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Representing the National team at the biggest football stages is the dream of every professional footballer. However, to do so the player needs to have a good working relationship with the manager as well as the board to get selected for the international games. In some cases these relationships turn sour and the players are eventually dropped or they quit the national team due to varied reasons.Take the case of John Terry who is still among the best English defenders in the game. Terry was involved in a racial abuse incident with Anton Ferdinand and subsequently the English FA decided to ban Terry for four games, even though the court found Terry not guilty. This didn’t go down well with the Chelsea captain and he decided to draw curtains on his international career.At least in Terry’s case we can argue that he decided to leave on his own terms with his head held up high. But, there are many other footballers who have been dropped during the peak of their careers by their national team coaches or their football federations because of a fall out between the two.
#1 Samir Nasri - France
Samir Nasri has often been a centre of controversy throughout his career. His infamous move from Arsenal to Manchester City and the drama that unfolded needs no telling. His international career was also not that different.
During his early days with the French senior side he was rumoured to have fallen out with teammate William Gallas, but Nasri has played down the issue. After the team’s exit from the 2012 Euro, the Manchester City man was involved in an exchange of words with a reporter who asked his views on the game. The French Football Federation banned Nasri for three games following the incident.
Nasri was one of the key players in the City squad that lifted the Premier League in 2014, but two days later he was not named in the French squad that was due to travel to Brazil for the FIFA World Cup. France manager Didier Deschamps was of the opinion that Nasri’s off-field attitude would impede the squad.
Deschamps told French TV channel TF1: “Samir is an important player for Manchester City, but he has not performed that well with France. He is a starter at City, which is not the case with France and he has made clear that he is not happy when he is not (a starter), and I can tell you it can be felt in the squad.”
After the FIFA World Cup concluded, Nasri confirmed that he won’t play for France again under Deschamps.
#2 Carlos Tevez - Argentina
Carlos Tevez has represented Argentina in several international tournaments including two FIFA World Cups, but he was dropped from the squad under the managerial tenure of Alejandro Sabella. His last involvement with the national team before he was dropped was in the quarter final of the 2011 Copa America against eventual champions Uruguay. Tevez was the only player to miss a penalty from either side in the shootout as Argentina were eliminated.
Tevez had his infamous fallout with Roberto Mancini at Manchester City months after Sabella was appointed as Argentina manager and Tevez’s lack of playing time didn’t do him any favours when it came to a call up for the Argentina squad. Even after he returned to the City squad and helped them to a title win, Sabella continued to ignore the former Manchester United striker. The situation reached its peak in 2014 when Tevez was ignored for the World Cup squad in favour of Gonzalo Higuain, Ezequiel Lavezzi and even Rodrigo Palacio.
Tevez’s omission from the World Cup squad is considered by many as a bad decision as Argentina struggled with injuries to Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria as well as the poor form of both Higuain and Palacio.
Sabella resigned as the national team coach following the World Cup and, when he was in charge, Tevez didn’t get called up the squad for over three years. However, new manager Gerardo Martino recalled Tevez to the squad and even included him in the squad for the 2015 Copa America.
Although the dust has settled, to this day nobody except Sabella knows the reasons behind Tevez’s three-year exile from the Argentine squad.
#3 Ruud van Nistelrooy - Netherlands
Ruud van Nistelrooy is one of the best strikers of the 21st century and his performance for both club and country proves the same. He was part of the Dutch squad that travelled to Germany for the FIFA World Cup in 2006 and the team was managed by another famous Dutch striker – Marco van Basten.
The former Manchester United striker started and was substituted in all of Netherland’s group stage matches, and scored a goal against Ivory Coast. Van Basten decided to drop Nistelrooy to the bench without any explanation for the second round match against Portugal and they were eliminated in the same game.
Following the World Cup, Van Basten excluded Nistelrooy from the squad for some games. But, after Klaas-Jan Huntelaar became unavailable for Euro 2008 qualifying games due to injury, Van Basten named Nistelrooy as the replacement, but the latter refused to take his place in the squad.
