5. D. Dudka, 6. A. Matuszczyk, 7. E. Polanski, 8. M. Rybus, 9. R. Lewandowski, 10. L. Obraniak, 11. R. Murawski, 12. G. Sandomierski, 13. M. Wasilewski, 14. J. Wawrzyniak, 15. M. Kaminski, 16. J. Blaszczykowski, 17. R. Wolfski, 18. A. Mierzejewski, 19. A. Sobiech, 20. L.Piszczek, 21. K. Grosicki, 22. P. Tyton, 23. P. Brozek
Greece
1. K. Chalkias, 2. I. Maniatis, 3. G. Tzavelas, 4. S. Malezas, 5. K. Papadopoulos, 6. G. Makos, 7. G. Samaras, 8. A. Papadopoulos, 9. N. Lyberopoulos, 10. G. Karagounis, 11. K. Mitroglu, 12. A. Tzorvas, 13. M. Sifakis, 14. D. Salpigidis, 15. V. Torosidis, 16. G. Fotakis, 17. T. Gekas, 18. S. Ninis, 19. S. Papastathopoulos, 20. J. Holebas, 21. K. Katsouranis, 22. K. Fortounis, 23. G. Fetfatzidis
Russia
1. I. Akinfeev, 2. A. Anyukov, 3. R. Sharanov, 4. S. Ignashevich, 5. Y. Zhirkov, 6. R. Shirokov, 7. I. Denisov, 8. K. Zyryanov, 9. M. Izmailov, 10. A. Arshavin, 11. A. Kerzhakov, 12. A. Berezutski, 13. A. Shunin, 14. R. Pavyluchenko, 15. D. Kombarov, 16. V. Malafeev, 17. A. Dzagoev, 18. A. Kokorin, 19. V. Granat, 20. P. Pogrebnyak, 21. K. Nababkin, 22. D. Glushakov, 23. I. Semshov
Czech Republic
1. P. Cech, 2. T. Gebre Selassie, 3. M. Kadlec, 4. M. Suchy, 5. R. Hubnik, 6. T. Sivok, 7. T. Necid, 8. D. Limbersky, 9. J. Rezek, 10. T. Rosicky, 11. M. Petrzela, 12. F. Rajtoral, 13. J. Plasil, 14. V. Pilar, 15. M. Baros, 16. J. Lastuvka, 17. T. Hubschman, 18. D. Kolaf, 19. P. Jiracek, 20. T. Pekhart, 21. D. Lafata, 22. V. Darida, 23. J. Drobny
Holland
1. M. Stekelenburg, 2. G. Van Der Wiel, 3. J. Heitinga, 4. J. Mathijsen, 5. W. Bouma, 6. M. Van Bommel, 7. D. Kuyt, 8. N. De Jong, 9. K.J. Huntelaar, 10. W. Sneijder, 11. A. Robben, 12. M. Vorm, 13. R. Vlaar, 14. S. Schaars, 15. J. Willems, 16. R. Van Persie, 17. K. Strootman, 18. L. De Jong, 19. L. Narsingh, 20. I. Afellay, 21. K. Boulahrouz, 22. T. Krul, 23. R. Van Der Vaart
Denmark
1. K. Schmeichel, 2. C. Poulsen, 3. S. Kjaer, 4. D. Agger, 5. S. Poulsen, 6. L. Jacobsen, 7. W. Kvist, 8. C. Eriksen, 9. M. Krohn-Dehli, 10. D. Rommedahl, 11. N. Bendtner, 12. A. Bjelland, 13. J. Okore, 14. L. Schone, 15. M. Silberbauer, 16. S. Andersen, 17. N. Pedersen, 18. D. Wass, 19. J. Poulsen, 20. T. Kahlenberg, 21. N. Zimling, 22. A. Lindegaard, 23. T. Mikkelson
Germany
1. M. Neuer, 2. I. Gundogan, 3. M. Schmelzer, 4. B. Howedes, 5. M. Hummels, 6. S. Khedira, 7. B. Schweinsteiger, 8. M. Ozil, 9. A. Schurrle, 10. L. Podolski, 11. M. Klose, 12. T. Wiese, 13. T. Mueller, 14. H. Badstuber, 15. L. Bender, 16. P. Lahm, 17. P. Mertersacker, 18. T. Kroos, 19. M. Goetze, 20. J. Boateng, 21. M. Reus, 22. R.R. Zieler, 23. M. Gomez
Portugal
1. Eduardo, 2. B. Alves, 3. Pepe, 4. M. Veloso, 5. F. Coentrao, 6. Custodio, 7. C. Ronaldo, 8. J. Moutinho, 9. H. Almeida, 10. R. Quaresma, 11. N. Oliveira, 12. R. Patricio, 13. R. Costa, 14. Rolando, 15. R. Micael, 16. R. Meireles, 17. Nani, 18. S. Varela, 19. M. Lopes, 20. H. Viana, 21. J. Pereira, 22. Beto, 23. H. Postiga
Spain
