International fixtures have always been a point of debate amongst football fans. Is it really club or country, or can you give your all to both? Do friendlies provide a great chance of shaping up a squad or are they just another chance for players to get injured? Whatever their stance, everyone should be able to agree that the stats which emerge from these games are everything but a good barometer of a player.
Players should not be judged according to their goals, assists or general performances in international fixtures. One reason for this is the fluctuating quality that is thrust in front of them each game. The BBC has labelled Danny Welbeck as ‘on the rise’ as he has scored 6 goals in 7 appearances for England, and has scored 8 of his 10 shots on target for his country. Without this being an attack on Welbeck, this sums it all up. A player, who is inconsistent and definitely not world-class by any stretch of the imagination, has scored an amount that would be seen as a great tally in any of the top European leagues. However, Welbeck only scored twice last season. This year he has already beaten that, but considering he is playing for the reigning champions, that is to be expected.
Other players have proven the notion that international stats are a false picture. Jonny Heitinga has had a very good career with Holland, according to the stats, but is a clumsy oaf as soon as he pulls on an Everton shirt. Helder Postiga has a record of a goal every other game (almost) for Portugal, yet has never been able to show any signs of matching that in major European leagues. Peter Crouch has just over a goal every other game for England, but this is a wishful record for club.
It is hard to pull up all the examples, but most people will probably be able to think of at least one player who seems to be on fire for country and look like an amateur for club. The fact that, in Europe, five matches can be as varied as Spain, Moldova, San Marino, Italy and Greece give a very good indication of why these stats can be so skewed. Peter Crouch, for one, got 11 of his 22 goals against very poor international teams (Jamaica, Hungary, Trinidad & Tobago, Andorra, Macedonia, Estonia and Belarus). The rest came against sides as varied as Austria and France. Of course, the easy argument is that he can only score against the teams he plays, but then he doesn’t score regularly for club.
One area of the world where internationals can be a better reflection of the players is South America. Whilst European teams like England have to battle against Montenegro for a World Cup place (oh the horror!), Argentina have to topple the likes of Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay and (in all but this campaign) Brazil. Maybe this is why South American teams seem to be stronger than the majority of Europe, but that is another topic entirely. The drawback to looking at international stats for these teams is that they still play friendlies too, which can be against very poor sides.
Obviously, this entire argument could be spun on its head if a player for a weak international side, say San Marino, was getting good statistics, despite being against better sides almost every match. However it should still be taken only as a guideline because club form is an entirely different kettle of fish.
Another reason to disregard international stats when judging a player is formation or player use for club and country. Tomas Rosicky has a goal record of about one in every 4.5 internationals, whereas his record for Arsenal is nearer to 1 in 9. This is partially due to him making appearances from the bench for club, whereas he is a regular starter for Czech Republic, but it is also due to his more advanced role for his nation. This also shows a good example of somebody who is a star performer for country and a squad player for club, which can affect playing statistics.
Furthermore, a player who is surrounded by great team mates will usually do a lot better. For example, somebody in the Spain national team is much more likely to do well than if they were in the Welsh national team, in spite of playing level for club. This can work the opposite way too, with some players feeling the pressure of playing for an expectant nation and not performing well at all.
Regardless of which way the pendulum swings, it can only be conclusive to the idea that internationals are impossible to read, apart from (some) major competitions e.g. World Cups and European Championships. Soon, however, European Championships will be struck off that list as UEFA will be changing it from 16 teams to a 24-team-format, which would mean teams like Hungary would have qualified for Euro 2012. It is slowly diluting the quality from top competitions and thus making internationals even less reliable as a way of judging players.
Soon the penny will drop and people will stop admiring players for good international records, but until then we are to be subjected to back-page headlines lauding that player who scored six goals against Gibraltar. What a national treasure he is.
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