Playing
for their country should be the pinnacle of any player’s career. Most people
would give their right arm to stand and sing the national anthem wearing the
colours of their nation, but in recent years, it seems as if national service
has become a chore for some. The constant pressure on players, especially
England’s, to perform has become a source of much frustration to the
professionals and the criticisms they face is often not worth the hassle.
Although
some like David Beckham and indeed David James, who said he would never retire
from international duty, would always make themselves available for England,
more and more players are simply dropping out of the international scene for no
particular reason. Here are ten figures who ended their international careers
for no apparent reason:
1. Michael Carrick
Carrick
recently announced he would reconsider his England future having previously
stated he was unavailable for selection after the 2010 World Cup. Carrick made
Fabio Capello’s 23 man squad, but having travelled with the party, he failed to
make a single appearance. This caused him to rule himself out of contention for
Euro 2012 despite injuries to Steven Gerrard and Gareth Barry and England had
to call up Jordan Henderson instead. It seems that Carrick has taken his bat
home having not been considered despite solid form for Manchester United over
the last couple of years, so I’d plead with him not to reconsider his decision.
2. Ben Foster
Another
case of ‘I’m not good enough so I’m going to sulk about it.’ Foster retired in
May 2011 despite the fact he was comfortably England’s second best goalkeeper,
but the West Brom stopper said he didn’t see the point of international
selection if Joe Hart was always going to be number one. Having once been
England’s next big goalkeeping hope, Foster won just five caps and also failed
to make the breakthrough at Manchester United. It’s fair to say his career’s
been somewhat of a disappointment.
3. Ryan Giggs
The
greatest player in Premier League history is also one of the unluckiest in
terms of internationals. Giggs has never played in a major tournament despite
his career spanning two decades and only got close when Wales lost a Euro 2004
playoff to Russia. He retired from international duty in 2008, having won just
64 caps, but you get the feeling Giggs could have gone on much longer. He picks
and chooses his games for Manchester United these days and he could have done
the same for important international games. If Wales had reached a major
tournament since his decision to quit, Giggs would have surely changed his
mind.
4. Paul Robinson
Robinson
was once England’s number one but lost his place having made a series of high
profile blunders for club and country. After winning 41 caps, Robbo was left
out in the wilderness after he let a Roman Pavlyuchenko shot slip out of his
grasp in a defeat to Russia. He was recalled after the 2010 World Cup though
and was expected to take up the number two slot behind Joe Hart. However,
Robinson said he wasn’t prepared to simply sit on the bench and wait for
injuries and chose to end his international career ahead of a friendly with
Hungary.
5. Emile Heskey
After
a promising start at international level, where his partnership with Michael
Owen proved a decent one in the 2002 World Cup, Heskey became the scapegoat of
the squad because of his inability to find the back of the net. With England
struggling in their Euro 2008 campaign, Heskey earned himself a recall to help
get Owen firing again and the trick worked. Once Fabio Capello took over,
Heskey still made the squad, playing alongside Wayne Rooney, but once again, he
simply couldn’t score. After a miserable World Cup, Heskey chose to retire
rather than face all the flak from the media, quitting his country after just
seven goals in 62, a record worse than Paraguay goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert.
6. Paul Scholes
The
midfield magician is one of England’s most naturally gifted players in recent
years, but his talents have been almost wasted at international level. Scholes
retired after Euro 2004, having been shifted out onto the left hand side to
accommodate Gerrard and Lampard. At the age of just 29, he quit England duty to
concentrate on Manchester United, but how England could have done with him. As
Gerrard and Lampard failed to function in the middle time and time again,
Scholes resisted calls to return, even up to Euro 2012.
7. Jamie Carragher
Carragher
actually retired from international duty in 2007, having failed to force his
way past Rio Ferdinand, John Terry or Sol Campbell despite his excellent form
for Liverpool. However, in 2010 with England heading to South Africa, Carragher
sniffed a chance to earn an international recall and announced a subsequent
U-turn. However, he was still overlooked for Ledley King and Matthew Upson and
therefore after the tournament he swiftly ended his brief second spell with the
Three Lions.
8. Stephen Ireland
Technically,
Stephen Ireland retired from Republic of Ireland duty at the age of 21. His
decisions to make himself unavailable are still mystifying and Ireland, in
2007, lied to coach Steve Staunton, saying he couldn’t travel to a game because
his grandmother had died. This turned out not to be the case, but no one could
quite understand why Ireland didn’t want to play for his country. He has
remained in exile ever since and his career has gone off the boil somewhat as
well.
9. Wes Brown
Another
victim of the Terry/Ferdinand/Campbell trio that dominated the heart of the
English defence for so many years. Brown was one of the most naturally gifted
players Sir Alex Ferguson had ever seen, but his inability to stay fit cost him
dear. In 2010, having been left out of the World Cup squad, Brown, like
Robinson, was called up for the friendly against Hungary, but pulled out, not
wanting to sit on the bench for both club and country!
10. Dimitar Berbatov
The
Bulgarian striker has always been known for his languid playing style, but in
2010, he showed that he was just as lazy off the field as well. Berbatov
retired from international football to ‘concentrate on his club career’ (look
how well that went!) However, he had faced plenty of criticism in his home
country after Bulgaria failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and Berbatov
simply couldn’t be bothered playing in a rubbish side anymore!
By The Coin Toss
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