Call them the Lazarus Squad: Didier Drogba, Andrea Pirlo, Julio Cesar, Jozy Altidore, Arjen Robben -- all of whom suffered injuries that were expected to keep them out of their respective World Cup 2010 Starting Eleven for at least a couple of games, if not the whole tournament.And now, it looks like they're all playing [where is my sarcasm font?]
Can David Beckham be far behind? Prolly not since Posh is not into winter, and after all, South African nights might be cold this time of year.
So was it gamesmanship, medicinal miracles or just good fortune that all of these stars were listed as questionable for the World Cup, only to turn it around. Broken bones be damned, eh Didier?
There's nothing more specious in professional sports than stories about injuries, especially to prominent players. There's no way to legislate it, though the NFL tries with its injury lists, but hardly ever succeeds (Tom Brady was listed with a sore shoulder for I think three seasons, so what's the point at that point?).
Perhaps the problem is that we're all so gullible in believing what comes out of these respective teams as gospel. Was there any real doubt we wouldn't see Altidore against England tomorrow? Or Drogba line up against Portugal later this week? Julio Cesar with a bad back! Psshaw. Show me a bad back, and I'll show you a liar or a slacker. You pick.
Italy's players say they don't know who will be on Marcello Lippi's Starting Eleven. Lippi hasn't stuck to a consistent formation, though he is sticking to his story that Pirlo will miss at least the group stage.
Let's just set some ground rules for the rest of the tournament: If we don't see blood, ambulances or an Eduardo-style gruesome broken-bone type injury, spare me the stories and BS about boo-boos. I'll be right here watching the games, and watching Julio Cesar, Drogba, Rooney, Pirlo et al.
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