World cup injuries: A blessing in disguise???

World cup injuries: A blessing in disguise??? A few days and the biggest global showpiece with respect to national team football will commence in Brazil. The thrills...the skills..the tactics...the poster boys...the colourful supporters... the media...the anti-football section who seem nonchalant about happenings etc.... The world cup will with utmost certainty dominate the scene for the next month and even after the duration of the tournament... Well, ahead of the mundial... Many issues have circulated through the media fraternity to the entire populace ranging from camp news to results of several pre world cup preparatory games...However.. One notable issue which has being very prevalent ahead of this world cup is injury...whether to key players or others, injuries have had its fair share of players who were billed to make an impact in Brazil. injuries are frustrating for any footballer especially the ones which could keep them out of a competition as important as the World Cup which is the holy grail for any player. Every World Cup has its set of players who miss the tournament due to an injury. As I sit down and put this piece together...I prefer taking u down memory lane to give u a glimpse of players who missed this ineffaceable competition through injury... 5. Santiago Canizares The former Valencia goalkeeper was one of the key players that missed the 2002 World Cup. Canizares, who was regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, had his World Cup hopes ended after accidentally smashing a bottle of aftershave on his foot. The unfortunate incident occurred in the hotel room the Spanish team were staying in just days before they were set to depart for the tournament. The shot stopper injured his tendon on his right foot after a shard from the bottle penetrated his skin effectively ending his World Cup hopes. Canizares was replaced by a young Iker Casillas who helped the team reach the quarter-finals of the tournament before being eliminated by hosts South Korea. Canizares made a few appearances for La Roja after his injury but lost his place as the team’s first choice goalkeeper due to the form of Casillas. 4. Michael Essien The AC Milan midfielder has a history with injuries and unfortunately one of them made him miss the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Essien ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for the Black Stars towards the end of 2008 which kept him out of action for nearly six months. The one time most expensive African footballer returned to action for Chelsea but was told by doctors that he would not make a full recovery from his injury until after the World Cup. The injury scared Essien enough to make him quit the national team in order to focus on his club career. However, the 31-year-old has returned to international football and is in Coach Kwasi Appiah's squad for the tournament in Brazil. 3. Michael Ballack The former German skipper was in stellar form for his country before the 2010 World Cup, scoring 4 goals in the qualifiers but never got a chance to shine in South Africa due to injury. Ballack, who was at Chelsea back then, picked up an ankle injury after being on the receiving end of a tackle by Portsmouth’s Kevin-Prince Boateng in the final of the 2010 FA Cup which Chelsea eventually won. The 34-year-old, who scored 42 times for his country, was nearing his 100th international cap when the injury occurred. Ballack still traveled with the team to South Africa to provide moral support. The midfielder was forced to retire from international football a year later after sustaining a number of minor injuries and never got to become a centurion for his country. 2. Alfredo Di Stefano The Argentine striker, who is regarded by many as one of the greatest players ever, never got a chance to prove himself on the international stage. Di Stefano, who has represented the teams of Argentina, Columbia and Spain had a chance to enter the 1950 and 1954 tournaments but ultimately did not due to Argentina boycotting the 1950 tournament and was declared ineligible to play for the next one due to being capped by both Argentina and Columbia. Real Madrid’s second highest goalscorer had a golden chance of playing in the 1962 tournament while representing Spain but had to pull out due to a muscular injury. Di Stefano retired from international football in 1962 becoming one of the few legendary players who have never played in the World Cup. 1. David Beckham Beckham, who is England’s second-most capped player behind Peter Shilton and his country’s most capped outfield player represented the Three Lions in three World Cups and almost took that tally to four, but that was unfortunately not to be. