England's World Cup campaign collapsed because the players
were jealous of the 'superstar' status of David Beckham, according
to 'super agent' Pini Zahavi. It was "jealousy" of David Beckham
that caused Frank Lampard to shoot 25 times without scoring during
the World Cup. According to Zahavi, "jealousy" wrecked the
equilibrium of the England squad, while the Swede also erred by
prolonging the Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard central-midfield
partnership and only selecting four strikers.
"There was a big problem of jealousy inside the team. It's
something that nobody has talked about before," Zahavi told Yedioth
Ahronoth, an Israeli newspaper. "If Eriksson would ever tell the
whole story, and I've talked about it with him a lot, everybody
would understand what was going on inside the England dressing
room.
"A lot of the players didn't like the way Beckham was treated as a
superstar. They felt that he didn't deserve the status he had
compared with what he was able to do on the pitch." Zahavi's
comments have been transferred to the backpages of all of Friday's
newspapers, a reflection not just of the news void that an
international week inevitably brings, but also of the influence
agents carry in the modern era. While Zahavi is considered to be a
confidant of Erikkson, The Times justifies splashing his quotes
across its own backpage by describing him as 'the influential
Israeli agent of Rio Ferdinand.'
Although undoubtedly correct, Zahavi's withering assessment that
"Lampard and Gerrard can't play together" appears to be based on
the evidence available to anyone who watched England in action
rather this season, rather than the echo of an internal disclosure.
Eriksson, after all, remained steadfast in his belief that the pair
could dovetail.
The Swede's successor, Steve McClaren, has shown no inclination to
terminate the partnerhip, although Gerrard is expected to line-up
on the right of midfield in Tel Aviv. In the words of Zahavi, "a
football earthquake" will erupt if England are beaten, and "the
press will drink McClaren's blood and he will be finished."
"They'll finish him once and for all. For England and McClaren it
is a case of 'To be or not to be'."