1. I. Casillas, 2. R. Albiol, 3. G. Pique, 4. J. Martinez, 5. Juanfran, 6. A. Iniesta, 7. Pedro, 8. Xavi, 9. F. Torres, 10. C. Fabregas, 11. A. Negredo, 12. V. Valdes, 13. J. Mata, 14. X. Alonso, 15. S. Ramos, 16. S. Busquets, 17. A. Arbeloa, 18. J. Alba, 19. F. Llorente, 20. S. Cazorla, 21. D. Silva, 22. J. Navas, 23. P. Reina
Italy
1. G. Buffon, 2. C. Maggio, 3. G. Chiellini, 4. A. Ogbonna, 5. T. Motta, 6. F. Balzaretti, 7. I. Abate, 8. C. Marchisio, 9. M. Balotelli, 10. A. Cassano, 11. A. Di Natale, 12. S. Sirigu, 13. E. Giaccherini, 14. M. De Sanctis, 15. A. Barzagli, 16. D. De Rossi, 17. F. Borini, 18. R. Montolivo, 19. L. Bonucci, 20. S. Giovinco, 21. A. Pirlo, 22. A. Diamanti, 23. A. Nocerino
Republic of Ireland
1. S. Given, 2. S. St Ledger, 3. S. Ward, 4. J. O’Shea, 5. R. Dunne, 6. G. Whelan, 7. A. McGeady, 8. K. Andrews, 9. K. Doyle, 10. R. Keane, 11. D. Duff, 12. S. Kelly, 13. S. Hunt, 14. D. Gibson, 15. D. O’Dea, 16. K. Westwood, 17. S. Long, 18. P. Green, 19. J. Walters, 20. S. Cox, 21. P. McShane, 22. J. McLean, 23. D. Forde
Croatia
1. S. Pletikosa, 2. I. Strinic, 3. J. Simunic, 4. J. Buljat, 5. V. Corluka, 6. D. Pranjic, 7. I. Rakitic, 8. O. Vukojevic, 9. N. Jelavic, 10. L. Modric, 11. D. Srna, 12. I. Kelava, 13. G. Schildenfeld, 14. M. Badelj, 15. I. Ilicevic, 16. T. Dujmovic, 17. M. Mandzukic, 18. I. Olic, 19. N. Kranjcar, 20. I. Perisic, 21. D. Vida, 22. Eduardo, 23. D. Subasic
Ukraine
1. M. Koval, 2. Y. Selin, 3. Y. Khacheridi, 4. A. Tymoshchuk, 5. O. Kucher, 6. D. Harmash, 7. A. Shevchenko, 8. O. Aliyev, 9. O. Husyev, 10. A. Voronin, 11. A. Yarmolenko, 12. A. Pyatov, 13. V. Shevchuk, 14. R. Rotan, 15. A. Milevskiy, 16. Y. Seleznyov, 17. T. Mykhalyk, 18. S. Nazarenko, 19. Y. Konoplyanka, 20. Y. Rakitskiy, 21. B. Butko, 22. M. Devych, 23. O. Horyainov
Sweden
1. A. Isaksson, 2. M. Lustig, 3. O. Mellberg, 4. A. Granqvist, 5. M. Olsson, 6. R. Elm, 7. S. Larsson, 8. A. Svensson, 9. K. Kallstrom, 10. Z. Ibrahimovic, 11. J. Elmander, 12. J. Wiland, 13. J. Olsson, 14. T. Hysen, 15. M. Antonsson, 16. P. Wernbloom, 17. B. Safari, 18. S. Holmen, 19. E. Bajrami, 20. O. Toivonen, 21. C. Wilhelmsson, 22. M. Rosenberg, 23. P. Hansson
England
1. J. Hart, 2. G. Johnson, 3. A. Cole, 4. S. Gerrard, 5. G. Cahill, 6. J. Terry, 7. T. Walcott, 8. F. Lampard, 9. A. Carroll, 10. W. Rooney, 11. A. Young, 12. L. Baines, 13. R. Green, 14. P. Jones, 15. J. Lescott, 16. J. Milner, 17. S. Parker, 18. P. Jagielka, 19. S. Downing, 20. A. Oxlade-Chamberlain, 21. J. Defoe, 22. D. Welbeck, 23. J. Butland
France
1. H. Lloris, 2. M. Debuchy, 3. P. Evra, 4. A. Rami, 5. P. Mexes, 6. Y. Cabaye, 7. F. Ribery, 8. M. Valbuena, 9. O. Giroud, 10. K. Benzema, 11. S. Nasri, 12. B. Matuidi, 13. A. Reveillere, 14. J. Menez, 15. F. Malouda, 16. S. Mandanda, 17. Y. M’Vila, 18. A. Diarra, 19. M. Martin, 20. H. Ben Arfa, 21. L. Koscielny, 22. G. Clichy, 23. C. Carrasso
Im looking forward to the Euro’s. Cant go 3 months without any football.
No Bebe in the Portuguese squad??
