Why Balotelli and Robben fail to join Cantona’s company

Those are the players you love to hate and hate to love, though you just cannot stop yourself doing so.

They are the ones who play the game to their own tempo and have total belief in their talent alone.

The ones who treat opponents and team-mates with equal disdain and carry an air of ‘why am I on the same pitch as them?’

Criteria for inclusion is strict and at least a couple of candidates at Euro 2012 have fallen into the precipice rather than scaled the heights which would be demanded by the ‘Arrogant XI’ squad’s spiritual leader, Frenchman Eric Cantona.

Italy’s Marco Balotelli and Holland’s Arjen Robben have failed to hit the summit – Balotelli for still having the air of a ‘little boy lost’ about him and the Dutchman for his reaction to being substituted in their second group game.

Robben exited the pitch on the far side, removed his shirt as he trudged his way behind the goal and then plonked down outside the dugout for the remainder of the defeat against Germany.

An ‘Arrogant XI’ player would simply have registered his number going up on the board by looking across with an expression to suggest ‘the coach is a fool’, and would have walked to the touchline and barely acknowledged his replacement before sitting down inside the dugout without a word to anyone.

No England player has come close to commanding a place in the ‘Arrogant XI’ – Paul Gascoigne may have been on the fringes but membership would be denied to anyone who has been branded as ‘daft as a brush’.

This time, however, Cantona will have been delighted by the haughty presence of at least a couple of players.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic leads the way – his awesome talent only being matched by a body language which seemed to suggest he was playing alongside turnips rather than Swedes.

Then, of course, there is that pouting presence which is Ronaldo – you know he is that good just by the fact that only use of the surname is required in Cristiano’s case – who never seems to appreciate why his Portuguese team-mates simply are not switched on to the same electrifying impulses which make him a world talent.

Another possible ‘Arrogant XI’ player knocking on the door is Germany’s Manuel Neuer but the jury remains out until the knockout stages are complete and, in any case, would he ever replace countryman Oliver Kahn in goal?