Campbell finds solace in return to England duty after a year to forget

Sam Wallace,Football Correspondent
Thursday 10 November 2005 01:00 GMT
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That ranks as some admission from a man who has played every minute of every England game at the last four tournaments and, after a substitute's appearance at Euro '96, will be able to say, should he make it there, that next summer's World Cup finals will be the sixth major tournament of his career. Last season there were ankle, Achilles and calf injuries and, after Arsenal's 4-2 defeat at home to United on 1 February, Campbell was out of first team action for three months, and facing the indignity of losing his place to Senderos. Campbell has always liked to talk about belief in himself and last season required a great deal of that.

"If I had a season like last season, when I was in and out, I would be struggling but it won't be like that," Campbell said yesterday. " You have to be sure and you have to believe and you don't know what will happen. You have to learn how to deal with these moments in your football career and of course it is hard. You have to keep going because sometimes it can feel that there is no light at the end of the tunnel."

When Rio Ferdinand was dropped from the England side to play Austria in the penultimate World Cup qualifier last month, it was Campbell's story that went untold. Sven Goran Eriksson's decision suggested that on form alone it was the Arsenal defender who had broken the hold on the two places in the centre of defence exerted by John Terry and Ferdinand since the end of Euro 2004 and Campbell's season of woe. Although Campbell was injured for the game against Poland, and Ferdinand reinstated, Eriksson has said that he retains an open mind over who to select for Saturday's friendly against Argentina.

"I think the main thing is that I have to stay fit ­ simple as that," Campbell said. "Once you get a head of steam and start playing games you feel more confident and you do more things in games. I feel it now. I feel good. If you miss six to eight weeks you lose your fitness within two. This season I have had a full pre-season and that makes a big difference."

One eventuality Campbell and his England team-mates will have to contend with having negotiated their way to the finals of the World Cup next summer is the possibility that England will have to defeat a South American nation along the way. The European sides are familiar opponents, the African nations that have qualified remain a difficult threat to quantify but Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador or Paraguay are still the teams that they have reason to fear the most.

It was Argentina in 1998 and Brazil in 2002 who proved the conquerors of England at the last two tournaments and they lurk in the knock-out rounds beyond the group stages ­ provided Eriksson's side are seeded in the top eight ­ with a familiar cast of characters but a style of play that is difficult to predict. In Geneva on Saturday, Eriksson will get the chance to find out a little more about Argentina, but it is likely to be his own side, and the way they cope with South American opposition, that will tell him more about his team's prospects.

Eriksson's scouting tally of 100 matches a season does not include trips to South America, so this will be the first opportunity he gets to watch how an Argentina midfield featuring Juan Riquelme and Martin Demichelis compares with his own.

The deployment of a holding midfielder was thought to be central to Eriksson's plans for containing Argentina but the injury picked up by Ledley King this week, which prevented him from training yesterday, could force him into an ad hoc adaptation of his plans. If the Tottenham captain is ruled out then there are two candidates to replace him in the defensive midfield position, although whether Eriksson deems either up to the task of playing Argentina is debatable.

King's most likely replacement is club-mate Michael Carrick. The opportunity for Carrick, should it present itself, could give the 24-year-old an extraordinary chance to launch a bid to play that role ahead of his club captain King, a centre-back by trade. His most significant performance to date in that position was in the first half of the 1-1 draw with Arsenal last month, although the dwindling of his influence after the interval could count against him. Should Eriksson decide that Carrick is not ready then the obvious choice will be Alan Smith.

How far the Swede trusts the Manchester United striker, sent off for England against Macedonia October 2002, will be tested by whether the less excitable Carrick is chosen for the role in a match that has far greater significance than the average friendly. It may well be, however, that in the absence of King, Eriksson reverts to his flat midfield four, with Joe Cole recalled on the left.

If Eriksson feels that pressure has been brought to bear on his reign over the last few months then he should spare a thought for the Argentina coach Jose Pekerman, who is still under pressure even though his side cruised through the most competitive World Cup finals qualifying group of all. Pekerman is well liked by his players, but doubt has been cast on his capacity to win the World Cup, and there is the looming prospect of Diego Maradona taking some kind of role next summer.

If all Eriksson has to worry about in the next few days is the fitness of King, he may just consider himself lucky.

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