FIFA World Cup 2010: The Stars Who'd Be Cheering from Home This Year

There has rarely been a World Cup when managers have not been criticized or scrutinized for squad selection by fans and follower alike. This year was no different.In fact, it would not be termed as exaggeration if one were to say that this edition will have more deserving players missing out than any past World Cup . Here are a few major omissions with Argentina coach Diego Maradona grabbing the headlines along with his Italian and French counterparts Marcelo Lippi and Raymond Domenech.

Javier Zanetti : A mammoth 136 caps for Argentina , Nation's captain before Diego Maradona took over, A rock solid season for Inter winning a Treble including The Champions League on his record 700th appearance for the club. Not Enough?

His performances along with fellow Argentinians Diego Milito and Esteban Cambiasso were nothing short of instrumental and played a pivotal part in Inter's road to glory this season. "Il Trattore" has enough on his resume to be in any country's final 23 but somehow Diego Maradona seems to think otherwise.

Esteban Cambiasso : I long to know what Esteban Cambiasso did to offend Diego Maradona to an extent that he didn't include him even in his provisional list of 30 . Was it the decisive spot kick he missed against Germany which in the 2006 Quarter Final leading to Argentina's defeat? But then he scored arguably one of the most memorable goals in a World Cup capping of a brilliant passing display involving 24 passes. On a more serious note Cambiasso couldn't have played any better all season. A wall in Inter's midfield , he would be any manager's delight. Pairing up with captain Javier Mascheranho he could very well have formed one of the most formidable Midlfield lineups of the tournament.

Juan Roman Riquelme : Its sad to imagine a World Cup without the Argentine playmaker who has been awarded the title of The Most Artistic player by a popular Spanish newspaper during his playing time at Villarreal. He reportedly made himself unavailable for National Selection for any game after Maradona's arrival due to Maradona's alleged criticism of his game. Riquelme, who is know to be highly sensitive about criticism had quit for the first time after the 2006 World Cup.

Samir Nasri : Raymond Domenech has seemed to attract more criticism than applauds for his work with Les Bleus. Inclusion the unstable Abou Diaby instead of fellow Arsenal talisman Nasri is clear example that managers are looking for a physical game rather than skill. Samir Nasri has scored some magnificent goals for Arsenal this season and helped create even more with some magical display of his abilities.

Karim Benzema : If Real Madrid pay 35 Million Euros for a player , he HAS to be special. Making his France debut at the age of just 20 he scored on his debut. The only reason for his exclusion could be his not-so-impressive first season with Real Madrid most of which could be attributed to the fact that he was seated on the bench.
Despite all that, Benzema is proven Talent and the spice that France need in their attack.

Benni McCarthy : South Africa's record goal scorer with more than 30 goals to his name was left out by coach Carlos Alberto Parreira much to the shock of home fans. The reason reason for his exclusion was not being in good shape as compared to other players fighting for a spot. Still, regarded by many as the greatest ever striker to play for the Bafana Bafana , his experience could only have done his country good.

Marcos Senna : Spain have the best Midfielders in the world in Xavi , Iniesta , Fabregas and Xabi Alonso. The only reason i did not name Marcos Senna amongst them is only because Coach Vicente Del Bosque didn't think he was good enough to be there. Personally , I reckon him as solid player who can turn the course of a game on his own. His remarkable perfoemances in Spain's succes in Euro 2008 are no secret to anyone.He was even regarded as the player of the tournament by many. At 33, this would have been his last world cup but the likes of Sergio Busquets and Javi Martinez, who recently earned hs first cap against South Korea ,surely have many more to follow.

Fabio Grosso : Marcelo Lippi , Diego Maradona and Raymond Domenech . They all have one thing in common.
They have made bold and shocking decisions while making their list of final 23 players inviting criticism from all over the world. Fabio Grosso's antics in Germany 2006 are still etched in the minds of Italian fans. From winning the decisive penalty against Australia in stoppage time , to scoring the winner against Germany in Extra Time and finally to scoring the decisive spot kick in the Penalty Shoot out in the Final against France. Grosso had a fairy tail of a World Cup. He was used throughout Italy's qualifying campaign for South Africa 2010 featuring heavily with some good performances. But was controversially left out of the final squad. Using a player throughout qualifying and NOT selecting him for the main showdown is simply beyond my level of understanding.

Fabzrizio Miccoli: What exactly has Marco Boriello done that Fabrizio Miccoli hasn't ? If we are talking about missing clear cut chances , losing footing in goal scoring situations and doing everything else than actually managing to SCORE , then yes Boriello deserves his place. Miccoli on the other hand has had a spectacular season with Plaermo inspiring them to finish 5th in the Serie A scoring an impressive 19 goals. The same can be said about Palermo's Antonio Cassano who also had a good season with Sampdoria helping them finish in the top 4. Bases on club performances Miccoli and Cassano deserve to be in the Azzure Blue of Italy at the tournament much more than Boriello who had a lackluster season with Milan.

Theo Walcott : Shockingly included in England's squad for the last World Cup at at just 17 years of age, he is a player with sublime talent . However he was not to be that lucky this year as he faced strong competition from Tottenham's Aaron Lennon who has virtually made the number 7 jersey his own. A worthy successor to Beckham Lennonby probably had one of the best seasons with Spurs this year guiding them to Champion's League Football. Walcott was overlooked in favor of Manchester City's Shaun Wright-Phillips in what could have been a 50-50 decision Fabio Capello chose to go with the much more experienced Wright-Phillips who had quite a satisfying season at the Eastlands.

Ronaldinho : One of the most gifted footballers on the planet possessing the ability to do with the ball what no one on the entire planet can .It's a TREAT to watch the Brazilian play at the peak of his game. Many around the world wrote him off when Barcelona sold him to AC Milan for a sum of around £15 million. His performances for Barcelona had dipped drastically causing various pundits to make claims that he is aging.

Proving all critics wrong, he came back this season, stronger than ever , bringing in various commanding performances for Milan in their midfield. Ronaldinho's skill and flair will surely be missed in South Africa.