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player was a part of England’s doomed 2010 World Cup campaign and made a handful of appearances for Fabio Capello’s men in the qualifiers and almost made the 23-man squad. But a ruptured Achilles tendon ended his World Cup hopes. Beckham never played for England after that but said that he would never retire from international football as he was always willing to play for his country if he was fit. The 38-year-old finally retired from all form of football last year having made 115 appearances for the Three Lions – just 10 short of Shilton’s record 125 appearances. From the above given examples with aid from sportskeeda....one can deduce that injuries before...during and even after such tournaments like the world cup are inevitable..... Many things have been pinpointed as the cause of these recent spate of injuries to several players ruling them out of the world cup..ranging from claims of witchdoctors(which in my view is baseless) to other factors.. No matter what...the injured players who have been ruled out one way or the other could take away the shine from the world cup but this could also be a window of opportunity to other players.. And that's a clear case of benefitting from another's misfortune.. An example of this in the past is Iker Casillas...who went on to become Spain's number one goalie due to injury to Santi Canizares. ...Phillip Lahm.. earning the Die Mannschaft captaincy after Ballack was ruled out of World cup 2010.. And the list could go on and on.. Here I take a look at players who stand to benefit due to absence of several key players through injury... 1.Radamel Falcao.... Colombia's key man was ruled out through injury and his absence is in no doubt a blow to his nation... Colombia coach Jose Pekerman called the moment his absence was announced “the saddest day I’ve had since becoming Colombia coach”. However they can still draw positives from his injury with more opportunities going to Jackson Martinez (Porto), Carlos Bacca (Sevilla), and Adrian Ramos (Borussia Dortmund). Just like every world cup brings out a new discovery ...Falcao's absence might bring into emergence another fine striker in his mould for the Colombian set-up. Here are reasons why: 1. Jackson Martinez (Porto): Jackson Arley Martínez Valencia born born on 3 October 1986) has been one fine striker for FC Porto over the few years. Interestingly... He was brought on board as a direct replacement for then out gone compatriot Radamel Falcao. Nicknamed Cha Cha Cha for his dance-like moves on the pitch, the Porto hitman has been described by noted columnist Tim Vickery as "an out-and-out goalscorer, a front-to-goal centre-forward who can finish off both feet". He has 26 caps to his name for his country scoring 8 goals in the process since 2009. He has also won top scorer in the Portuguese league consecutively since last season. His prolific nature for Porto of having notched 61 goals in 90 appearances has seen him being courted by Europe's elite clubs. Just as he replaced Falcao at Porto... Doing same with the national side I doubt will be an unsolved jigsaw puzzle. 2. Gustavo Adrián Ramos Vásquez (born 22 January 1986), commonly known as Adrián Ramos, is also one alternative for Coach Pekerman to replace Falcao. An established striker in the Bundesliga...the 28 year old has raked in 50 goals for Hertha BSC since joining them in 2009. Last season Ramos had his best ever stint with Hertha scoring 16 goals and 8 assists in 32 bundesliga appearances matches. His exploits caught the eye of Borussia Dortmund who have signed a 4 year pre-contract agreement with him effective July 1 to help fill the void left by the departing Robert Lewandowski. A Colombian international since 2008...his chances to impress in his side has been minimal and could finally get to prove his worth in the absence of Radamel Falcao. 3. Carlos Arturo Bacca Ahumada (born 8 September 1986) is another of Colombia's strikers who has enjoyed a successful campaign at club level. A player who just turned a pro some 8 years ago..Bacca is a perfect example of a footballer living a miracle. He was also acting as a bus driver to earn money but that did not keep him from pursuing his ultimate dream to play in Europe as his hard work yielded fruits with him excelling everywhere he went. Eventually.. In 2012...he earned a transfer to Club Brugge. Repeated success saw him being transferred to Sevilla just last season with him playing a key role in his side's Europa league triumph. Bacca was voted by Marca as the best signing of the 2013-14 La Liga season. Given the chance he will also help augment the efforts of the other strike force of the team. In a nutshell..Falcao might be out...but it is another opportunity to have another goal machine unleashed..... End of Part one... To be continued