- Rio Ferdinand has identified two reasons why England failed to reach their best level
- The ‘Golden Generation’ never made it past the round of 16 of a tournament
- Jurgen Klopp has the eye of a tiger! He hasn’t looked this confident since 2019. Listen to the podcast Everything is Beginning
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Rio Ferdinand has highlighted two reasons why England failed to win anything during his career.
The England team in the 2000s was a sight to behold, featuring some of the world’s most iconic players including David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen.
Back that up with a defense of Ferdinand, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Gary Neville and David James, and you can see why FA boss Adam Crozier dubbed them the ‘Golden Generation’.
However, they only reached one quarter-final series before failing to qualify for Euro 2008 and being eliminated from the 2010 World Cup in the round of 16 against Germany.
And Ferdinand believes tactical shortcomings were to blame for their misery, plus they cracked under the pressure of the “Golden Generation” label.
Rio Ferdinand claimed England was “tarnished” by its Golden Generation label
He also believes tactical rigidity cost them, but their record on penalties was also a factor.
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‘Brazil was better than us. Name your team when they beat us in the World Cup (2002),” Ferdinand told the Stay with the football podcastbrought to you by sky bet.
‘Their three forwards were Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Ronaldo. Cafú and Roberto Carlos as full-backs and Gilberto in midfield: they were an incredible team.
‘That name (The Golden Generation) almost tarnished us. She brought a lot of pressure. Expectations were probably a little higher. France was a top-level team.
“We had some great people, but I don’t think we reached our potential because of the way we were set up as a team – that’s the only negative I see about that team.”
“What could we have been if they had actually put us in a formation that benefited and made those players play the best they could?
“A rigid 4-4-2 (is what we play), and there are other teams that bring players into their midfield: Rivaldo comes in with Ronaldinho and you wonder why we can’t get close to them.”
Figuring out how to fit midfield forces like Gerrard and Lampard was a problem that plagued England throughout their careers.
As Ferdinand noted, England’s rigidity was a problem as football underwent tactical changes: their 4-4-2 alignment against Brazil’s 3-4-2-1 was no match for the Selecao’s fluidity.
Ferdinand believes that Brazil, who beat them in the 2002 World Cup, were better on paper
In the end, it was fine margins that separated England from the elite. There is not much shame in losing 2-1 to Brazil in the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, or losing to Portugal on penalties in the 2004 Euro Cup or the 2006 World Cup.
There were also circumstances that a coach cannot foresee: did Sven-Goran Eriksson expect Rooney to be sent off against Portugal in 2006?
However, England clearly failed to capitalize on the team they had and failed to produce their best performances at crucial moments.
Fernando was speaking in the Stay with football podcast, presented by sky bet.