World Football: International Friendlies Have Become a Liability and Need to End

Sir Alex Ferguson and Huub Stevens, managers of Manchester United and FC Schalke 04, respectively, will come away from Wednesday's round of international fixtures positively furious.

Whether or not each was watching England's friendly match with Holland, they will be fuming after watching replays of the clash of heads between Chris Smalling (who plays for United) and Klaas Jan-Huntelaar (Schalke).

The Dutch forward, who crunched into Smalling while attacking a header that would result in Holland's second goal on the night, was instantly knocked to the turf, unable to move or control his arms, which remained aloft at a fixed, grotesque angle.

Smalling was down alongside him, gushing out blood.

Initial fears pointed to concussions for both, who were promptly substituted. Huntelaar left the field in a daze, trudging off with the help of assistants, a portion of turf still wedged in his mouth.

He seemed not even to notice it was there.

Smalling was taken off on a stretcher, arms crossed and roped down, eyes fixed upon the sky above.

Holland went on to win the match 3-2, but one has to ask: What was the cost of that victory?

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, no stranger to dealing with injuries picked up by his top players while on international duty, has long provided a voice of dissent against the culture of the international friendly.

Having lost talismanic striker Robin van Persie to injury before when No. 10 joined up with Holland—he was very nearly ruled out for Wednesday's match against the Three Lions—Wenger must have been doing everything in his power not to reach for the nearest telephone and leave a heated message for Oranje manager Bert van Marwijk, exhorting him to keep Van Persie out of the proceedings.

With a crucial league match against Liverpool just three days away, and a do-or-die return leg in the Champions League against AC Milan, Wenger simply could not afford losing his star for either.

"I think that if you did a poll of all the clubs involved in the Champions League I wouldn't be surprised if 100 per cent of them said let's get rid of it," Wenger said back in 2008, when he endured the losses of both Van Persie and Flamini to injuries in friendlies.

It's hard to disagree with him.

Van Marwijk and Wenger have worked together before to ensure player safety (namely, Van Persie).

That decision came during a time when the Dutch forward was in dire need of rest after having carried Arsenal through the month of October.

To be perfectly honest, that discussion should never even have to take place.

A player's club pays for his services. A national team offers nothing but free gear, bonus money, and the chance to represent one's country. A noble cause, but football is business. In all fairness, the club comes first.

Put succinctly, what do friendlies tell us?

Put succinctly, not a whole lot other than deceptive results.

Sure, a USA win over Italy sparks national pride, but it is of little significance in the long run. Remember, Italy defeated Spain last August in another round of friendlies.

But would anyone point to that match and arrive at the conclusion that the Azzuri are a better pick than La Furia Roja to nab this summer's European Championship crown?

Of course not.

Take another example: France traveled to Bremen on Wednesday to take on a German side without regular first-team stalwarts Philip Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Lukasz Podolski. They kept first-choice keeper Manuel Neuer on the bench, electing instead to start Tim Wiese.

Les Bleus, who were in search of a major victory as they look to build confidence ahead of the summer, came away with a 2-1 win, and there were certainly bright spots for manager Laurent Blanc.

Striker Olivier Giroud, he of the 16 league goals for club side Montpellier this season, scored his first-ever goal for France in the 21st minute, and nearly had his brace in the 69th minute when his sliding effort was deflected, allowing Florent Malouda to mop up the spill and put away France's second on the night.

Right-back Mathieu Debuchy played a part in both goals with his impressive industry down the flank, assisting Giroud on the first with a slide-rule cross that the Montpellier hit-man swept under Wiese's legs.

But that's nothing new for Blanc, who will have been following Debuchy's progress with club side Lille for two seasons now.

Each of these teams was playing a healthy number of first-team options, but did they need to?

Will Joachim Löw think twice about starting Schweinsteiger in midfield this summer, simply because he didn't play tonight?

Nope.

A fully fit and firing Germany waxes France off the pitch. We already know of a fully firing Germany's superiority. It's one reason they're huge favorites to win the Euros this summer.

Therefore, did we need to see Andrea Schurrle starting at forward?

Maybe. He's a tantalizing option at 21; one of Germany's many talented youngsters.

But that broken nose suffered after an elbow from Debuchy will have left his Bayer Leverkusen coach, Robin Dutt, none too pleased, and possibly nonplussed.

In truth, all of these injuries could have been avoided.

If friendlies are to be kept alive, they should never concern top players for premier club sides. There's simply too much to lose, and not enough to gain.

Ring in the rhetoric about club concerns, once more.

Football associations around the world will be up in arms at even the mention of that prospect, pointing to, say, the revenue that a filled-to-capacity Wembley Stadium generates when Holland and England's stars are playing.

If both field a B side, they lose money in the way of less-than-enthusiastic fan turnout, who likely elect to watch from home if they'll not be seeing their heroes out on the pitch.

But does one game really do that much? Football associations' goal should be major championships, not revenue generated from a friendly.

England and Holland fans are just as likely to go out and drop £45 on the new jerseys donned by either team even if they don't see them being sported in live action.

Where the FA will perk its heads up; however, is if a top player injures himself seriously, jeopardizing his inclusion in a summer tournament.

Is seeing him play 45 minutes in a meaningless game really a good idea, if it means a lengthy convalescence?

I don't think so, Wenger doesn't think so, and I believe that a poll of numerous coaches of top European sides would offer a response along that line of dissent to the status quo.

If friendlies are to be played, they should concern players on the fringes of the first team. That way, coaches can get a sense of the talent they have within their side.

Although one might offer the argument that friendlies allow a national team manager the opportunity to mix and match formations, trying out different combinations of players while looking for the perfect fit, they should be adept enough to get that sense by watching their charges with their clubs.

One game together won't result in a seamless and telepathic relationship between Debuchy and Giroud. But as they showed today, their quality and instincts as footballers put them in positions to succeed.

That's all you need to know. Seeing them work in tandem against a second-choice German back line doesn't have me raving about France's uptick in quality.

After all, years of matching Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in midfield for England didn't exactly work wonders for everyone. They still couldn't play well together no matter how many times they ran out on the field together.

Let's simply leave it at that.