Zamora Is The Anonymous Hero Of English football

[White Noise]

http://www.express.co.uk/ourcomments/view/164156/Jim-Holden

BOBBY ZAMORA CAN SHINE FOR ENGLAND  


Zamora is the anonymous hero of English football


Sunday March 21,2010


By Jim Holden 

BOBBY Zamora parks his car in a side street off the Fulham Palace Road and stops for a cup of coffee at Starbucks on the way to most home matches at Craven Cottage.

He's always wearing his Fulham tracksuit but nobody pesters him as he waits patiently in the queue for his cappuccino. Nobody asks for his autograph. Nobody starts pointing at him and shouting, "Look, look, who's there."

Actually, nobody even turns a hair.

Zamora is the anonymous hero of English football. So, we should forgive the 29-year-old striker a wry shrug and a cynical grin when he hears that he's being touted as a last-gasp call-up for England's World Cup campaign this summer.

He's not expecting it. He's already booked his holidays in America at the time of the tournament; he's more than confident he will continue to be totally invisible on his travels.

After all, it's not so long ago that Zamora was being scorned and mocked by a foolish section of his own Fulham supporters.

He was so convinced his England chance had gone that he agreed to play a World Cup qualifier for Trinidad, the land of his father, at the start of this season, only to have to withdraw through injury.

And now? Well, wouldn't it be the most heart-warming sports story of the year if Zamora's burst of excellence for Fulham these last few months results in a place at the World Cup?

Wouldn't it be wonderful for the unsung footballer, the unconsidered and undervalued forward, the player who has worked so hard in the shadows to prove himself, to have a tilt at the ultimate glory in the game?

There must be a possibility it will happen after England manager Fabio Capello watched Zamora inspire Fulham's fabulous 4-1 pummelling of Juventus in the Europa League the other night.

He saw Zamora score the first goal and give Fabio Cannavaro such a torrid time that the veteran Italian defensive general was sent off.

Capello must have been impressed by Zamora's performance on a significant night of football. He must have seen that the Fulham striker has better technique and close control of the ball than Darren Bent or Gabriel Agbonlahor or Emile Heskey. The World Cup door is suddenly open for the cappuccino hero.

This is not only because of his own fine play, but also because of the Achilles tendon injury that knocked former England captain David Beckham out of the tournament and sent zillions of TV reporters to set up camp outside an obscure hospital in Finland to bring us breathless commentary on every twist and turn of a routine sports injury operation.

It was the maddest of madhouses, and it obscured the far more important subject of who will now be the 23rd player wildcard pick of England's 23-man squad.

Every World Cup manager has such a choice to make, and for Capello it was going to be the worldly experience and set-piece excellence of Beckham.

Now he has to think again – and is surely contemplating the option of a fifth striker in Zamora rather than yet another midfielder in a crowd already crammed with versatile players.

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson, the best Englishman not to be boss of the England national team in the past 20 years, would go for Zamora. His view is not artless club loyalty. Hodgson doesn't do that petty stuff, and he knows the terrain as a former World Cup head coach himself with Switzerland.

He knows what it takes, and he knows that what Zamora offers above all else, the combination of physical strength and intelligent ball control, will be a precious asset for any World Cup side.

The fact that Zamora is on a hot scoring streak is a bonus. The fact he is that rarity in the modern game, a down-to-earth footballer, an ordinary bloke who goes quietly for a coffee in Starbucks, is altogether wonderful.

Doesn't the England football team need a few characters like that rather than the celebrity cavalcade surrounding David Beckham, John Terry and Ashley Cole?

[jarv]

Excellent piece. Could not agree more. Good strikers usually have 2 or 3 good seasons. (great ones have more) Perhaps, this is the first for BZ. Hope he makes it.

[NogoodBoyo]

I would pick him in a heart-beat!  But how could he not be recognised in a Fulham Starbucks?
Nogood "Capelloccino, isit" boyo

[LBNo11]

...we all know he more than deserves a call up, he is on exquisite form at the moment, but you can understand his wry grin at the rumours, and you know in your heart of hearts that his chances are limited as he plays for a "little" and unfashionable team.

We can all hope, but I think one of the usual suspects will go in his place, it is 'the system/the establishment'...

[MrCheviot]

The first person written on the team sheet for the WC has to be Rooney. Right?

If I'm Capello, the second thing I do (after writing Wayne's name in) is ask him.. "what kind of player can I write in next to you that will allow you to win the Golden Boot?"

If I'm Rooney, I say "Someone who can reduce my physical burden. Someone who can occupy defenders to create space for me. Someone who will share my intensity and be up for the moment. I need a fellow 'gamer' - someone who is multi-dimensional and knows when to shoot and when to put the ball into my feet."

Of course, I'm not either of them. But really, who else in England can claim the ability to do these things for Rooney? Crouch or Bent perhaps, but each only possesses half of Rooney's game. Dafoe certainly challenges the defenders but is almost a polar opposite to Bobby and I'm not sure his game enhances Rooney's game. Abonglahor is like Gera for us.. pesky, quick, intelligent, and IMO out of the current crop to be mentioned in the papers (sans Bobby) I think he might be the best choice. Heskey? He almost begs teams to add a shadow defender on Wayne. If Crouch & Dafoe are healthy they're sure to be included, as they can offer something 'different'. But at the moment, there's only one player who's game is tailor made to get the most out of Rooney, and that's person is Zamora.

As a Fulham supporter, I've got my fingers crossed for him. It would be futile to argue that on merit he doesn't deserve it. That said, ss a Yank, I'm hoping for the sake of our own chances that Capello offers an English attack with as few dimensions as possible.. because I have no idea how we'd cope with them both.

[finnster01]

Well,
as a Bobby hater from last year, but also someone who gives credit where credit is due, I don't understand what more this man needs to do to be called up for England.

He may not be a Rooney, but who the hell is (in the world at the moment)? Bobby can more than hold his own with the alternatives/second strikers and I agree he would play great next to the Shrek.

So Capello get your Italian tits out and show some guile and pick the wideboy. He deserves it. You may not understand what he says, but just look at the pictures.

[SuffolkWhite]

I think the papers are very loved up with Fulham at the mo and are pushing for Zamo to be in the squad and Roy for the England job. The papers are pointing to the understated way in which Roy does things and that seems to be spreading the team also. Roy the Gentleman Manager who has his players behaving in a decent way on and off the pitch.

Cappello will call him to the squad I think and give Zamo the once over, he certainly deserves his chance.

[epsomraver]

Well,
as a Bobby hater from last year, but also someone who gives credit where credit is due, I don't understand what more this man needs to do to be called up for England.

He may not be a Rooney, but who the hell is (in the world at the moment)? Bobby can more than hold his own with the alternatives/second strikers and I agree he would play great next to the Shrek.

So Capello get your Italian tits out and show some guile and pick the wideboy. He deserves it. You may not understand what he says, but just look at the pictures.

I agree Finn I think most last year gave him some abuse mainly because he was lazy but when you think now that Capello wants Heskey on the plane and not Bobby then it strikes home how stupid that would be with Heskey showing 5 goals total for his club!

[cebu]

What I can't understand about picking Heskey is that he'll spend most of the tournament injured. There's no way he'd last for 6-7 matches in a month at the World Cup.