In a quite odd turn of events, former Italy captain and World Cup 2006 winner Fabio Cannavaro believes John Terry is soon likely to face the ax when next Fabio Capello calls upon players for Euro 2012 qualifiers. In a recent interview with the Daily Star Sunday, Cannavaro spoke openly about John Terry and how not to ‘cross’ Capello, or stand in line to suffer the consequences.
“You don’t cross Fabio and he won’t want anybody disrupting his tournament again“, was just one of a few loaded quotes the former Juventus man gave members of the press. Cannavaro also stated he believed Wayne Rooney and Ashley Cole to likely be the only two remaining starters left from a vanquished England squad that fell so dramatically at the hands of the Germans come the opening match of the Euro 2012.
All of this rings slightly odd to me because Cannavaro, now at Al-Ahli Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, really isn’t the person to be coming out speaking about the England national team. Now in the twilight of his career, Cannavaro has of course had a fantastic run, but most recently in the 2010 World Cup, he looked one or two steps off the pace. His Italian side were a shell of their former selves from the team that won the tournament four years earlier failing to even progress out of a relatively easy group stage. So why has Cannavaro chosen to target Terry?
England fans will have expected change from Capello before the next round of meaningful qualification matches begin. But to see Terry axed so quickly especially while central defensive partner Rio Ferdinand’s fitness is still a major concern would definitely come as a surprise to many an England fan.
The rest of Cannavaro’s interview played out as a suck up to his former boss while at Real Madrid. I for one don’t blame him as Capello is such an imposing figure, but the question here is does Cannavaro have a point?
John Terry did take a pretty hefty risk when he called out Capello in South Africa in hopes the boss would take Terry & co’s suggestions to heart and start Joe Cole in the crucial game v Slovenia. Brushed under the rug as if a minor distraction at the time, did Capello have the dropping of Terry in his plans all along as soon as the World Cup was over?
I personally think it’s too early to drop Terry as tested and viable replacements at the center of defense aren’t currently a dime a dozen in England. When Matthew Upson saw action against Germany, he looked unstable at times and was caught out when Germany scored their opener through Miroslav Klose. Ledley King is far too injury prone to be counted on, Michael Dawson had a great year with Spurs but didn’t seem to be in Capello’s plans during the summer and Rio Ferdinand is slowly recovering from the injury that saw him miss the tournament all together. Before we start mentioning the up and coming talent at the back, let’s wait and see who Capello picks for England’s next match, a friendly v Hungary on the 11th of August.
As much as Capello would have hated Terry’s ill-timed outburst in South Africa, he’ll need his experience at the back to build around regardless of what Fabio Cannavaro thinks. On Terry’s end, he’ll want to remember he’s no longer captain of the national team and although he thinks he has England’s best intentions at heart, Capello is the boss and Terry should stick to what he knows best, which is defending.
JT for his skill as a defender? To win Games? What do we want him for?
Surely teaching of Moralities will not win anything championship just a social issue! That is all!
it would be really great if england fans got what they wanted: none of their best players willing to play for the team. yeah, sure…drop terry, & ashley & lampard…throw in gerrard & rooney & whoever else england fans decide to “hate” this week. that’ll make them a better football team.
Terry should have been dropped as soon as the Bridge problems surfaced.
The problems with the captaincy and dressing room divisions doomed Englands World Cup performance from the start. The fact that Terry is a much over-rated player should also have been considered by Cpaello – Germany deliberately targeted Terry as a weak link in the defence and they were not found wanting.
All the flops should be dropped from the England team. Terry is only one of them. The others who should also be dropped are: Gerrard, lampard, Barry, Johnson and James. To prepare for the future drop anyone else that is over 30 and start rebuilding now.
“All the flops should be dropped from the England team.”
