In this article, I will run through the list of arguably the greatest players to have never represented their country in a World Cup.

Ryan Giggs: Born in 1973, Ryan Giggs has played for Manchester United since the 1990-91 season, coming through their youth system. By the age of 20, Giggs had firmly established himself as United´s first choice left winger. As a youngster, he played for and captained England at schoolboy level, but as an adult, played for Wales. Giggs retired from international football in 2007, ending an international career which included no World Cups.

Duncan Edwards: Another Manchester United player, Edwards was born in 1936 and played a number of matches for England, featuring in all of England´s qualifiers for the 1958 World Cup. He was expected by many to play a key part for his country in the World Cup Finals. Tragically, when returning to England from Belgrade, the plane carrying Edwards and a number of other United players crashed in Munich. Duncan Edwards later died in hospital, denying the World Cup of this great talent.

Eric Cantona: The controversial French forward referred to by some as “King Eric”, Cantona is one of the most iconic footballers to have played in England. Despite being an important player for Manchester United, a mixture of disagreement with the French national coach, France´s failure to qualify for the World Cup in 1994, the introduction of Zidédine Zidane and the 1995 Suspension of Cantona for kicking a Crystal Palace supporter stopped him from making a World Cup appearance.

George Weah: One of, if not, the best player to come out of Africa, George Weah played his international football for Liberia, who, in his playing career did not qualify for a World Cup. Weah made up for this with his club career. Whilst at Monaco, he won the 1991 French cup. In 1994 he won the French league with Paris Saint Germain. Following this successful period in France, Weah moved to Italy to play for AC Milan. After being named as the African Player of the Year in 1989 and 1994, he won the award again in 1995 whilst also winning the World Best Player and European Footballer of the Year awards. Whilst playing for AC Milan, Weah achieved two league titles. To top off his list of achievements he was named African Player of the Century.

Alfredo di Stéfano: This striker was named by Pelé as one of the Top 125 Greatest Living Footballers in 2004 and had an impressive career with a number of clubs including Real Madrid in Spain.

Di Stéfano was voted European Footballer of the Year in 1957 and 1959 during his time in Madrid. Linking up with Ferenc Puskás, he managed 216 goals in 262 games between 1953 and 1964.

During his career, Di Stéfano played six games for Argentina, four for Columbia and 31 times for Spain. He was playing for Argentina at the time of the 1950 World Cup, however, the South American country refused to take part. In 1954, he was ineligible to play, having played for Argentina and Columbia. In 1958, Di Stéfano had acquired Spanish citizenship. He played for Spain in the buildup in 1957, but was unable to help them qualify for the finals. A muscular injury prevented him from playing in 1962, making him one of the best players to have not played in a World Cup.

George Best: Born in 1946, the Northern Irish Winger who is best known for his time at Manchester United. Combined pace, balance and acceleration with his ability to use both feet allowed Best to beat defenders and score a number of goals.

Known not only for his ability on the field, but also for living a stylish lifestyle, Best was one of the first footballers to be known as a celebrity. During his time at Manchester United, he scored 138 goals in 361 games. Playing for Northern Ireland, he managed nine goals in 37 matches, unfortunately, during the greatest years of Best´s career, his country did not manage to qualify for the World Cup. He was considered for the 1982 competition, which Northern Ireland qualified for, but at the age of 36, manager Billy Bingham chose note to pick him. Despite this, Best is still considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time.

JT. Owner of top Football Tips website.

http://www.thefootballcode.com

http://www.fourthewinfootball.com

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Since the beginning of the game Barça was controlling the actions as they were passing the ball quickly and making beautiful plays, while Almeria was stuck in their defensive area the majority of the time since Barcelona was attacking constantly. Almeria just got to the rivals area once and wasn’t even close to open the score. For its part, Barcelona got their open opportunity when Argentine Lionel Messi hit the post with a shot and Bojan followed up to score at minute 53. Three minutes later he finished off an excellent play, with Messi’s help once again. With these two goals as visitors, Barça took 3 more points home and is now six points away of second place Real Madrid. 

The manager Pep Guardiola was happy with the result but he also expressed that his team is not fully at his best and that they still have some issues in their game that they have to improve in order to achieve their objectives, which are obtaining the titles of La Liga and the Champions League.

“It might have looked easy, but it wasn’t. We controlled the game, but in the first half we were taking too many touches and we were not putting any pace on the ball. In the second half, we played a lot better, but there is nothing simple in football. We tried to get possession of the ball, move it quickly and when you play that way, it is difficult for your rivals,” expressed Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola.

After his testimony about the game, he also stated the well-development of the Spaniard Bojan Krkic, who gave the team the three points with his two goals. For his part, the young striker affirmed he would like to stay for many years in Barcelona but he doesn’t discard a transfer loan in another club.  The 18-year-old Krkic also said that being in Barcelona has been a great experience and he hopes he will learn more this season and the coming ones in hands of his teammates and his great coach Pep Guardiola. Moreover, Bojan expressed that he was expecting more playing time but he knows there are amazing players in Barcelona and at the end is up to the coach to decide who is going to be in the starting lineup.