Banana – as Didier Drogba might say, it’s a fucking disgrace, a fucking disgrace!
I’ll probably get interested when it starts, but right now, I just don’t care.
It’s the Glazers fault.
disgraceful isnt it when only 7 members of our squad gets picked for a major international tournament. there was a time in the early noughties where we had half a dozen international captains/ex-captains on our books.
Well to be fair, Rio, Vidic, Cleverley, Smalling, Carrick and Scholes could or should have been in the Euros.
Plus we have other internationals who aren’t European like Valencia, Hernandez, Rafael.
So it’s a pretty daft comment.
The one thing about this tournament that’s got me interested, is how they’re going to deal with the racism…
I only saw a part of this Panorama piece… http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18192375... but fuckin hell, that looks worrying… and then in a few years the Russians get their turn.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18260738... I would back Balotelli all the way, if he walked off.
In fact, if any of the England lads cop any racist abuse, I’d like to see Hodgson haul them all off the pitch, and tell the tournament directors to stick it up their arse… getting this behaviour out of the game, is miles more important than any trophies.
And if UEFA/FIFA threw a strop about it… they can fuck off as well… and I would fully expect our FA to back the club.
Having said that… I doubt Hodgson or our FA would have the bollocks to make such a stand.
Worth also mentioning that we could easily have a few players playing in the Olympics – DDG, Cleverley etc, even Giggs. For the young players it will be a really good opportunity for some quality experience that should help their development.
So we won’t be far off approaching a dozen in total Baggio!
I agree with that Alf, not sure though about FA and Hodgson – if Cole or Young or Ox-C, or any other black player, got some sick abuse, then it could kick off. Hodgson is professional but old school too. as you say, it’s about the player walking off and making a public stand – once that happens, the polish or ukrainian FA should simply be banned from all international competition for at least a year. end of.
also, same cuntish undertones are in Spain and Italy too – Barca and Real give it the large but they are full of racist clans.
they can say all they want about English football but in terms of the terraces it’s far more intolerant about a bunch of cunts giving it the monkey chants than on the continent.
good on Balocrazy
Ballotelli is an arrogant, attention-seeking, hypocritical thug.
Personally, if someone stamped on my head, or my teammates head or tried to break my leg, I would protest and like to ‘kill them’.
Stop making this cunt into some kind of romantic martyr. If he wasn’t black, he wouldn’t give a fuck, I’m sure of it.
carroll will get goals
He would want to, he is playing no 9 for England. Is he really Englands best goalscoring option?
I’ve gotta be honest, I’m really struggling to be that excited about the Euros at the moment. England have been so abject for as long as I can remember now, they just not entertaining to sit and watch, and to be fair the overall quality of football on show has been pretty drab the last couple of major international tournaments from everyone concerned. I’ve got this sneaking suspiscion the whole tournament will just end up being another boring, negative snoozefest!
My breaking point was in 2006. We played so poorly against Portugal and I remember not feeling depressed like I had done in previous tournaments, just angry. First time I hadn’t shed a few boy/man tears too.
It’s been like that ever since.
I lost faith in 2006 n all
I was younger, and used to believe like a lot of England muppets
Oh fuck off… Balotelli is a young lad, and yeah, he fucks up more than most… but he’s done nothing worse than what Shearer did a few years back… or Roy Keane for that matter.
And what do you know about whether he’d tolerate this crap, if he was white? That’s just a retarded thing to say.
How many white players have said they will walk off if they hear racist abuse? In fact, how many non-cunt black players have said it?
If someone like Walcott or Lescott had said it, I’d say fair enough, power to them.
Did you stamp on people’s heads when you were 21? If you did you’re a cunt and your opinion is worthless.
He sums up everything wrong with footballers today. But it’s ok, because stupid cunts will say he’s a ‘character’.
I don’t tolerate what Shearer or Keane did ‘years back’. It was awful at the time, it’s even worse now.
If you think being 21 is an excuse for acting like scum, does that mean anyone who racially abuses Ballotelli is free to do so as long as they are under 22?
Just to make something clear before you reply with some misinformed accusation… I hate racism and any form of sick discrimination (that includes using words like ‘retarded’ by the way).
But surely you can see why Ballotelli is an inappropriate ‘spokesman’ for morality in football.
Did you actually read the rest of his interview? It was just self-serving egotistical bollocks.
and I’m not impressed by someone threatening murder in response to racism. I think murder is worse personally. But maybe that’s just me.
IN-GER-LAND
Norway was a shocking game apart from some moments (like Ashley’s goal). Norway were the better team, they could pass, and at least hold the ball. Their downside were stupid defensive mistakes, allowing England space and getting behind their players. Apart from that, Gerard lost all sense of ball control, as did Milner, Downing and Barry, and Green looked bloody scared, as if he was going to make some huge mistake. Jagielka and Lescott though worked well in defence together, and baines was good at left back just a minor part in the game for me, and jones, he was okay, if Richards were there, there would be fewer mistakes.