Roberto Mancini has gone on the attack this week over the fact that his captain Vincent Kompany played for Belgium having missed the last eight weeks for Manchester City.
Mancini first criticised Belgium manager Marc Wilmots for playing Kompany. BBC Sport quoted Mancini saying, “I think sometimes some managers of national teams should understand the situation.” The Italian believed that Kompany should not have been chosen and also blamed the defender himself for playing in the game. According to Sky Sports he said “I think the player should understand that the club is more important.” Mancini though has no right to be so upset with either Marc Wilmots or Vincent Kompany.
If Mancini did not wish for Kompany to participate in the game, surely he should not have joined the squad. Once with the squad, Marc Wilmots can pick from all the players he has at his disposal. It is worth remembering that the Belgium game was not a friendly, it was a World Cup qualifier in a group where Belgium are in a tight battle with Croatia for automatic qualification. Wilmots job is to win football matches for Belgium. He has no need to concern himself with what club managers want and has every right to choose Vincent Kompany to help them win the game.
Similarly Mancini must be careful when criticising Kompany. Again, once he had joined up with the squad, the Belgian had every right to feel he was available for selection for his national team. Also, having not played for 60 days, a run out against a fairly weak opposition in Macedonia could be good match practice for Kompany, actually benefitting Manchester City.
We saw with Rio Ferdinands withdrawal from the England squad, a manager and player who did not feel they were fit enough to play for the national team, removing him from the squad and taking the issue away for the national manager. Once Mancini has allowed Kompany to join the squad, he can have no objections when Marc Wilmots chooses to use him.
On a wider view, this is the latest in an increasing line on instances this season where Mancini has criticised his own players. On a number of occasions he has picked Joe Hart out for criticism this season as well as the likes of Samir Nasri, Sergio Aguero and now Vincent Kompany. It’s an abrasive strategy criticising your own players, something which you will rarely find Sir Alex Ferguson doing. Perhaps it’s a sign of the frustration Mancini has felt at his sides failings this season, but he must be careful to keep his players on side, or else they may be tempted to look elsewhere when the transfer window opens again.
