Why Certain Stars Will Miss the World Cup

The World Cup soccer finals are the stage every player dreams of playing in.

The captain of the Korean national team, Park Ji-sung, said, “I’m thrilled to hear our national anthem before a match.”

Other stars such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Sweden and Tomas Rosicky of the Czech Republic cannot join the tournament because their respective teams failed to qualify. Others will not play in the spectacle for other reasons despite their countries qualifying for South Africa.

First, certain players got injured before the World Cup. Before David Beckham of England got injured last week, defender Ashley Cole suffered an ankle injury last month.

Striker Michael Owen also could not report for England because of an injured hamstring. The hope is that Wayne Rooney, who cried because of an injury before the 2006 World Cup, will be in his best condition for this year’s event.

Other players have been excluded from their national teams because of conflicts with their coaches.

Juan Roman Riquelme of Argentina, despite a ton of support from his country’s media and fans, has a difficult relationship with national team coach Diego Maradona.

David Trezeguet of France, the goat of the 2006 World Cup for missing in the final’s penalty shootout, publicly blasted his national team coach Raymond Domenech after retiring from international play in July 2008. “The most annoying thing is that coach Domenech continues to lead the French team,” Trezeguet said.

niceshin@donga.com