The next game of Barcelona in La Liga will be against Málaga at Camp Nou on March 22nd.   Currently Barcelona is at the top spot with 66 points, followed by Real Madrid with 60 points.

Ally White is a top senior copy writer on Spanish League Soccer and sports action for the sportsbetting www.instantactionsports.com/
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Born in Reykjavik in 1978, Eidur Gudjohnsen was clearly always going to be a footballer and made his debut in the Icelandic League when he was only 16 years of age. After just 17 games for his club Valur, the player had done enough to earn a transfer to Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven. During his 2 seasons in Holland, however, Eidur suffered numerous injuries and was only able to complete 13 games before being transferred back to Iceland – to KR Reykjavik.

Barely had he signed, though, before he was off on his travels again – this time to England and, after a short trial, to Bolton Wanderers. It was his success here, mainly as a bustling and determined centre forward, that brought a move to Chelsea, where he was to stay for 6 seasons. During this spell at Stamford Bridge, Gudjohnsen made a total of 268 first team appearances, scoring 78 goals.

Although originally a centre forward, Eidur always demonstrated what pundits insisted on calling ‘a surprisingly good touch for a big man’. Technically gifted, with very quick feet and, crucially, a nimble brain, the Chelsea fans warmed to the big Icelander because of his remarkable versatility. Able to play up front, in midfield, or even on the wings, Eidur was part of the developing Chelsea team that won the league in 2005 and 2006 and the Carling Cup in 2005.

Many people were surprised when Eidur signed for Barcelona in the summer of 2006, especially when it appeared he was being seen as a direct replacement for the huge fans’ favourite, Henrik Larsen. Initially played as a striker, he certainly had problems winning over the Barça faithful and, in his first season, a return of just 5 goals in 25 league games led to questions being asked about the player’s suitability for La Liga.

One thing that Eidur Gudjohnsen has always been, though, is determined and that played a big part in his ability to turn the difficult situation around. By being used more in midfield, the player demonstrated his adaptability and consequently, in both 2006/07 and 2007/08, he became an important member of the squad. Able to play in a variety of positions, and always liable to come up with a goal, Eidur Gudjohnsen is now an established Barcelona player and one whom the fans now trust totally.

Iceland’s record goal scorer, and with over 50 international caps already, and captain of the national team, Gudjohnsen has been Icelandic Player of the year three times. It is a good bet that he will try to keep his place in the national squad until he’s able to play in the same team as his son. Now that would be a good quiz question.

If you’re planning on visiting Barcelona in 2009 then check out availability of FC Barcelona tickets online. Simply Barcelona Tickets have five different categories, including VIP, with guaranteed allocations for all home matches.

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One of the main reasons the Barcelona team does not want to allow the Argentinean to participate in the Olympics is due to the preliminary round for the Champions League qualification being played on the same dates. Therefore; they will do everything possible to hold the young footballer to play in order to have him in full condition for the European competition.

This is indeed a very controversial situation as Messi could be suspended for the entire duration of the Olympics as it is stated in the FIFA rules that all players who do not have 23 years of age have to be released to their national teams if they are required to play. On the other hand; Puyol insists that Messi is a key player and that this is a crucial time for the Barcelona club and it would be indeed a disaster if such a player is missing from the team’s roster.

“We have a great squad, but Messi is an important player for us, one of the best in the world,” Puyol said Thursday from the team’s preseason training camp. “What’s happening with his situation is a theme that we can’t really get into since we can’t control it. Let’s hope it’s resolved and that we can count on him being with us.”

After Ronaldhino’s departure from Barcelona FC to his new Italian team the AC Milan; the Argentinean has become the main star of the Spaniard club as his contribution has been phenomenal. On the other hand; the Brazilian’s work was also of great push to Barcelona despite the last two seasons during which he was not able to perform his best due to injuries. Puyol admits that Ronaldhino will be remembered as of the best players that has been part of the Catalonian list.

Barcelona FC Sporting director Txiki Begiristain has announced that the team is working on an agreement with the Argentinean Football Association in order to come to terms with them; as he stated during an interview “On our side we want Messi to play the first leg of the Champions League (third qualifying round) and then we’ll release him to play at the Olympic Games. We understand that reaching this agreement is the best solution. If we get a good result then, without being over-confident, we should be able to let the player go.”

Up to this point the Argentinean Football Association has not accepted the terms and conditions of the deal but it could certainly prevent future disputes therefore; they will wait and see what the outcome turns out to be.

Other European clubs like Werder Bremen and Schalke do not want their Brazilian players Rafinha and Diego to be part of the Beijing Soccer Tournament and have taken the petition to the sports’ highest body the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Therefore; they will decide if the players will or will not be part of the Olympics this next month of August.

Claudia Beckford provides outstanding 2008 Beijing Olympic Games content as well as information in the sports betting industry.

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