In January 2007, Nistelrooy retired from International football due to his disputes with Van Basten. However, after the reported intervention of Edwin van der Sar, Van Nistelrooy and Van Basten put aside their differences and Nistelrooy marked his return to the squad with a goal against Bulgaria and the winner against Albania in injury time.
Nistelrooy represented Netherlands for the last time in Euro 2008 and retired after the tournament ended. However, he claimed that he was still not friends with Van Basten.
#4 Samuel Eto\'o - Cameroon
Four-time winner of the African Player of the Year award, first player to win two European trebles and one of the greatest strikers of all time – superlatives are not enough to describe Samuel Eto’o. Eto’o is his country’s leading goalscorer with 56 goals and has represented Cameroon in four World Cups and six African Cup of Nations. He was also part of the team that was crowned African Champions in 2000 and 2002.
Despite his success with Cameroon, his relationship with the board deteriorated over the years. In December 2011, Eto’o was suspended for 15 games by the Federation Camerounaise de Football after the team refused to play a friendly in Algeria. The ban was later reduced to eight months, meaning that Eto’o would miss only four games and it was reduced only because of an intervention from Cameroon’s President Paul Biya.
In 2012, Eto’o refused to play in Cameroon’s African Cup of Nations playoff game because of the poorly organized national team setup, but returned for the return leg upon the request of the nation’s Prime Minister.
Eto’o had an up and down relationship with the nation’s football board up until he retired from international football after the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
#5 Stefan Kiessling - Germany
It is no secret that Germany are short of traditional number 9s and the Germans travelled to Brazil for the World Cup with just one specialist striker in the squad – Miroslav Klose. If Joachim Low wanted another striker he had a good option in Stefan Kießling, but Low decided to ignore the Leverkusen man due to an evident animosity between the player and the coach.
The relationship between Low and Kießling was not always this bad. In fact, Kießling was one of the 23 players picked by Low for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and he made two substitute appearances during the tournament. The first was in the 83rd minute in a win over England and the second in the third-place game against Uruguay.
Kießling was frustrated with Low and came out with an emotional outburst: “I’ll declare it once more: There won’t be any more international games for me under Low.
“For three years, there has been no contact, no talk about the reasons why I’m not good enough for the national team. I want to finish this topic once and for all.”
There was a clear division among German fans on the matter as Low even ignored Kießling in favour of Max Kruse for a World Cup qualifying game in the absence of both Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose.
Talks involving Kießling and Low were conducted to clear the air, but Kießling hasn’t represented Germany since 2010. There was immense public pressure on Low to pick Kießling for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but thankfully for Low, Germany were crowned World Champions.
#6 Mido - Egypt
Mido is one of the best players to have come from Egypt and he went on to have a decent career with European clubs such as Gent, Ajax, Celta Vigo, Marseille, Roma, Tottenham Hotspur, Middlesbrough and West Ham. The Egyptian was one of the stars of the team that won the African Cup of Nations in 2006, but on a personal level the tournament didn’t go well for him. Mido had many fall outs with the national team, the most famous of which occurred during the tournament.
During the semi-final game against Senegal, Coach Hassan Shehata took Mido off for Amr Zaki with just 10 minutes to go. Mido reacted harshly to the substitution and had a very heated touchline confrontation with the manager. Eventually, his teammates had to drag him away from the scene.
Unfortunately for Mido and fortunately for Egypt, the decision to take Mido off proved to be a brilliant one as his replacement Zaki came on to score a header with his first touch and took Egypt to the final, which they eventually won.
Mido patched things up with Shehata a day after the incident, but he was given a six-month suspension for his behaviour. He did play for Egypt again, but missed the final of the African Cup of Nations in 2006.
#7 Roy Keane - Republic of Ireland
Roy Keane was a controversial figure on and off the field during the course of his career and his behaviour has often been a matter of debate. One such incident occurred prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Keane was clearly not happy with the training facilities that were provided for the team for the World Cup and he even compared the training pitch to a ‘car park’. He was also involved in a row with the goalkeeping staff. The very next day he announced that he was quitting the national team. Colin Healy arrived as his replacement, but Keane stayed on upon the request of the manager Mick McCarthy.
