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The Battle For Cristiano Ronaldo’s Soul & Other, Less Significant Club v Country Standoffs. Posted: 09 Nov 2009 01:32 PM PST Who needs actual footballing playoffs when you can just watch the bureaucratic battle that is club v country? Whilst Portugal v Bosnia – Herzegovina is titillating the football purist and Russia v Slovenia has forced Jonathan Wilson into euphoric bouts of nervous bowels, the real battle lies behind the scenes, in the board rooms, between those who cut the checks and those who require international glory. The big issue is, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo and that pesky little ankle of his. Yet as ever with international weekends, there is gladiatorial sparring befitting of Rome itself. (Mostly because Roma’s involved.) The Portuguese Man O’Oil has been out since September after taking a hit to the ankle against Marseille. What would’ve been a standard few weeks off turned into an affair when, against the wishes of the great Real Madrid, he played in Portugal’s must-win against Hungary. As is always the case, he reinjured the ankle and has been unable to feature for the team which cuts those boffo paychecks weekly. Understandably, Real do not want him to feature in the playoff against Bosnia & Herzegovina despite Carlos Queroz’s insistence that he spend a few minutes matching goals with Edin Dzeko. They’d rather he spend 90 minutes doing battle for plaudits and points with Lionel Messi at the end of the month during that moderately sized derby something or other. This one has all the hallmarks of a 15 round epic prizefight, with the decision dependent on the final blow of the final round. And much like that epic title fight, it’ll probably finish with a trip to the hospital, a ruling by judges and plenty of tears from the losing party. Over in Rome, meanwhile, things are getting truly gladiatorial. Dunga called up both Juan & Doni for the upcoming Brazil friendlies against the likes of Oman and England. Neither played this weekend against Inter, and neither would play next weekend were there a game. So, with both players made of glass anyway, Roma refused to released them for international duties. Brazil refused their refusal. Swords at the ready. Were this a do-or-die game such as the one instigating the battle for CR9’s soul, it’d be understandable. Were these friendlies directly before the World Cup and necessary for such intangibles as squad integration, it’d be understandable. But there should be some sort of rule which stipulates that players, particularly those like Juan whose hamstrings inexplicably manage to pull themselves at the mere mention of ‘international break’, who are not fully fit for friendlies more than three months from a major tournament cannot play. Call it the Juan Club, Juan Country Rule. But there is hope, you see. Rafa, polite man that he is, requested to Fabio Capello that an injured Steven Gerrard not be included in those very same friendlies. (The very same Steven Gerrard buzzing about the pitch on my live television feed right now.) Fabio Capello, honorable man that he is, obliged. And they all lived happily ever after. It can happen. It won’t, but it can.

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