No Chance of Winning
Wednesday, 24 October 07, 10:06 AM · Comments(10)
Keep getting emails about a chance to win some expenses paid trip to Japan. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Impossible odds for a rank outside blogger from Manchester, with no network, no mates, and no readers.
It's a ridiculous trophy anyway. You've got some great teams there like AC Milan, Boca Juniors, Waitakere United from New Zealand, and Pachuca from Mexico. Errr, it gets better. But it's just a trophy for corporate types, FIFA reps on jolly outings, and a few fans starved of soccer. I doubt it will even get TV coverage in the UK, though it does qualify for daytime fill-in slot.
Would I go if I won. Yes, the bags would be packed immediately and I promise to be a Terminal 1 a full two hours before departure.
The point is that global soccer like this is meaningless.
a) Fans really want their local clashes. Wolves v. Baggies, Spurs v. Arsenal, Celtic v. Rangers, Genoa v. Sampdoria...etc, etc.
b) As a Manchester United fan would I really want a regular diet of Moscow, Milan, and Madrid instead of City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Sunderland....no.
c) Football clashes are more than hype it has to have history. It's going take a long time before this competition has a history.
d) It's a bit like the European Super-Cup. Whilst that is an extra game, on a Friday night in Monaco, this is a whole series of kick abouts on the other side of the world.
e) Fans don't want extra games. More isn't more.
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Well, European teams have also been using the "don't really care thing" as an excuse. Barcelona cared enough last year to play a full strength team, and have some of their players putting gruesome
tackles in on young Pato, but they lost. It's an easy excuse the "we don't care, it's a meaningless trophy". Not to say it's the Champions League, or even UEFA Cup, but still.
Well i remember the games in Brazil were played in near empty stadiums - admittedly very big stadiums - apart from the local sides Corinthians and Vasco da Gama. It's about as competitive as those
old Harlem Globetrotter exhibition matches, a display of skills yes but no edge. There are those who like to watch the big stars in an arranged fixture like some birthday treat. But it will never
compare with supporting your own team through good times and bad, and the good is beating your rivals.
Of course they do odf, but it's been a while since I saw Ronaldinho trot out on to the pitch for Shimizu S-Pulse. The CWC practically put Sydney FC on the map in Australia. Of course I appreciate
that many European teams are not exactly thrilled by the prospect of the tournament (although as SM said, many European teams start trotting out the excuses early) but my point is simply that
football isn't always only about a European perspective.
Well, SM, Barcelona didn't make excuses for their loss to Internacional, last year. We lost, so we move on. We don't make excuses for losing games.
On the other hand, I think that FIFA has the right idea. They made a trophy for 1 club (the winner of every continent) from each region to play for. A World Cup for the clubs. But, FIFA just have not
organized it correctly. Why does the European and South American champions go straight to the semi-final? I don't understood why that is and if someone knows, then can you please tell me? It's
probably because the European and South American winners would crush the smaller teams from Oceania, Africa, North America, etc. That's a very stupid way to conduct a tournament. But, to me, any
trophy can be meaningless, when you do not organize it and have it planned out, instead of just making the clubs play each other. There's no format for it.
Yeah, like Manchester United "crushed" South Melbourne 2-0 back in 2000. :P
10 Comments · Add yours
That kind of attitude smacks of the Euro-centric attitude that haunts modern football. No where does your post make mention of the Japanese fans (or previously the Brazilian fans, when it was held in
Brazil) who benefit from seeing these sides play competitive fixtures. Not to mention the fact that for clubs like Waitakere United and Pachuca this is no doubt a very serious tournament. You might
live in Manchester (and therefore have access to so-called top quality football on a regular basis)... but not everyone who follows the world game does.
I see the trophy as meaningless, European teams generally don't care really, and as for watching top quality football, Mike - eh, Brazil and Japan have professional leagues and nationals teams. It
seems to me that the South Americans are the only ones who care who wins.