The tension eased off for a while, but Keane gave an explosive interview in which he highlighted his unhappiness with the arrangements made. McCarthy confronted Keane in front of the whole squad and coaching staff, but Keane reacted angrily and unleashed a verbal rant on McCarthy.
Keane clearly crossed the line when he told McCarthy: “I didn't rate you as a player, I don't rate you as a manager, and I don't rate you as a person.” This was followed by several abusive words towards the manager.
The midfielder was sent home for his rant, but Healy couldn’t replace Keane in the roster for the World Cup as the deadline for announcing the final squad had passed. The former Manchester United man was only reinstated to the squad after McCarthy resigned as the team manager.
#8 Neven Subotic - Serbia
Neven Subotic’s international career was in the spotlight for various reasons. He was eligible to represent the United States because he was a naturalized citizen and he even represented them at the junior levels. However, a fallout with one of the US junior team coaches prompted him to represent Serbia – his native country.
The big Serb was making a name for himself in the Bundesliga and made his international debut in 2009 and he was one of the regulars in the Dortmund side that won two Bundesliga titles and reached the final of the Champions League in 2013.
In May 2012, Sinisa Mihajlovic was appointed as Serbia’s manager and he picked Subotic for some preparation friendlies ahead of the World Cup qualifying games. However, once the qualifying games began, Subotic was benched as Mihajilovic preferred Bisevac and 19-year-old Nastasic as his central defenders.
The decision to bench Subotic after several poor results continued and it was baffling considering the Serb’s form for his club. He played his last game for Serbia in September 2013 in a 1-1 draw against Croatia.
When Dick Advocaat announced his team for the Euro 2016 qualifying games against Armenia and Albania, he also announced Subotic’s national career is probably over. Advocaat explained that he felt like Subotic didn’t want to play for Serbia.
Subotic clearly didn’t like the way Mihajilovic used him and Serbia’s poor display in the World Cup qualifying phase didn’t help either. In May 2015, he was requested to return to the Serbian team, but Subotic turned down the request.
#9 Paul Gascoigne - England
Paul Gascoigne, popularly known as ‘Gazza’, is considered by many as the most naturally gifted English midfielders of his generation. However, his career didn’t reach the peak his talent warranted.
Gazza is best remembered in an England kit for crying in a semi-final defeat to Germany during the 1990 FIFA World Cup, but he ruined the sympathy he gained from the British Media with his actions prior to the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
The Englishman helped England qualify for the FIFA World Cup even though it went down to the last group stage game against Italy. However, weeks before the final squad was to be announced, Gascoigne was pictured eating kebabs late in the night with his DJ friend Chris Evans.
Glenn Hoddle who was the then England manager decided that Gascoigne’s antics were too much for the England squad and omitted him from the final squad. Gazza initially broke down upon receiving the news and then trashed the England manager’s room. Hoddle feared that Gazza would attack him, but Gazza was comforted by a few teammates.
However, Gascoigne never played for England again.
#10 Nicolas Anelka - France
Former Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka was part of the French squad that won the 2000 Euro and he would later go on to represent France in several other competitions. But he had to wait till 2010 to get a chance to play in a FIFA World Cup. And the wait was not worth it.
During half-time of France’s World Cup group stage game against Mexico, which they would eventually lose, Anelka swore at his manager Raymond Domenech. Anelka was sent home following the incident and he refused to apologize even after he was asked to by the French Football president.
“I insulted a coach who the whole of France had already insulted, a coach who had never won anything apart from Ligue 2 and the Toulon tournament!” Anelka explained. “He didn't know victory. I respect the man because I think he's a good person, but I have no respect for the coach because he is not up to scratch.”
Things took a turn for the worst when the entire French team refused to train following Anelka’s expulsion and they even argued with the training staff in a session viewed by the public.
France exited the World Cup in the group stages, Domenech was dismissed from his post and the team director resigned. As for Anelka, he was slapped with an 18-game suspension from international football for his actions. Anelka claimed that the ban was laughable as he had already decided to retire from international football.
