The World Cup should be the biggest shop window in football. After all, it’s widely accepted as the greatest stage a player can perform on. Moments of World Cup brilliance have defined the legacies of our game’s very finest. Pele, Bobby Moore, Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane are all synonymous with the tournament.
However, even though this year’s displaced tournament has landed within the bounds of Christmas shopping season, buyer beware. Judging a player solely on their World Cup excellence is a folly that even the best managers have suffered. Titans of the game such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Gerard Houllier and Carlo Ancelotti have all made post-tournament signings which they later regretted.
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The Senegal team of the 2002 World Cup became everyone’s second team. Minnows at the outset, the Lions of Teranga would capture hearts and minds. They beat champions France in their group opener, played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Uruguay and overturned Henrik Larsson’s Sweden in the round of 16. It is an underdog display still talked about today whenever a relative unknown dazzles at a major tournament.
Naturally, the largely France-based stars of the tournament attracted no shortage of interest. Defensive midfielder Salif Diao was one such talent, earning a move to Houllier’s Liverpool. But his titanic World Cup displays felt like a distant memory as he shambled around Anfield. When Rafa Benitez took over from Houllier, he sent the Senegal star on a series of loan moves. He eventually settled as a fringe player at Stoke City, playing just six league games in his final season.
Another star of the 2002 World Cup was Kleberson. The cultured midfielder won the tournament with Brazil, drawing the admiring glances of Ferguson and Manchester United. It would be a year before Kleberson signed for the Red Devils. When he did, it did not go well. Injured in his second appearance, his United career would total just 20 league appearances, notable only for how poor they were. Ferguson was noticeably reticent to sign “tournament players” after this mistake.
Sometimes, the signing works out. At least at first. James Rodriguez won the Golden Boot while playing for Colombia at the 2014 tournament. This led to Ancelotti bringing him to Real Madrid. Rodriguez enjoyed a dazzling first season, but injuries hit in subsequent years and he fell out of favour. Spells at the likes of Bayern Munich and Everton have been similar. Moments of brilliance blighted by injury. The World Cup curse comes for them all in the end.
The trend may be even more prevalent this time around. While the wheels turn slowly with negotiations during a summer tournament, due to it falling during the transfer window, this time its different. The tournament will be done and dusted with just under a month to spare, plenty of time for clubs to snap up the most talked-about names. Could we see a new spate of Salif Diaos and Klebersons moving to big clubs?
Perhaps not. Despite the window-friendly timing, the game has evolved. Data analysis means that scouts and managers drill down much further than the simple “eye test” when judging a player. Gone are the days of a coach watching 60 minutes of a player before saying “Get me the left back” and leaving a match to avoid the crowds. Entire software companies exist to bring football clubs the most detailed analytics on a potential signing. As prices have skyrocketed, clubs are not willing to take chances on what amounts to a huge investment.
There is also more access to football than ever. There are very few professional football matches you can’t watch on television or in some far-flung corner of the internet these days. While the World Cup used to serve as an occasional glimpse of landscape beyond the Football League, we can now watch La Liga, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A to our heart’s content. The World Cup rarely throws up surprise packages now, because we watch these players most weeks. There are precious few players at international tournaments that fans and clubs aren’t aware of these days.
It remains to be seen who will emerge from this tournament as an overnight sensation. Could we see some more transfer dealings based on World Cup success? Or will clubs keep emotions out of it and keep to their data-driven approach? With the start of the tournament almost imminent, we won’t have to wait long to find out.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
