Does club football influence the national team?

UNSPECIFIED – JULY 12: (L-R) Juan Manuel Mata, Sergio Ramos, Xavi Hernandez, Carles Puyol, Fernando Llorente, David Villa and Javier Martinez of Spain celebrate with the World Cup trophy during the Spanish team’s flight home on board a plane from Johannesburg to Madrid following their victory in the 2010 FIFA World Cup on July 12, 2010 in flight.

Firstly, a disclaimer: I am not trying to criticize or praise any team. However as a football fan, I am quite biased towards the Spanish style and Barcelona, so do forgive any offence inadvertently caused.

OK, so will club football actually influence the players on the national level? If so, how? That question has been troubling me for quite some time now. Because I am a Barcelona supporter and I really admire Messi. But if he is so brilliant for the club, why does his country Argentina not win the World Cup?

That was the seed behind the article, and after a bit of reasoning, I came up with this.

It all boils down to teammates. I quote three clubs: FC Barcelona, FC Bayern Munich and Juventus. And their respective countries Spain, Germany and Italy. If you notice, half the Spanish team play for FC Barcelona. Their key midfielders Xavi and Iniesta, their star striker David Villa, defenders Pique and Puyol, and even Cesc Fabregas. Given that the game is midfield-based, and Xavi and Iniesta can pass in their sleep, is it even surprising they are winning so much at the national level? These players have played alongside each other for a long time, they know each other well, and that is due to their club, FC Barcelona. So naturally, when they don the Red jersey, their game will be brilliant. They already know each other so well they do incredibly well.

WARSAW, POLAND – JUNE 28: (L-R back row) Holger Badstuber, Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos, Mats Hummels, Mario Gomez, Sami Khedira and Jerome Boateng (L-R front row) Philipp Lahm, Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mesut Ozil of Germany line up for a team photograph before during the UEFA EURO 2012 semi final match between Germany and Italy at the National Stadium on June 28, 2012 in Warsaw, Poland.

Then we have FC Bayern Munich, which has most of the German team. Schweinstager, Gomez, Neuer, Muller et al, and the same rule applies to them. They too have a strong coordination built by their club, which in turn influences the performance of these players when they represent their country. They know how and where to find each other and they do it well. This is proven by the fact that they reach the semi finals and finals very often. It’s a pity they don’t win really. They are such a good team!

Juventus have quite a few of the Azzuri. Andrea Pirlo, Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci and other names I really cannot pronounce nor spell. So is it really surprising that they too are a footballing powerhouse?

KIEV, UKRAINE – JULY 01: (L-R back) Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Mario Balotelli, Andrea Barzagli, Daniele De Rossi and Gianluigi Buffon, (L-R front) Antonio Cassano, Claudio Marchisio, Andrea Pirlo, Riccardo Montolivo and Ignazio Abate of Italy line up for a team photograph before the UEFA EURO 2012 final match between Spain and Italy at the Olympic Stadium on July 1, 2012 in Kiev, Ukraine.

Now lets observe national teams. England are the best possible example I can think of. Their best striker Wayne Rooney plays for Manchester United and their best goalkeeper plays for bitter rivals City. Their best defender Terry plays for even worse rivals Chelsea and the great midfielder Paul Scholes doesn’t play for England anymore. Gerrard is at the most hated of clubs among the above mentioned three. How does one expect Rooney and Sturridge to play together when at club level, they are bitter rivals?

This is indeed confusing, because the class of English players is unquestionable. But why do they not perform for their country? Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool players play well for their clubs, but they don’t have enough coordination when it comes to the national team. As a result, they crashed out. Class can only take you thus far. Coordination, teamwork and practice is what wins the game.

I have avoided Argentina because they are performing well. Messi seems to be peaking for his country. But initially, I saw the same problems with them as I did with England.

So there you have it. Three clubs and their respective countries, and four clubs in one country. You can see the matches yourself and be the judge. This is entirely my personal opinion, and I hope none of you are offended.

Please bear in mind I have tried my best to be as unbiased as possible.