Paul Wilson : Soccer
Glenn Hoddle believes a result in Rome on Saturday will confirm the impression of the last couple of years at international level and the last couple of weeks in club competitions that English football is beginning to be respected throughout Europe.
I think something has grown over the last two years, he said. It started under Terry Venables, to be fair, with the way England performed in Euro 96, but outstanding recent performances by Manchester United and Newcastle United have taken it a stage further. It wasnt so much the results against Juventus and Barcelona that mattered, it was the way our teams played, with speed, control and accuracy. I think a respect is growing up for the technical side of our game now.
Everybody knows about our fighting spirit, but with the two together we might be able to dominate Europe. Not in my reign perhaps, but in 10 years time whoever is England manager will really reap the benefits.
England qualifying for France 98 with a win or a draw in Rome would be the single biggest contribution Hoddle could make to the recovery of English football at home and abroad, but while the coach remains as upbeat as ever about his chances in the Stadio Olimpico, he is still of the opinion that the present crop of internationals are operating under a handicap. His reference to the situation 10 years on is a measure of the importance he attaches to the changes in youth development currently being ushered in by Howard Wilkinson.
We should have been doing this 20 years ago, he said. Because all the Continentals were, and thats what we have been up against. In my opinion we have grossly underestimated English achievements of the last 30 years, both at international and club level. To reach the semi-finals of a World Cup, the semi-finals of a European Championships, and have several of our clubs carrying off the major European prizes is quite colossal success, considering those players were brought up on only one hours technical coaching per week.
To do so well when swimming against the tide reflects great credit on the players, but imagine what we could achieve once we start swimming with the tide. The players of tomorrow will receive all the technical advice they need, all the dietary expertise, they wont have to play competitive games too early, and so on. Look at any coaching set-up on the Continent and you will see players of a frighteningly young age who are mastering the ball. Look here and you will see the ball mastering the youngsters. Thats the difference.
But all the coaching expertise in the world is not going to help England when they run out on Saturday.
True, but the point I was trying to make is that things are changing already, Hoddle explained. All the Manchester United youngsters, for example, are four or five years ahead of their ages because of the way they have been brought up and the experiences they have had. Beating Juventus, to name one, was a positive thing. Ive been in the game long enough to know that when the whistle goes in a World Cup qualifier all your so-called psychological advantages tend to go out the window, but its just like when we beat Italy in Le Tournoi in the summer. It cant be a bad thing, to know that these players are only human and capable of being beaten.
At least there should be no fear on our part. Respect, obviously, because Italy are a good side, they beat us at Wembley and we havent won over there since 1961, but if we dwell too long on that sort of thing we can end up frightening ourselves. If we are to get a result I have to be sure I know whats going through the 11 players minds, and their stomachs, but we are not afraid. We have that inner belief.
The only real selection dilemma for
Hoddle, apart from weighing Adamss enormous experience against his lack of match practice, is how many of the Old Trafford youth brigade to employ in a match which he has always insisted demands experience.
Experience isnt just to do with age, Hoddle said. Grey hairs dont mean anything, and sometimes you can have a lifetimes experience based on doing the wrong thing. The type of experience Im looking for is that gained by players who have been on the big stage before, playing in matches as important as this. It isnt going to be easy, playing in front of 85 000, but you can tell, from games in the last European Championships and the way people have performed in the big games away from home, which players will be able to handle it. Paul Ince, for example, has invaluable experience hell be up for this game, no question.
The injury to Shearer notwithstanding, there has probably never been a better time to take on Italy knowing a point is enough to proceed. We always knew this game would be crucial, Hoddle said. If someone had told me wed be going in top of the group, as confident as we are, needing only a point, Id have settled for that. Im obviously expecting Italy to be looking for a win, nothing else will do for them, but I dont think they will be going hell for leather from the start.