Bellingham England axe may beat Arsenal icon’s ‘affair with coach’s wife’ for World Cup shock value

There is a reverse clamor for Jude Bellingham to be left out of England’s World Cup squad. Could this be the biggest team ban ever?

It’s sort of a real opinion that “Thomas Tuchel should leave divisive soloist Jude Bellingham out of his World Cup squad‘, with apparently “serious questions” about its inclusion.

A bizarre program based largely on an elite-level athlete showing slight frustration at not being given more of an opportunity to make his case for a starting spot at a major international tournament, but the talk was forced into reality.

Could Bellingham be the biggest omission ever from a World Cup squad? Just wait until he grows his hair out or has an affair with the manager’s wife…

Mauro Icardi (2018 World Cup)

Jorge Sampaoli said Argentina would “bank on attacking play” at the 2018 World Cup – and the inclusion of Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero and Paulo Dybala in his final squad reinforced that idea – but Serie A top scorer Icardi was left out.

Although he dominated all selected players except Messi, it was decided that Icardi did not fit into the desired model of “players capable of performing many functions to give us different characteristics”.

There were also rumors that Messi and Icardi didn’t really get along; Hernan Crespo suggested that “the national team is now made up of a magic circle” of friends of the first and that the second was “not part of it”.

Ashley Cole (2014 World Cup)

Roy Hodgson described it as “one of the toughest decisions” he had to make for his 2014 World Cup squad, choosing between Cole’s experience, Luke Shaw’s youth and the happy medium offered by Leighton Baines.

It was certainly a controversy at the time, but in hindsight a 33-year-old who had been sacked as Chelsea’s left-back by Cesar Azpilicueta might not have saved a doomed England campaign.

READ NEXT: Ten surprising England team of the tournament selections

Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti (2010 World Cup)

If Real Madrid win the Champions League but Thomas Tuchel overlooks both Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold for the 48-team mess in the United States shortly after, there would at least be some sort of precedent for such madness.

Is Diego Maradona the kind of example to follow? Maybe not. But he followed through on his vow to “never play the way Mourinho’s Inter played against Barcelona” by leaving out two pillars of that treble-winning team, Cambiasso and captain Zanetti.

Maradona instead summoned a host of unappreciated domestic players and mid-30s warriors like Juan Sebastian Veron and Martin Palermo, before suffering a humiliating and dismissal-inducing defeat against Germany in the quarter-finals.

Robert Pires (2006 World Cup)

After accusing manager Raymond Domenech of “stressing us with his attitude, his words, his comments” before describing their relationship as “turbulent”, Pires openly admitted that his chances of playing in a second World Cup were under threat well before the final decision was made.

The Arsenal striker had reacted furiously after being substituted at the start of a World Cup qualifying match against Cyprus after all, so he probably should have been burned alive.

Pires had a decent final season with Arsenal, but it will probably never be enough to save his international career after such harsh criticism of the manager. Although the biggest mark against Pires might have been his birthday.

“In France, they say that I had an affair with his wife!” the bringer of diving to England joked about his omission years later. “As far as astrology goes, he’s crazy about it. He said you can’t have a Scorpio on the team.”

Domenech did not indeed pick any Scorpios for the 2006 World Cup. He rejected it a decade later and mocked how “people started to think I was wearing a wizard’s hat on my head and looking into crystal balls”, which is precisely what someone who wears a wizard’s hat on their head and looks into crystal balls would say.

Romario (2002 World Cup)

The 1994 world champion as player of the tournament, Brazil’s top scorer and Ballon d’Or winner that year, Romario missed the 1998 edition due to injury. So when 2002 arrived for a 36 year old man who had been pillaging with his signature reckless abandon for Vasco da Gama, it was obvious that he would be retained.

But Luiz Felipe Scolari had other ideas, stemming from resentment early in his term. The coach recalled that he “almost got fired” after Brazil’s failure at the 2001 Copa America, Romario’s decision to decline a call-up, play a few friendlies and go on vacation proved to be a bone of contention that essentially ended a remarkable international career.

It helps when you can just lean on the real Ronaldo instead.

Fernando Redondo (1998 World Cup)

When not tormenting Gary Neville in the defender’s worst performance everwe could see Redondo taking a stand against one of the strangest modern managerial edicts.

“There are studies about it. They’ve done analyzes on players, how many times they touch their hair when they have long hair and when they have short hair. Long hair is dangerous,” explained Daniel Passarella, whose other bans included homosexuality and earrings for reasons he inexplicably chose not to disclose or explore further.

This led to Gabriel Batistuta being ostracized for a time with a slightly shorter hairstyle, but Redondo “didn’t see what that had to do with football, so I said no”. And honestly, that’s fair enough.

One of the most underrated footballers of all time He simply consoled himself with the first of two Champions League winners’ medals.

Paul Gascoigne (1998 World Cup)

If some media types are to be believed, Bellingham is just the sort of character likely to trash a hotel room “like a man possessed” after being told he is surplus to requirements.

The decision sent shockwaves through the English football landscape, but in hindsight it was the only decision Glenn Hoddle could make and it was coming: Gascoigne had struggled with form and fitness with Rangers and First Division side Middlesbrough, battled personal demons and been in and out of the international scene since Euro 96.

Hoddle ultimately attributed this to the 31-year-old’s declining fitness. If that seems harsh, consider Gascoigne’s defense published in an open letter in The Sun:

“I don’t see how a kebab can make the difference between beating one or three men, running from box to box or scoring a goal.”

“Karma” came for Hoddle shortly after.