Source: Team_Talk
Bob-a-job worth a look, Fabio
TEAMtalk's Jon Holmes feels Bobby Zamora's Europa League exploits must now merit him an England call-up, while Liverpool deserve credit too.[LNB] Fabio Capello may well have sent his own scout to watch Fulham at the Volkswagen Arena but if not, he could do far worse than put in a call to Hugh Grant on Friday.[LNB]Grant, who has forged a career out of playing bumbling Englishmen on the big screen, was in Lower Saxony on Thursday to watch his beloved Fulham turn in an accomplished display of poise and prowess.[LNB]Wolfsburg midfielder Zvjezdan Misimovic had warned Grant before the match that, "come the final whistle, he won't have much to laugh about." As a self-deprecating riposte, the actor should have offered a DVD of his last movie 'Did You Hear About The Morgans?' and claimed something similar - but the Cottagers delivered the goods instead.[LNB]Bobby Zamora's 20th-second strike, which followed a stylish backheel turn after Zoltan Gera's clever pass, earned him a peck on the cheek from Damien Duff and further acclaim. The travelling fans sang 'Bobby for England' - and even though there is little more than a month before Capello names his provisional party for the World Cup, it is a chant that continues to grow in volume.[LNB]Barring injuries, Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch are certainties for three of the striker spots in the squad, but the fourth berth (and possibly even a fifth) remains up for grabs. The experienced Emile Heskey leads the chase, despite his ankle problems, while Carlton Cole, Darren Bent and Gabriel Agbonlahor - with 15 caps between them, less-than-scintillating international performances and no goals - are also in the frame.[LNB]Bent's 23 goals this season, all but one of which have come in the Premier League, makes him a strong candidate, but Zamora has now netted eight times in Europe whilst chalking up 11 more in domestic competition.[LNB]He is a different kind of striker to Bent - arguably more skilful, as demonstrated by his goal in Germany, less of an out-and-out poacher and more inclined to hold the ball up and invite others to run off him. His persistence almost earned him a second goal against Wolfsburg just before the hour mark, only to be denied by a fine stop from Diego Benaglio, while his 76th-minute pass to put Simon Davies clear one-on-one showed his all-round awareness.[LNB]Zamora splits opinion, even among Fulham fans (he unleashed a four-letter blast at some of his critics after scoring against Sunderland in December). But with none of his England rivals looking anywhere near nailed on for a place on the plane, it's not too late for Capello to size up Bobby in the friendlies against Mexico and Japan before the final squad is named on June 1.[LNB]Still on the subject of Fulham's Europa League showing, Aaron Hughes and Brede Hangeland successfully shackled the much-hyped Edin Dzeko while Danny Murphy's midfield prompting kept Wolfsburg on the back foot. Roy Hodgson has moulded a tidy, disciplined unit and they should not fear semi-final foes Hamburg either. Mladen Petric netted an outstanding bicycle kick in their 3-1 victory at Standard Liege, while Ze Roberto and Ruud van Nistelrooy remain dangerous - but the Bundesliga table suggests they are barely any better than Wolfsburg.[LNB]Onto Liverpool, who at one point on Thursday found themselves in the same situation as that of bitter rivals Manchester United the night before. The Reds had put together a fluent example of their traditional 'pass and move' game - something not often achieved by Rafael Benitez's side in recent months - only to put themselves in jeopardy by allowing Oscar Cardozo's free-kick to sneak in. With the scoreline at 3-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate, Yossi Benayoun made a rather cynical tackle from behind on Nascimento Ramires just outside the box. At first the Israeli feared Bjorn Kuipers was going to give the Portuguese side a penalty and possibly show him a red card - but the Dutch referee awarded only a free-kick and a booking.[LNB]Shortly afterwards, Benfica had to withdraw their goalkeeper after Dirk Kuyt sat on his head (a novel way of gaining an advantage) and Fernando Torres soon inflicted the fatal blow. It was refreshing to see Liverpool's midfield and forward line back in the old routine, with grizzled Greek centre-back Sotirios Kyrgiakos keeping them safe at the back. If Benitez can achieve consistency for the closing weeks, there could yet be an end-of-season celebration on Merseyside. Whether that's good enough for Liverpool depends on your interpretation of success.[LNB]Torres will come up against his old pals Atletico Madrid in the semis. It's remarkable that Los Rojiblancos are even in the last four as they have won just one of their last 12 European games but they are, having clung on to hold Valencia to a stalemate - literally in the case of Juanito on giant Nikola Zigic, the Serb's shirt ripped across his chest in an incident that should have earned the visitors a late penalty at the Vicente Calderon. Atletico's 19-year-old goalkeeper David de Gea was repeatedly called into action in the closing stages and looks a great prospect for the future. He could frustrate Liverpool in the semis but a major fillip for Benitez for the first leg in Spain will be the absence of Sergio Aguero - booked for taking too long to walk off the pitch after being substituted, and subsequently suspended on April 22.
