Nigeria Content Online

It’s barely twenty
five days to the commencement of football’s greatest showpiece; the
World Cup. Africans and indeed the whole world cannot wait to see the
kick off of the first Mundial on African soil.

They long to see
the sheer display of talents and mastery of the round leather game by
their soccer idols coming in from thirty two countries around the world.

However with a host
of footballing nations already announced their initial World Cup squad;
some stars are already missing in action even before the blast of the
whistle.

Karim Bezenma

Perhaps the biggest
casualty of Raymond Domenech’s surprise preliminary World Cup squad was
Karim Benzema; he is one of Real Madrid’s big money summer signings
priced at about €35 million with the fee rising to as much as €41
million based on incentives The striker was one of the hottest
properties in world football one year ago while playing for French side
Olympique Lyon , but a disappointing season in the La Liga saw him lose
out on a World Cup spot.

Benzema came
through the youth academy at Lyon and has been capped at senior level
for France. He played in UEFA Euro 2008 and was the top goal scorer in
Ligue 1 for the 2007-08 season; just three seasons after making his
professional debut.

This was also his
breakthrough season which saw him earn many awards and a new contract
which resulted in him becoming one of the highest-paid footballers in
France.

Currently linked in
the French media with an under-age sex scandal, coach of the team
maintains his omission has nothing to do with the issue but his lack of
match fitness in his new club Real Madrid. Bezema has eight goals to
his credit having started just 14 games in Madrid.

Cambiasso/Zanetti

Diego Maradona left
out two major players from his Argentine squad, both of which come from
Serie A outfit Inter Milan. Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso. They
have enjoyed long careers with their national squads, but they would
not be on the trip to South Africa come June when the Argentines begin
their quest for the World Cup trophy against the Super Eagles of
Nigeria.

Though both players
played key roles for their side during the last World Cup in Korea/
Japan but their places have since been grabbed by younger counterparts.

One would however
question the logic behind this exclusion when you see names such as
Fabricio Coloccini and Gabriel Heinze, a player thought to be in the
twilight of his career making the list ahead of two of the most
sensationally performing defensive midfielders in world football. The
duo however remain on course for a unique treble under Jose Mourinho
who perhaps knows their worth more than their national coach; Maradona.

David Beckham

Glamorous on and of
the pitch, Beckham’s exclusion from the World Cup list is no surprise
after the former England captain got injured March 14 playing for
Italian club; AC Milan.

He was in tears on
that Sunday night when his dream of being the first England player to
appear in four World Cups was wrecked after he suffered a ruptured
achilles tendon.

The former England
captain had struggled to impress England coach’ Fabio Cappello who had
consistently sounded it clear that there would be no automatic shirt
for him.

This informed his
switch to the Serie A from his MLS side Galaxy Stars. However with the
injury set to rule him out for six to seven months, Beckham can best be
a spectator at the South Africa 2010 World Cup Ronaldinho Baring any
serious injury to Dunga’s “preferred” marksmen two-time former “World
Player of the Year” Ronaldinho has no place in the Brazilian squad
which would be gunning for an unprecedented sixth title in South Africa.

For many, had Dunga
turned his back on Ronaldinho a year or six months ago, when the
dazzling footballer was in a slump for whatever reason, it would have
been understandable and even justified.

This season,
however, Ronaldinho had rejuvenated his game to a large extent with AC
Milan and there seems to be every reason to believe he could even step
up his game further in the company of equally talented Brazilian
teammates who he already has some sort of rhythm with.

He has not only
been scoring goals in Milan but also creating scoring chances for
teammate. Currently he has ten goals to his credit and fourteen assist;
the highest in the Milan team.

All this perhaps
counts little with Dunga who has decided to keep faith with the bulk of
players that won the Confederation Cup hosted by South Africa a while
ago.

Luca Toni

Luca Toni, who
played well for Italy during the last tournament where the Azzuri’s
emerged champions made a last minute loan move to Roma from Bayern
Munich in hopes of landing a spot in the Italian team to South Africa.
He was however disappointed by Coach Lippi having been left out of the
Italian pre-world team.

Toni’s niche for
goals and classical finishing styles stands him out having won the
Serie B Top Scorer award in 2004, the Serie A Top Scorer: 2006, the
European Golden Shoe: 2006 and also making the FIFA World Cup All-Star
Team in 2006. He also made his mark in Germany emerging as the
Bundesliga Top Scorer in 2008 and UEFA Cup Top Scorer same year.

For Toni, he would have to watch from the stands as his teammates attempt to defend the Cup they won four years ago in Germany

Patrick Viera

He his another
experienced player that would be missing at the World Cup after
attending three previous editions and winning the trophy in one of
those occasions on home soil (France 98) .

The exclusion more
than likely signals the end of Vieira’s international career, and the
on-loan Manchester City midfielder will have to look back – not forward
– on a glittering international career which has spanned over twelve
years and over one hundred caps under his belt.

His power, Charisma
and motivating spirit would be missed by the French team who
controversially qualified for the tournament after a hand ball by
Thierry Henry secured them a ticket ahead of Northern Ireland.

Other Stars that
would be conspicuously absent includes Arsenal’s Whizkid, Samir Nazri
who was unlucky compared to teammates, Abou Diaby, Bacry Sagna, Gael
Clichy and William Gallas who were included in France’s initial 30, man
list.

There was also no
room for Ruud van Nistelrooy, the 33-year-old striker with such
remarkable feel for close-range goals. Van Nistelrooy left Real Madrid
for Hamburg SV in an attempt to get more playing time, but the Dutch
coach ruled him out due to his ongoing recovery from a knee injury.

While the likes of
Pato , Neymar may have to wait for the 2014 edition in Brazil, the
likes of Olofinjana, Sedof Owen Hargraves, Francessco Totti, Raul
Gonzalez may have to kiss ever playing in the World Cup bye.