Benitez: I told you
he was unfit
The tension between Fabio Capello and Rafael Benítez
grew last night, with the Liverpool manager bewildered by his
England counterpart's insistence that Steven Gerrard make a
six-hour round trip to prove that he was not fit enough to play for
his country in tomorrow's friendly match against
Germany.
Gerrard is one of seven first-choice players who have pulled out
of the match in Berlin, but his absence has caused by far the
greatest controversy, with Capello irked by Liverpool's
announcement on Sunday that their captain would miss the match,
having suffered a groin injury during their 2-0 victory away to
Bolton Wanderers 24 hours earlier.
Eager to prove a point - whether to Gerrard or to Benítez, with
whom he has clashed over the player's fitness this season - Capello
demanded that the Liverpool captain report to the England team
hotel in Hertfordshire to be assessed by the Football Association's
medical staff.
The FA quickly confirmed Liverpool's diagnosis of a torn
adductor muscle, leaving Gerrard to make the three-hour journey
back to Merseyside yesterday, but tensions remain between Capello
and Benítez, with both managers unhappy at the way that the other
has handled the matter.
After Frank Lampard joined the list of absentees yesterday
because of a rib injury, the FA moved last night to dispel
conspiracy theories that leading players had withdrawn from the
squad while fit enough to represent their clubs. The other notable
absentees are Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Wayne Rooney
and Emile Heskey, along with David Beckham, who is considered to
lack match fitness, meaning that, of the first-choice starting
line-up, only David James, Gareth Barry, Theo Walcott and John
Terry - the England captain has recovered from a foot injury - are
available to play in Berlin.
However, a frustrated Capello has reluctantly accepted that all
their injuries are genuine, even if in many cases the players are
likely to be fit to play for their clubs in the Barclays Premier
League next weekend.
“It's just very unfortunate that we've got a lot of players who
are regulars in the squad who are not around,” Adrian Bevington,
the FA's director of communications, said. “The fact is that
players have been down and have been assessed and we are satisfied
that these players have legitimate injuries. The medical scans show
it up, so there shouldn't be any suggestion or innuendo otherwise.
The players are absolutely gutted that they are not able to play
for England in Berlin on Wednesday night.” Jimmy Bullard, of
Fulham, and Scott Parker, of West Ham United, have been called up
to bolster Capello's midfield resources.
Gerrard will be more disappointed than any of his fellow
absentees, particularly because his commitment to the England cause
has again been questioned. Capello was disappointed when Gerrard
was ruled out of the opening World Cup qualifying matches against
Andorra and Croatia in September, believing that Liverpool had
timed his groin operation to serve their interests at the expense
of those of his country.
Benítez felt on this occasion that he had handled the matter in
the correct manner, with messages conveyed to Capello via his
medical staff, as has become the norm, before a club statement was
issued on Sunday afternoon. The Liverpool manager defended his
handling of the matter yesterday. “We had to do a scan after the
Bolton game because Steven said he had some pain in his groin,” he
said. “It is not a massive problem and we hope he will be ready to
return in seven to ten days.”
While Scott Carson, Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Darren
Bent expect to appear in Berlin at some stage, the
ultra-competitive Capello is likely to keep experimentation to a
minimum in the first half, preferring a more solid and experienced
line-up in the hope of extending England's unbeaten run to eight
matches.
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