This would include Rooney too. Maybe a bit unfair but he was the biggest flop…
Personally they should drop terry, lampard, ferdinand and gerrard. they had three world cups or so and failed so bye bye. bring in fresh blood like, milner, downing, a young, etc etc.
hey, not gerrard
Obviously, there must be some changes to the English team – new players brought in, some older players shown the door, but if English fans expect a totally fresh starting 11 when England next steps onto the field, they will be disappointed. Capello needs to realistically assess who can be a started in 2 years, and *slowly* integrate new players into the team in time for the Euros’.
I think Terry should get a chance to play in Euro2012, but after that he should hang up his international boots. They need to give the younger kids in like Michael Mancienne a shot with the big boys. He has had 21 appearences with the U21 team, 10 with the U19 team, and 17 with the U17 team.
“I personally think it’s too early to drop Terry as tested and viable replacements at the center of defense aren’t currently a dime a dozen in England. When Matthew Upson saw action against Germany, he looked unstable at times and was caught out when Germany scored their opener through Miroslav Klose.”
Good point…because Terry was completely stable and was never caught out…even when he was in the oppositions penalty box.
What a load of claptrap. Terry failed miserably. His attitude is appalling. How can anyone possibly think that Terry is the keystone for building a new defense. This is why England will never win anything, idiots like the person that wrote this guff. I suppose France should build their team around Anelka too.
England are doomed. Instead of taking the logical, long term approach – start fresh and biuld an England “team” – everyone’s already talking about what we have to do to win the Euros.
Silly, silly nonsense.
Until someone else steps up, they can’t afford to drop him. He was their only quality defender once King was injured (and obviously Ferdinand’s injury impacted this too). Carra has always been a shadow of his Liverpool self when he has played for England. Upson is garbage. Dawson isn’t ready.
Although playing James and Green (I never understood either of these two being anything more than a deputy to HART) in goal didn’t help his cause either…
“All of this rings slightly odd to me because Cannavaro, now at Al-Ahli Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, really isn’t the person to be coming out speaking about the England national team.”
On the contrary, who better than Cannavaro to know both Capello and the tell-tale signs of when a centre half is on the way down? Cannavaro, who has done things Terry only thinks he’s good enough to do, knows the international game inside out and is well positioned to evaluate the value of Terry’s field and dressing room attributes.
If England’s not going to start transitioning now then when are they going to do it. If Capello and the FA were smart they’d look at the next two years as a chance to build a squad for Brazil 2014 even if that means trying a bunch of players and not qualifying for Euro 2012. They have little chance of winning Euro 2012 anyway. The Spain, Netherlands and Germany teams will largely be the same as they were this summer. Then again based on historical evidence England have little chance of winning Brazil 2014, or the WC in 2018 or 2022 or any of the Euros in between. Unless of course they host a tournament.
The very mouth that kissed the wife, is the same that tongued his mate’s bird, is the same that assured his mate they are best friends, is the same mouth that submarined the game plans of the England manager, is the same mouth that demoralized the England team, is the same mouth that forced Mourinho out from Chelsea, is the same mouth that continues to define the biggest EGO of British football.
John Terry is still one of the best defenders in action at the moment!
If Cappello does drop him from the team, or if he is even considering it, then he’s an even bigger moron than I thought. Okay so we didn’t do very well in south africa but we NEED JT.
These men aren’t paid to be moral paragons, they’re paid to play the best they can and that’s exactly what John does.
It’s time for everyone to get off this man’s case and let him get on with his job.
If John Terry is the best in England, and proven the worst among the hundreds during the world cup.. then there is not much hope for England is there?
At club level, Roman Abramovich must let John Terry go. Chelsea has a better chance of winning the Champions League if the team is more cohesive.
There is no place for club or country for such a disgusting ego egghead.
Terry should be dropped from the ENGLAND TEAM and let the young players like downing, ashley young, milner,agbonlahor,mancienne etc shold be given a chance.Also Capello should realistic asscess who should be played for the euro’s.
The writer should put; SHOULD ALSO LAMPARD, FERDINAND AND GERRAD BE DROPPED from the England team?