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Editorial April 2010
Soccerphile Editorial - April 2010
The curse of the pre-World Cup injury
You know it's a World Cup year when office water cooler debate turns to the issue of metatarsals.
When images of burly young men sporting sporting forlorn grimaces and an array of plaster-cast moulds begins to dominate the front and back pages, you can be sure that the World Cup finals aren't too far down the track.
After all, what kind of a World Cup would it be if David Beckham wasn't crying into Victoria's shoulder, Michael Owen wasn't nursing his over-stretched tendons and Wayne Rooney wasn't an unlikely pin-up boy for England's constant injury woes?
Yet, it's not just England fans nervously biting their fingernails over injuries to key players, with Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas the latest big-name star set to face a race against the clock to prove his fitness.
Just what is it about the months preceding a World Cup that sees otherwise strapping young men suddenly slump to the turf in agony?
Is it the sheer strain of trying to avoid injury that suddenly sees so many key players crumple in a heap, or plain bad luck that results in the likes Beckham and Owen being ruled out of world football's showpiece event?
Whatever the reason, fans of some of international football's most high-profile teams will be nervously crossing their fingers for the next eight weeks in the hope that a World Cup curse does not claim their most influential players.
Brazil coach Dunga continues to dismiss calls to pick Ronaldinho in his squad, but the gruff Seleção tactician must be sweating on the health of key man Kaká.
Ditto Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz, who will need Cristiano Ronaldo to be at his best if the Portugese are to make any kind of impact in South Africa, after the mercurial outfit struggled to even qualify for the finals.
Arsenal striker Robin van Persie already has missed the past five months of action through a serious ankle injury, so Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk will be desperate for fellow attacker Arjen Robben to come through the rest of the domestic season unscathed.
It's not just the genuine contenders sweating on the health of their star players, with the likes of Australia and Korea Republic no doubt hoping that star men Harry Kewell and Park Ji-Sung can negotiate the final two months of the European league calendar ahead of their respective national team's summer showdowns.
Meanwhile, some of Africa's biggest stars will hope that injury does not prevent them from running out on their home continent, with Ghana midfielder Michael Essien hoping to put an injury-plagued campaign behind him to run out in the colours of his beloved Black Stars.
The curse of the pre-World Cup injury has robbed numerous players from running out on the biggest stage, and with just two months to go before the main event kicks off, national coaches everywhere will be grimacing at the sight of every bone-crunching challenge.
The business end of the European season will be ferociously fought, with title dreams decided and fierce relegation battles to be waged over the remaining eight weeks.
However, fans of international football could be forgiven for hoping that their country's key player pulls out of one or two keenly-contested tackles - lest the curse of the pre-World Cup injury chalks up another big name casualty.
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