The injury list from Euro 2008 is getting massive.
But is it the biggest set of injuries ever? Given that supporters of their clubs won’t be able to watch them at full fitness next season you might expect the newspapers to be keeping a running total of just how much damage Euro 2008 does to the game for the rest of the year.
But no – not a word. It is as if the world of Euro 2008 exists on its own and that the injuries – some seriously long term – don;t relate to the real world.
I have mentioned before the likes of Alexander Frei, the goalkeeper Quim, Arjen Robben who is struggling on making a groin injury worse, Ryan Babel, Christian Panucci, Fabio Cannavaro, Pavel Pogrebnyak. There have been others, but now there is the big name of Ribery to be added to the list.
Euro 2008 is having a major impact on football in the major leagues next season, but don’t tell a journalist.
Also very interesting how everyone goes on and on about how strength in depth is what wins you games and how experience makes all the difference. Yet nobody is saying anything when France and Italy look at their absolute best only decent and at the worst pretty awful.
Just goes to show how having expensive, experienced players like Henry, Toni etc. doesn’t count for quite all they’re bigged up to be.
Not to mention all those people who never even watched French football who demanded Benzema. LOL. Yeah he’s got a lot of quality and potential but he’s been hugely unimpressive this Summer. Besides the odd good moment he’s been pretty poor really and you can blame a lack of support but he’s been unimpressive even when he has had it.
Not to say that he isn’t a good player or anything, or that he won’t progress and become really great, it’s just funny that so many people bigged up a player they’ve barely seen (well most of them anyway) and yet how over-priced has he looked in the Euros? Very, I’d say. And even though I don’t doubt for a second he genuinely has a lot of talent, it’s worth not getting too carried away about a player who’s doing well in the French league. Like I said, I don’t doubt he’s a very good player, but the French league is hardly an ultimately testing place for good players.