Russia World Cup: Lack of talent?

Mario Gotze, Cesc Fabregas, Alvaro Morata, Karim Benzema, Paolo Guerrero and Mauro Icardi are just some of the many soccer stars who will not be present at this year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Last week each federation announced their official list of pre-selected players for the World Cup and many stars have already been left out. Many different factors including injuries, lack of participation during club matches, and advanced ages have all contributed to the absence of some of the world’s greatest players. Soccer fans around the world and at our school are concerned about the upcoming World Cup’s quality and spectacle being harmed by the lack of talent within players due to the absence of many “cracks” .

“It really is a shame that so many players were left out. Most of them were key to their teams, and the dynamics of each of those teams will definitely change and the game tactics might have to be re-established. Anyways, I hope this doesn’t really make us have a less entertaining World Cup,” said Emiliano Montoya, Junior student at TCS and soccer expert.

In addition to all of these stars who will not accompany their teams to Russia, there were also some major teams which have been left out. Netherlands ( 3 times finalist), Chile ( current south american champion, and Italy ( 4 times world champion) are the major teams that would be left out. Out of these three teams, Italy is probably the most shocking absence , knowing it is one of the 3 most winning teams in history.  Gianluigi Buffon, Italy’s captain and international soccer legend, expressed his thoughts after las Italy was officially left out of the tournament.

“I’m not sorry for myself but for all Italian football,” said the captain.

Despite the many important absences, this year’s World Cup is definitely something most TCS students are looking forward to. Not only because of all the great Colombian players which will be there, but also because the absence of so many players and teams opens up the opportunity for new teams and new players to show off their talent.Thanks to that, Russia’s World Cup will still be one with no other. TCS students claim this might actually make the tournament more interesting.

“Many of my favorite players are not going, but I still am really looking forward to this World Cup. I guess the best part is that this time don’t know what to expect,” said Pablo Monsalve, senior student at TCS .