European Football Crisis: Quality or Opportunity?
Hello! It's May 28th, and in today's newsletter: Does European soccer have a competitive balance crisis? Panini and the 'Sticker Warz'.
The graphic above, brilliantly compiled and produced by Paladar Negro is a strong visual reminder that just because Bayern didn’t win the Bundesliga this year, doesn’t mean the crisis of competitiveness in European football has been solved.
We have reached the stage where Manchester United winning the FA Cup is now considered an ‘upset’ in English football and where Bulgarians must dream of a Scottish style duopoly. (Hello Ludogorets, whose 13th straight year of title wins is the longest streak in Europe).
This is one area in which Major League Soccer can rightly be proud - since LA Galaxy’s spell of relative domination ended a decade ago - Portland (2), Seattle (2), Toronto, Atlanta, Columbus (2) and LAFC have won the title. Of the ten originals who created MLS in 1996, seven of them have gone on to win titles. (Source)
But the stats can’t really explain the feeling you have at the start of an MLS season when, thanks to the relative parity caused by the roster rules and the randomizing effect of playoffs, you could argue that around a third of the league has a chance of winning the title. That’s simply unimaginable in the vast majority of leagues in Europe.
Sure, MLS’s restrictive rules mean it’s hard to build a ‘super club’. Inter Miami with Messi and Friends are pushing the finances to the limit and may succeed in showing you can ‘buy’ the league even in the American model. But ultimately it comes down to a very simple choice for leagues:
Concentration of wealth creates a concentration of talent and generates isolated centers of extreme quality . That happens both within leagues and within the continent of Europe. England and Spain benefit from the concentration of talent in their leagues but even within those leagues, the talent is further concentrated in the biggest clubs.
In MLS, there is less talent to start with and it is more dispersed around the league. The result is that none of the clubs in MLS could compete with the best in Europe.
What MLS sacrifices in quality, it makes up for in unpredictability though. This provides a product on the field which, as any viewer of Apple’s MLS 360 on a Saturday night can testify, is an exciting and entertaining one - once you get over the ‘quality’ aspect.
There are pros and cons of both models, especially when we take into consideration the lack of promotion and relegation in the US soccer ‘pyramid’ - a whole debate in itself.
But ultimately - it is choice between quality for the few or opportunity for the many.
And when it comes to what fans will actually tune into around the world, it is clear that while the local fan may prefer balanced competition, the global fan wants to watch the quality of the elite.
Further Reading: Jonathan Wilson on how ‘Cold, hard money has whittled potential Champions League winners to a rich few’ (Guardian)
Don’t search for soccer news - read it
Bochum’s Bundesliga bounce back
Relegation play-off drama in the Bundesliga. Bochum lost the first-leg at home to Fortuna Dusseldorf 3-0 but produced an incredible comeback and survived in the top flight via a penalty shoot-out. Watch the highlights here:
Sticker Warz:
'Panini see Topps as cheap and nasty,' says one ex-employee. 'Topps are coming for Panini because stickers are not a complex business and they will improve the quality,' observes another. It's a dirty war, in which Panini is refusing to go down without a fight.
Ian Herbert in the Daily Mail on the corporate warfare that is causing mayhem in the soccer sticker album business.
Your Daily Soccer Round-up….
Today’s Top Transfers:
Everton target Kalvin Phillips on loan (Daily Mail)
Barcelona defender Riad to have medical at Crystal Palace this week (BBC)
Liverpool plan swoop for Atalanta’s $49M Ederson (Liverpool.com)
Chelsea make offer for Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo (SkySports)
Anthony Martial bids farewell to United fans (ManUTD.com)
Managerial Mayhem:
Why Leicester’s Enzo Maresca could be a good fit for Chelsea (ESPN)
Kieran McKenna expected to stay at Ipswich (BBC)
Graham Potter back to Brighton? (@JacobSteinberg)
British Round-up:
BBC Premier League fans’ survey finds most are unhappy if not downright angry at their clubs for ticket price increases and ‘tourist fans’. (BBC)
Speaking of which, everyone hates Wembley now, too. (Guardian)
Fulham’s Brazilian striker, Rodrigo Muniz: “I’ve never tried English breakfast and I don’t want to.” (SambaFoot)
European Round-up:
Antonio Conte is on the verge of being appointed the latest Napoli coach and Gazzetta dello Sport reports that he has been given the go-ahead to reunite with his former Inter and Chelsea foward Romelu Lukaku. But he might lose brilliant Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia with PSG ready to make a big money deal. (Football Italia)
Nepotism is nothing new in football. Famous dads and lads include Brian and Nigel Clough at Nottingham Forest, Alex and Darren Ferguson at Man Utd, and notorious US father and son duo: Bob and Michael Bradley. But none have become their father’s secret weapon like David Ancelotti at Real Madrid with daddy Carlo. (Mina Rzouki, BBC)
How will UEFA deal with French club Nice and Manchester United - who now share the same owners in Ineos - playing in the same competition next season? Hmm, would you perhaps bet on a classic ‘fudge’? (Goal.com)
Soon to be confirmed new Barcelona coach Hansi Flick will likely earn about half of what Xavi made at the Camp Nou according to Diario AS (Football Espana)
Why are Bayern risking it on Kompany? Raphael Honigstein (BBC - video)
Bayer Leverkusen are set to pip Barcelona to the signature of Girona midfielder Aleix Garcia says Kicker in Germany (Goal.com)
USA Round-up:
Just how many American owners are there now in European football? Quite a lot and this long list has probably missed a few too. (World Soccer Talk)
How did the US national team players do this week? (US Soccer)
And what about the UWNT players? (US Soccer)
International Round-up:
Cristiano Ronaldo breaks the Saudi Pro League scoring record (AFP)
Massive hipster points if you read this piece about the Conifa Women’s World Cup - the tournament that brings together non-FIFA affiliated teams and which features the Sámi people who are ‘indigenous to a vast stretch of northern Scandinavia’ (Guardian, obviously)
Angry Yokohama F. Marinos coach Harry Kewell vowed his side would bounce back from Saturday's thumping defeat to the UAE’s Al Ain in the AFC Champions League final and use the experience "as fuel" for the future. (Japan Times)
Brazil goalkeeper Ederson could move to the Saudi League from Manchester City (Fabrizio Romano)
Not since David Pleat saved Luton from the drop have we seen a non-relegation celebration like Al-Akdood’s manager Noureddine Zekri’s. (r/soccer)
The Daily Soccer Quote of the Day
"You see, there is no style for me. No Ancelotti style. My style is not recognised, because I change." Like a good Lambrusco, Carlo Ancelotti provides a refreshing alternative to the ‘Next Gen’ BS. Some pops at Da Zerbi and Pep too in this interview with Martin Samuel (Times $)
We’ll be back Tomorrow with more.
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