Snubbed

Raul, Trezeguet and a slew of other top stars will be watching Euro 2008 from home

Out with the old, in with the new.

A solid resume doesn’t always get you the job. Just ask Raul Gonzalez or David Trezeguet, two of the bigger names that were left off their respective teams for this year’s European Championship.

They can’t blame their club performance either, as both finished in fine form. Raul scored 23 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid this year, while Trezeguet was no slouch either, tallying 20 goals for Juventus.

But disputes with their national team coaches have prevented them from making the trip to Austria and Switzerland this summer.

Raul is Spain's all-time leading scorer, but he wasn't called up for duty at Euro 2008. (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Raul, who will turn 31 at the end of June, is considered one of the greatest Spanish players ever. He is Spain's all-time leading scorer with 44 goals, and he has more appearances for his country (102) than any other outfield player.

Trezeguet has been an integral part of France’s recent success, helping them win at Euro 2000 and the 1998 World Cup. Scoring on the international level hasn’t been a problem for him either, as he has notched 34 goals in only 70 appearances.

But, perhaps the writing was on the wall for both of them. Raul hasn’t played for Spain since September 2006 when the team lost 3-2 to Northern Ireland in a Euro qualifier.

Spanish coach Luis Aragones has publicly said he doesn't believe in Raul any more, citing his lack of production at previous international tournaments, and that he prefers to pin Spain's hopes on younger players, most notably Fernando Torres.

As for Trezeguet, he was left off the team for two Euro qualifiers in October 2007. Frustrated, he even threatened to quit the national team at the time. He thought he was back on track when he was called up for a friendly game against England at the end of March. But, with plenty of young strikers at his disposal, French coach Raymond Domenech considered the Juventus star a surplus.

Raul and Trezeguet are not the only familiar names that will be missing at Euro 2008.

Trezeguet’s fellow countryman, Djibril Cisse, made France's initial 39-man squad, but was cut after failing to impress at training camp and a pre-tournament friendly.

After playing a key role at the last Euro and World Cup, Maniche found himself out of a spot on the Portuguese team. Over the last four years, he has played at four different clubs, Dynamo Moscow, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, and now Inter Milan, and has been unable to establish himself at either one. Ironically, his brother Jorge Ribeiro was one of the surprise inclusions of the Portuguese team.

Others were left out because of their age.

Although part of the Italian team while qualifying, AC Milan’s Filippo Inzaghi, 35, was left off the team, despite finishing the season in a fury with 10 goals in his final seven Serie A matches.

Turkish and Galatasaray striker Hakan Sukur, 37, did not make the cut either. The face of Turkish soccer for many years, he is also their all-time leading scorer with 51.

Pavel Nedved, 35, the Juventus and Czech Republic star, hasn’t played for his country since the last World Cup and even the persistence of his coach couldn’t get him out of retirement. AC Milan’s Clarence Seedorf, 32, removed himself from the Dutch team after he determined he couldn’t work for coach Marco van Basten. Seedorf, says he hopes he will put on the orange shirt again.

Not everyone will be so lucky. Being left off the team will mark the end of some of these players’ international careers, while others will hold onto their resume in hopes of being able to represent their country again.