Ambitious Foster faces World Cup dilemma
Ben Foster admits he might have to sacrifice his dream of becoming
Manchester United's first choice goalkeeper if he wants to play for
England at the World Cup.
Foster is widely regarded as the best of England's young keepers and
won the man of the match award for a fine display in United's League Cup
final victory over Tottenham earlier this season.
But injuries and the superb form of Edwin van der Sar have restricted
the 25-year-old to just one league appearance and a handful of cup
starts for United since signing from Stoke in 2005. Foster's only
regular first-team action has come during two loan spells at Watford,
where his talent shone through enough to earn an England cap against
Spain two years ago.
He hopes to make a second international appearance in Saturday's
friendly against Slovakia at Wembley but knows it will be back to the
substitutes bench for the rest of the season when he returns to Old
Trafford.
And with the World Cup just over a year away, Foster is well aware he
needs to find regular football quickly if he is to play any part in
Fabio Capello's plans for South Africa.
"It's a bit of a fine line for me. I want to be at Manchester United
for as long as I can but then I do want to be playing as well," Foster
said.
"You can't expect to go to the biggest competition in the world not
playing regular football.
"It's a balancing act. I've got no desire to move away from United. I
love the team and all the lads.
"But I've got ambitions with my career. I want to do stuff. I'm not
happy just to sit around being a number two keeper.
"There's the World Cup coming up next year. There's a lot of English
players who want to be picked and involved in that."
After a record-breaking run with United that saw him set a British
record for minutes without conceding a goal, van der Sar is clearly keen
to carry on playing for at least another season.
As a result, Foster is likely to be given only occasional moments in
the spotlight. For such an ambitious young player that is an
unacceptable state of affairs.
WATFORD, England,
March 26, 2009 (AFP) |
