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發表於 2008-7-4 05:53:28
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延伸討論
He is a Spanish footballing legend, some even say that he is the greatest ever footballer to have emerged out of Spain. He is the King of Spain and is the people’s darling. Yet he is not good enough to play for Spain anymore.
At least that is what Luis Aragones thinks. After all, the 69-year old Spanish national football team coach obstinately waved off all demands by the Spanish media for the inclusion of Raul Gonzalez Blanco in the 23-man squad and instead picked the likes of Sergio Garcia and Santi Cazorla who are low-profiled if anything.
The Raul record
Yet leaving behind someone like Raul was always going to be the gamble of your life. Especially when you consider the track record of the 31-year old. This is the man who, in spite of not playing an international match for Spain since September 2006, is still the all time top scorer for his nation with 44 goals from 102 matches.
This is the man who has the most frightening record in European football, with 3 UEFA Champions League medals and 6 La Liga crowns. This is the man who even when the chips are low always gives more than his 100%. This is the man who dares to fly the Spanish national flag in all parts of Spain(and anyone evenly remotely aware of Spanish culture and politics would tell you how courageous a task this is).
Yet Raul was willingly ignored by Luis Aragones. His 18 league goals for Real Madrid last season were good enough to make him the top scorer for his club but hardly good enough to convince Aragones to take him to Austria and Switzerland. His consistent hard work and dedication to his team, whether that be Real Madrid or Spain, was good enough to make the Madrid press his eternal supporters but not good enough for Aragones to induct him into his set-up.
The Aragones Jury
But you see, in this case there is more than meets the eye. True, Raul ‘s form in the 2007-2008 season was his best in four misereable years. True, Raul loves his nation Spain and was remarkably noble enough not to fret when he was sidelined by Aragones. True, Raul is one single player who comes close to uniting a nation that is fractured in every sense.
But there are several other things that Aragones observed which the Spanish press decided not to. First off, technically there was little scope that Raul could thread into the first xi. He is a goalpoacher and never had any pace and with the style and formation that Araones plays these days, Raul would only have had to play off the bench.
Because there are better and more convenient players than Raul in this hugely talented and heavily creative Spain squad. Because playing Raul from the start would have been a sin when you realize that then you would have had to relegate either David Villa or Fernando Torres to the bench.
More Cohesiveness
Because Raul would have still been the captain and that would have been symbolic of the sustenance of the old order. Because Raul would have continued to build a strange sort of tension in the Spanish squad and that would have been self-destructive.
But in the absence of Raul, there has been an unleash of freshness. With Raul not in the team, the responsibilities have been spread across the entire bunch of players instead of being concentrated in one player. With Iker Casillas marshaling the citadel, the other senior players all have been leaders in the other departments of the pitch.
This has actually led to more harmony and fraternity in a Spain squad that reflects the autonomous divisions of the nation itself. Raul is the symbol of Madrid and Castille, a much loathed region in the rest of Spain for historical and political reasons. For over 10 years that Raul has been with the Spanish national squad, there have been murmurs of him unsettling the Spanish squad.
Raul Divides Squad?
Maybe not willingly but subconsciously. Raul is a leader, a good one and maybe even a great one but his revealing love for Madrid and for Spain is something that the Spanish international players from Catalunya or Basque do not necessarily share and this does tend to foster a somewhat cold atmosphere in the camp.
Aragones was quite clever in assessing this situation and that is why he decided not to include Raul into his set-up. Because with the subtraction of the leadership of Raul, the Spanish camp has been able to leap into a new era, where Catalans, Castillians and Basques alike can maintain harmony.
A New Era
Of course Luis Aragones’ move could have easily backfired and then you would have had half of Spain demanding his head. But that it has not testifies just how secure and certain Aragones was in his decision not to bow down to public and media pressure.
Luis Aragones of course leaves Spain at the end of this competition and a new coach, Vicente Del Bosque, shall arrive into the set-up. He too would have to confront the same old dilemma of whether to play Raul or not. And the fact that he has already coached Raul at Real Madrid wouldn’t help. That again would give rise to more controversy and more criticisms; the same old circus would again crop up.
But for now, Raul’s service is not required and Spain do look better off without him. And maybe, just maybe, his services wouldn’t be required at all from now on. If so, then remember the name Luis Aragones who hammered the nails in Raul’s coffin.
[ 本帖最後由 HackerWong 於 2008-7-4 05:57 AM 編輯 ] |
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