Euro 2012: Examining the Tenuous Connection Between Club and Country

Injuries continue to ravage the England national squad ahead of what's shaping up to be a disastrous trip to Euro 2012 for the Three Lions. Selection controversies aside, Roy Hodgson has already lost Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Gary Cahill and John Ruddy to knocks suffered during training and friendlies. This includes Cahill's fractured jaw from a gruesome collision with keeper Joe Hart during a recent match against Belgium.

Throw in Theo Walcott's strained hamstring, and England's fitness concerns might actually overshadow the usual drama that's plagued it at major international tournaments.

Not that that's necessarily a good thing.

Injuries aren't unique to the Queen's favorite sons, though the very notion of a player suffering a setback while volunteering his services for his country on the pitch (and potentially missing time for the club that pays him so handsomely) does serve as a reminder of a larger issue at play in an event as grand as the European Football Championships.

That is, the often frayed relationship that binds club and country in the professional life of most elite footballers.

Frayed, because of just how complicated it tends to be for all parties involved.

Where Legends Are Made

For the biggest stars in the world, partaking in international play is practically a must, albeit one with considerable downside. If you're, say, Wayne Rooney or Cristiano Ronaldo, you're expected to not only play for your country, but also to lead it to glory on the international stage, regardless of how you fit into the squad or whether that particular squad can measure up to the competition.

Success yields immortality in the wake of heroism for those who achieve it, while failure often leaves an indelible stain on a player's CV that cannot easily be culled except with the all-forgiving formula of victory.

For the best of the best, national triumph far outstrips any accumulation of silverware as a "hired gun" of sorts for a football club. Pele led Santos to numerous titles, as did Diego Maradona at Boca Juniors, Barcelona and Napoli. But their legacies, as two of the greatest footballers of all time, stand most proudly and most firmly on exploits at the FIFA World Cup.

Lionel Messi currently finds himself embroiled in such a conundrum. As so brilliantly discussed by Sam Fayyaz of TheClassical.org, Messi has already established himself as one of the best football players in the world (if not the best) with all of the records he's broken and the accolades and trophies he's collected at Barcelona. Still, he remains something of a pariah back in his native Argentina for failing to deliver the Albiceleste to victory at the World Cup or the Copa America.

Granted, Messi's mess is South American-made, though that logic isn't exclusive to nations on the west end of the Atlantic. Rooney, Ronaldo and the rest of Europe's cohort of superstars are well aware of that fact.

True greatness is measured not by club accomplishments, but by those stacked up on behalf of one's homeland.

Health vs. Wealth

What's more, in today's modern world of sport, in which "branding" has become the operative buzzword, winning on the world stage can boost a player's profile tremendously. In turn, that can open him up to a whole new world of endorsements and other opportunities for earnings.

Such adds another wrinkle to a player's deliberation over whether to spread his efforts between club and country or devote himself more exclusively to the organization that pays his wages. With the potential riches (not to mention eternal fame) on offer at the Euro or the World Cup, the prospect of suiting up for a national squad (and risking harm as a result) becomes less daunting and far more intoxicating.

As for those who refuse...well, let's just say it's rather uncommon. According to Fox Sports, Nuremberg's Timmy Chandler recently turned down the opportunity to train with the US national squad, though his decision likely had less to do with a desire for rest (as he professed) and more to do with a dream of exercising his German citizenship with Die Mannschaft down the road.

In any case, such rejection is practically unheard of in Europe, where earning caps for and playing a prominent role on one's national team is of the utmost honor.

Clubs and Controversy

Even if one's club feels differently about it. Some, like long-time Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, have been critical of the international system and, more specifically, the way in which it tends to interrupt the club circuit. The Gunners saw their squad weakened by knocks in friendlies to Holland's Robin van Persie and Belgium's Thomas Vermaelen, as well as Gervinho's midseason departure to the African Cup of Nations with Cote d'Ivoire.

Manchester City and Chelsea also lost Ivorians to that tournament. They didn't see their silverware fortunes turn until Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba reconvened with their respective English Premier League sides.

In hindsight, Manchester United's fate was rather adversely affected by national competition as well. Wayne Rooney's dirty tackle on Montenegro's Miodrag Džudović in October didn't earn him a ban of any sort from the EPL or the FA. However, it did prompt Sir Alex Ferguson to start Park Ji-Sung in place of his star striker for the first 69 minutes of a match against archrival Liverpool shortly thereafter.

The result of the match? A 1-1 draw.

And while Wazza's mere presence might not have been the cause of the outcome, his absence certainly didn't help the Red Devils' cause. It looks even more dubious after a trophy-less season that saw City earn the league title on goal differential.

Not that most club managers would begrudge their players partaking in major tournament qualification. Rather, they'd prefer that such games, along with meaningless friendlies, not punctuate league ties and training and whatnot.

Managers tend to be control freaks—as well they should be. The last thing any boss wants is to see his talisman tire out or succumb to injury while on duty for a squad other than the one that makes him filthy rich. No manager wants to be without his best players, even less so on account of issues not concerning his wage-cemented fealty.

A Two-Way Street

But the road between club and country does have two lanes to it. A player's actions in league competition can and sometimes to have ripple effects internationally.

Just ask John Terry, whose race row with Anton Ferdinand during a fixture between Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers this past season essentially cost him the England captaincy. In a roundabout way, it also cost Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand (Anton's brother) a spot with the Three Lions not once, but twice. The tiff between those two forced Roy Hodgson to choose between England's two best central defenders.

He initially went with Terry, which left Rio rather incensed. After Gary Cahill went down with a busted jaw, Hodgson had to add another central defender to his roster...and went with Liverpool's Martin Kelly, he of one cap with the senior squad, over Ferdy and his 81. 

Terry, meanwhile, is set to stand trial for his alleged abuses after Euro 2012.

The Italian national team is also in a bit of disarray for its players' transgressions in club competition. According to the Associated Press (via ESPN), Azzurri manager Cesare Prandelli has already had to drop defender Domenico Criscito for his alleged role in a match-fixing scandal with Zenit St. Petersburg. He might have to do the same with striker Sergio Pellissier and keeper/skipper Gianluigi Buffon, and has even entertained the possibility of Italy (ITALIA!) skipping Euro 2012 entirely.

Like I said earlier, the relationship between club and country is a complicated one, with more layers than a rejected birthday cake.

Or, better yet, your run-of-the-mill English football soap opera.

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