Former Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea heroes are among some of the best players never to win an international cap for their country.
Representing your country is meant to be the pinnacle of the game, a reward for years of hard work which has seen players reach the top.
But for some players, that moment never comes – even for those who have won the European Cup.
Mikel Arteta
It speaks volumes about how highly Arteta is regarded that he was immediately added to Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff upon retirement and was chosen ahead of much more experienced candidates to become Arsenal manager in 2019.
It also speaks volumes about the amount of ludicrously talented midfielders Spain have had at their disposal that Arteta was never given a look in.
At least he’s smashing it at the moment in the dugout.
Paolo Di Canio
There were probably two things that didn’t help Di Canio’s Italy prospects: A) the wealth of attacking talent available at the time; B) the, erm, y’know… being a bit of a mad b*stard stuff.
Still, you cannot doubt the forward’s considerable talent.
READ: A celebration of Paolo Di Canio and his second-best West Ham goal
Steve Bruce
Over 400 appearances for Manchester United. Three league titles. Three FA Cups. One Cup Winners’ Cup. One European Super Cup. Three novels. One appearance for England B. Zero caps for England.
Those three novels though…
For #WorldBookDay tomorrow I’ll be dressing as Steve Barnes, the hero of Steve Bruce’s critically acclaimed Striker! novels from the late 90s. pic.twitter.com/ACdKB5L0V8
— Tom Noble (@_Noble) February 28, 2018
John McGovern
Scottish football was certainly much stronger in the 70s and 80s, but it seems inconceivable that a player who captained Nottingham Forest to consecutive European Cup victories failed to appear for his country.
It is all the stranger given McGovern, who was brought up in Hartlepool after moving away from Montrose aged seven, was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Carlo Cudicini
One of several excellent Italian goalkeepers who were unfortunate enough to have to compete with Gianluigi Buffon at international level.
Cudicini was considered one of the best stoppers in the Premier League during his spell as Chelsea’s No.1 in the early-2000s, yet he earned just a solitary call-up – that’s as many times as Joe Lewis was called up to the England squad.
Stefan Klos
Like Italy, Germany are also renowned for the wealth of their…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…