Soccer Portal

Last night Fabio Capello named his England squad for the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Switzerland and Bulgaria, the first competitive matches since the farce that was England’s World Cup campaign. But, rather than focus on the players who under-performed so spectacularly at the World Cup, it seems that one of the key topics for discussion over the weekend has been a certain Spaniard who has recently gained British citizenship – Mikel Arteta.

Focusing on Capello for a moment – we all had such high hopes for the summer in South Africa following a convincing qualifying campaign. However, it seems that even a man who has won things everywhere he has managed (including the highly pressurised environments of AC Milan and Real Madrid) was doomed to succumb to the pressure asserted by the media and the fans’ expectations, that has contributed to the downfall of every England manager of recent times. Is this pressure on England managers unfair? At times yes, but you do have to question a manager who claims to pick players on form and then regularly includes Emile Heskey in the first eleven.

So it seems one of Capello’s latest dilemmas, according to the media, is whether to pick Mikel Arteta for England, who is now eligible, having never played for Spain and been living in England since joining Everton from Real Sociedad in 2005. From what I can gather from the football phone-ins, many England fans would be against such a move, feeling that the England football team should be made of born and bred English players. Yes, Arteta does not have English heritage, but he is now considered a citizen of this country, so why shouldn’t he be considered for selection?

Playing for a national team based solely on the nationality of a parent or grandparent is a trait we are familiar with in English football, but it seems playing based on citizenship is not.  Yet, English cricket and British tennis have benefited from this, as have other international football teams. Everyone remembers a Croatia side featuring Brazilian-born Eduardo playing a key role in getting them to Euro 2008 at England’s expense.

I’d suggest a big question that needs to be asked instead is - ‘Is Arteta good enough to be picked for England?’ Maybe he is, but I would argue that he still hasn’t recaptured the form he displayed before his long injury lay-off last year, and midfield is probably the position where England are strongest.