Who are the coaches/clubs/bosses/players who are most known for their animosity towards the National Teams games and only think at the club level? Those who don't care or are always bitching or posing obstacles to liberate their players to play for their national teams. And what do you think of them? IE. I know that Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson wouldn't cry a river of tears if the National Teams competitions were terminated.
All of G14. Mo-ney hun-gry. That's all I'm saying. Beyond that, national competitions benefit just about everyone else.
The enemy of national teams? It’s not an ENEMY, it’s several factors that today make life difficult for national team coaches to assemble actual teams. The very busy seasons in Europe, for example. UEFA tries to minimize this problem by ensuring that all leagues pause at the same time, thus coinciding with fixtures reserved for FIFA “A” matches. Sadly, certain countries, like Brazil, do not follow the same calendar. But, even if all the leagues of the world followed the exact same calendar, a coach will need time, coupled with trial and error, to assemble a TEAM. Luiz Felipe Scolari inherited a mass of players when he took over Brazil in July 2001. It took him many games and lots of players to assemble an actual team by the time Korea/Japan came around. Took him approximately 1 year. Before him, Émerson Leão botched everything by ridiculous player selections, an insistence on Romário (who was not always 100%), and again, picking different players every time. His predecessor, Wanderley Luxemburgo, had actually created a national team for Brazil by late 1999, as he had won Copa América and beaten Argentina 4-2 in September of that year. But Ronaldo’s injury and Luxemburgo’s dismantling of the very core he created led Brazil to struggle. A national team will never have the time to mesh the way a club team does. It is therefore imperative that a coach select the core 22-25 players as soon as possible and work with them over time. And that is why I personally trust Carlos Alberto Parreira as he prepares to lead Brazil into 2006 qualifying. He is known for assembling very efficient, results-minded teams, although they do not often glitter on the pitch. With Ronaldo back, and with Ronaldinho Gaúcho and other very promising talents available, I expect Parreira to use the first few games and some friendlies (hopefully he’ll get them) to forge his new Brazil NT.
