June 25, 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne: Football, Euro 2024, European Championship, … (+)
England is not the only country that puts reputation before practicality.
From Brazilian teams led by overweight and out-of-form big names to the mistakes of unbalanced French teams, picking a lineup based solely on star quality can be seductive.
But it is hard to think of any other nation with the same track record of leaving players out of position as the Three Lions.
From the early 1990s to the late 2000s, England were plagued by a “left-sided problem” – a perceived lack of talented players on one side of the pitch.
As soon as Chris Waddle was no longer selected for the national team, the left midfield position was consistently occupied by a player who adapted his game for the national team.
Whether it was the skill of Steve McManaman or the tenacity of Dennis Wise, there was no escaping the fact that, however talented the individual, this was not his natural role.
At times, the entire system was adapted to cope with the lack of left-handed players. Playing a 3-5-2 formation meant that only one lone full-back was needed on each flank, something the English could achieve.
However, such innovations were rare and short-lived. When generational talent Paul Scholes walked away from international football having been shoehorned into a left flank role, he was replaced by mercurial up-and-coming star Joe Cole, who also looked lost.
Current England manager Gareth Southgate played through the entire era of left-sided problems, so it is more than a little ironic that as national team manager he encountered an almost identical problem.
Their Euro 2024 squad only had one left-back, Luke Shaw, a player who, by the coach’s own admission, had a dismal injury history and was risking injury in a major tournament.
“I have to say they’re coping with it – they’ve missed out on a lot of football,” Southgate said of his team.
“The fact that he was the first option at that position, we’re probably giving him more time than we could have given him. I’m not sure what’s realistic at this point.
“I’ve spoken to him, the medical team is in direct contact with Manchester United, but I have to say it’s a long shot.”
Southgate did not consider alternatives such as Chelsea’s Ben Chillwell and Tyrick Mitchell and decided that selecting right-back Kieran Trippier and centre-backs Ezri Konsa and Joe Gomez would be sufficient.
Unsurprisingly, England have looked unbalanced as a result. Trippier has worked hard, but the team suffers from having a player who appears in a position that is not his and, although it has been compounded by other weaknesses on the pitch, this handicap has been a constant problem.
It’s not something new either. Back in November 2023, Southgate picked up impressive AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori and played him out of position at left back.
“We’ve asked people to take on positions that aren’t their usual positions, like Fikayo, and it’s not easy for him to build that side,” Southgate said at the time.
“We have availability problems in that area of the field and you are trying to give some players a rest. “We have a lot of players that weren’t there tonight.”
The question is the same as always: why does England think that using the non-elite option is not acceptable?
Inspiration from Joan Capdevila
Joan Capdevila, Spain (c) and Arne Friedrich, Germany battle for the ball (Photo by Mike Egerton – … (+)
In 2008, Spain put decades of underperformance behind them by winning their second European Championship.
Led by the impressive Fernando Torres and supported by the Barcelona core of Xavi, Andreas Iniesta and Carles Puyol, the victory marked the start of a period of dominance that included a second European Championship and World Cup trophy.
Joan Capdevila is not the name most people turn to when remembering that era of Spanish success, however, if you take a look at the starting lineups for that first major title and the World Cup final two years later , you will discover that he was the starting left back.
It is no disrespect to the Catalan defender to suggest that he was never an elite player.
In stark contrast to his international career, he won only a handful of minor trophies at club level, his most successful spell being as a starting left-back for a high-performing Villarreal side.
He was 30 years old when he established himself as a starter for Spain and arrived at the 2010 World Cup after a season as a reserve defender for a team that finished in 12th place.
But without his specialty in that position it is difficult to imagine the perfectly balanced Spanish team conquering the world in the way that it did.
Even if his build-up play wasn’t quite elite, he filled the positions on the field he was supposed to fill.
His play elevated those he placed alongside him.
Capdevila had no fame at all. But that was the point, he was tactically essential and the international record is a testament to his suitability.
It is difficult to imagine England selecting a Capdevila because they always put reputation and prestige before strategy and functionality.
Yet all the most successful nations do this. For example, Argentina’s starting left back in the 2022 World Cup final was also a 30-year-old player from a less successful team. Because? Because the probability of winning increases by having the best team on the field, not the most talented players.
