Frequent Flyer Miles

By: Matt | October 8th, 2008

So, a week off for internationals eh? The Club over Country type of guy I am hates this time, as they nervously look over their squad and who’s gotten the call up for national duties and hope for no injuries. Perhaps I’ll take my mind off of it by watching Bob-O and the rest of the US National Team take on the fighting Fidel’s at RFK. The US team is basically assured qualification to the next round, so it might not be the most dramatic game. It might be a good idea to see what Bhoys are answering their nations call and to where. Of course, Celtic will be well represented in the Scottish national team, sending five players to Hampden to take on Norway. Gary Caldwell, Scott Brown, Paul Hartley, Barry Robson, and Shaun Maloney all got the call by George Burley. As Rich pointed out in the comments, Stephen McManus will not be playing as he picked up a red card in his last game with the Tartan Army. Perhaps the rest will get Big Mick’s head back in place, as both with the Scottish Team and Celtic his form has been lacking.

While I’ll be hoping for the best for the Bhoys in the Scottish National Team, I am less worried about wear and tear on them as they will be a wee walk away at Hampden. Scott McDonald and Shunsuke Nakamura will have a bit farther to go for their National Team duties. Scott McDonald will first make the long flight to Australia to meet up with his teammates and then a quick pond hopper to Qatar for the Soccer Roo’s match there. With the trip back to Glasgow, that is an estimated 21,000 miles…with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink injured…oy vey.

Naka will have a seemingly smaller distance to go, only travelling about 13,000 miles for his two matches with the Japanese National Team. Naka expects to be fine for next Sunday’s match against Inverness CT, saying “I expect to be available for Inverness. There is no reason why I should miss it. There is no reason for anyone to be concerned that I won’t be back for it. It is an honour to play for your country and an honour to play with Celtic.” While I know that Naka loves playing for both his country and Celtic, the effects of two games and that amount of travel will take a toll on anyone. All this during a year when Naka is playing well.

Which brings me to my question for you, Joe CelticOffsideReader. Club or country? Going further, should National Team coaches keep players club commitments in mind? I am not saying that the Japanese Coach should not use Naka, but say Japan is up 2-0 in the second of their two games this week. I would think that giving Naka and other travel weary players a break and getting some youngsters in there might not be the worst thing. What are your thoughts?