Many a Demise at Gelsenkirchen

Losing to Portugal through spot kicks (again!) on our July 1 quarterfinal match was a lot harder to take than if we had lost to them in open play. Of course, it didn't help that we all know England doesn't really shine during penalty shoot-outs. Understatement of the year.

With the mediocre performances we gave during the group stage, I'd always thought that it could only get better. And althought we were getting the necessary points, there was always something we could have done better. It was a relief to avoid Germany in the knockout phase and then scraping a win against Ecuador to proceed to the last eight. If I'm frustrated with the results, I can't imagine what the players are feeling. But really, it's no time for any fingerpointing. But I can't help but feel disappointed--what-might-have-beens and what-ifs are nasty stuff. How many shots did Frank Lampard attempt at (and not convert)? What if Michael Owen didn't get injured in the opening seconds of the Sweden game? What if David Beckham didn't get injured in the second half of the Portugal match? If they held their own with ten men, what could have happened if Wayne Rooney didn't pull off a Beckham'98? Questions abound. Questions that I can't help but ask. Nevertheless, our Germany '06 campaign has come to a bitter end.
So now we have seen the end of the Sven-Goran Ericksson tenure as England coach. We have seen his tactics work but there have been times when they failed. His five years in-charge of the squad didn't alter England's status as a quarterfinal team. Fortunately enough, it didn't demote us into anything less either. There had been good, even great times, under the Ericksson watch but with all the scandals he had been involved in of late and the media circus they resulted in (but let's not go there), it definitely is time for a change. We can only hope for even better times as the Steve McLaren era begins.
The day following the defeat to Portugal, David Beckham resigned as England captain. Listening to him say the words and seing him try to hold back tears during that press conference was not something I'd likely forget. I knew this was coming but I didn't expect it to happen this soon. Of course, it was the right thing to do because he's no longer guaranteed the armband without Ericksson at the helm. Becks is not the type to wait to be stripped of the captaincy. And it's time to make way for new blood. But just like him, I always thought that this would come at the back of a successful World Cup. Whoever wears the armband next will always have my props.

Even after hearing about Beckham resignation, even after watching the squad arrive back in England, even after seeing replay after replay of the match in Gelsenkirchen (yes, I can be a glutton for punishment sometimes), I still feel like I'm on another plane where all these are but a nightmare. It still hasn't fully sunk in yet even with visuals of Becks trying to console a crying John Terry, of a dejected Gary Neville, of the whole England squad, staff and fans with shocked disappointment on their faces keep flashing through my eyes. Pictures I have added to an archive I would rather not get used to seeing--the Beckham 1998 fiasco, a crying David Seaman after losing to Brazil in the Korea/Japan 2002 quarterfinals.Writing these words down was not easy. But it is over. what do you suppose we--I--do in the next four years? Maybe we could do a dry run and win the European championship in two years time in Austria/Switzerland. Really, I just want to see England lift the World Cup in my lifetime. Better luck next time indeed. Maybe South Africa 2010 will bear witness to that.