Vickery: Team collective more important than individuals

[Zeppo]

Team collective more important than individuals

When he was first making his name with Santos, former Manchester City striker Robinho often spoke of his big ambition to be elected Fifa World Player of the Year.

True, he was seeking to place himself in a tradition of some of his illustrious compatriots, but even so I always found it a depressing declaration. For what it is worth, my view is that far too much attention is given to these individual awards.

In some collective sports the star can make the team. But football is so fluid that it can only happen the other way round - the great player emerges when the collective balance of the side is correct. The team makes the star - and 2010 provides us with some compelling evidence...

(continue)

[Karl]

I had some comment on what would Argentina's fate which addressed the anti-TEAM qualities Messi brought to the table.

He destroyed many an Argentina promising build-up by trying to do too much. ...it works at the club level, but in the final stages where the teams are usually well drilled into acting as one unit...that TEAM. The amount of 'ball hogging' he does at Barcelona will not work...and it did not during the World Cup.

Certain lovers of club football find it difficult to appreciate that once you enter the quarter-finals of the World Cup you have on the field the absolute highest football being played. The best club team in the world cannot live with those top World Cup TEAMs.