Dubai: Spain and Real Madrid star Michel Salgado has called upon football authorities in England to have a change of heart and save the sport for future generations.
Now based in Dubai, Salgado was one of the high-profile visitors on the second day of the Dubai Padel Masters being held at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex on Monday night. The Spanish star, who turned 40 last week, spent three seasons with the Blackburn Rovers at the end of his career. However, a bulk of his football career was spent in his native Spain where he made 343 appearances with Los Blancos and more than 50 caps with the national team, including a World Cup and European Championship.
“Don’t get me wrong when I say that England does not have a proper football structure, especially at the grassroots level. They tend to copy the successful football nations. If Spain win, then they want to do exactly what they are doing in Spain. And if Germany wins then they want to play the German way. I believe England has to apply their mind and think of an ‘English way’ of developing their own players for the future,” Salgado suggested.
“At the moment there is no vision and clear thinking in what they are doing. The Uefa Champions League is a good indicator of how things are moving. There are more than 50 players from Spain who are involved in the league, whereas there are a mere 16 players from England who are playing in the Champions League this year. How can you expect these players at the highest level if they are not given the exposure in the first place?” he asked.
England, who last failed to qualify for the 2008 tournament, has already made the grade from Group E with a maximum 30 points after ten games for next year’s Euro Championships to be staged in France.
“I love England and what they have done for football. But I am certainly not a fan of what they are trying to achieve at the moment. I was privileged to play in England at the end of my career and they treated me so well. They are bringing in the best players in the English Premier League from across the world. But where are their own home-grown players?” he queried.
“They need to find a style and a way they can trust and try out to find their own set of football stars,” Salgado said.
Salgado also espoused the cause of padel in the UAE. “When I was in Real Madrid, we used to play padel regularly either with Raul or Casillas. But we made it a point not to play for too long as padel can be tough on your back. It was always less than an hour that we spent on the padel court and that was a good work out,” Salgado said.
“Even now, I play padel whenever I have the chance. I think padel is a good community sport. There is no age limit for padel like as in football or basketball. A grandfather can go and defeat his grandson in padel,” he added.
