An England & United fan's dilemma

Ever since that black day in November when England were cruelly (if deservedly?) denied a place in Euro 2008, one thing has been on my mind – whom to support in the absence of Rooney, Rio, Hargreaves et al. Naturally for me, it would have to be a team that contains one or more of the recent double-winning players. Here’s a brief look at the relevant countries:

Portugal

United players : Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani
The obvious choice to some, but not really. True, in Ronaldo Portugal have probably the most exciting United player since a young Giggsy burst onto the scene, but chances are Ronaldo would not still be a Red for too much longer. Nani too in his first season has not really made himself a hero with the Old Trafford faithful yet, and that red card against West Ham certainly puts him in my bad books.
The Portuguese under Scolari are a pretty decent bet to win Euro2 008 though, and despite the passing of the Golden Generation of Luis Figo, Rui Costa and co, they still have a very well-rounded squad. It’ll be ironic if I choose Portugal though, as they knocked out England in the last two major tournaments!

The Netherlands

United player : Edwin van der Sar
They say that politics and sports don’t mix. Not so in this case. Due to the recent controversy involving a Dutch director and the Quran, I’m still boycotting all things Dutch.

France

United players : Patrice Evra, Luis Saha. Mikael Silvestre
Evra’s struggling to get a place in the starting 11, while Silvestre and Saha are not even there. A certain no-no for United supporters. Unless that is, we can snag that boy Benzema before the tournament ends (with some of the Ronaldo money, perhaps?).

Serbia

United player: Nemanja Vidic
The Dolph Lundgren look-a-like is fast becoming one of my favourites, but again politics means that I don’t see myself cheering for Serbia.

So that’s it then. Ironic then, that with the recent controversy surrounding the abundance of foreign players in the Premier League, the best club in England and Europe relies heavily on British and Irish players. Take them out, and the squad does look a bit threadbare.

Who to support then? Really hard choice based on the above. All depends on Ronaldo though, which at writing does not look good at all. Compared to previous World Cups and Euros, where I become a “neutral” after the quarterfinal stage, looks like this time round I just have to be a neutral from day one. Bring on August!