What country to represent

What are we? Where are we from? From where we are born? Where we grew up? The fact is that most people tend to put you in boxes according to how they see you, most often a “nationality box” that is fixed and closed. 

But they could not be more wrong; there is no box; identity is open, flexible, and in constant movement. 

The footballing world provides an interesting insight into this apparent nationality paradox. According to FIFA rules, footballers are only allowed to play for one national team at Senior level. This means that while they may have played for a different youth national team, they eventually must select the side they will play for the rest of their footballing lives. 

Recently Diego Luna, a young player of Mexican background said he preferred to play for the USA rather than Mexico: “Nací y me crie aquí, este país me dio lo que tengo ahora. Creo que es justo jugar para el país que me hizo quien soy” (“I was born and raised here [USA], this country gave me what I have today. I think it is fair to play for the country that made me who I am”). Some people may call him a “Mexican playing for the USA”, but this ignores the diversity of backgrounds that is the reality in this world with more people of diverse backgrounds than not. 

Alfredo Di Stefano is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time and may be the reason that the eligibility rules were changed. During his career Alfredo di Stefano played for three different national teams: Argentina, Colombia and Spain. The issue never became major as he made his career in Real Madrid, but his changes of teams would never have been possible today, and other players have had to choose their national teams. 

Owen Hargreaves was a one of the most important players of the English national team and Bayern Munich in the early 2000s. He was born in Canada to a Welsh-English couple, and could have been eligible for Canada and Wales as well. In fact, he played for Wales youth sides, but in the end chose England, playing the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, something that would not have been possible with Wales or Canada. Ben Breterton is another English player, born and raised, but with a Chilean mother. He played for England at youth level, representing them at U-17 and U-19 tournaments. But never having made his debut at Senior level he was called up by Chile, and made his debut in 2021, despite of the fact that he did not speak Spanish. He nevertheless became a popular addition to a team that took him to a Copa America, something that would surely have been impossible with England. 

The many migrations between Europe and Africa have meant that there are many players with mixed identities. France is often accused of playing with “non-French” players, but the truth is that this is much more nuanced, and players' choices of national team depend on a wide range of individual circumstances. Before Ngolo Kante became one of the world’s best footballers he had played a few years at lower level French sides Boulogne and Caen. Born in France to Malian parents he was approached by the Mali football federation, but said he preferred to wait for a possible call-up from France. In 2015 Kante changed to Leicester, becoming one of the best players in the world, and never looking back. He was called up for France and became one of the most important players in the World Champion side of 2018 with the country where he was born and grew up. 

Yacine Brahimi was also born in France and played consistently for all French youth national teams from the age of 15 to 20. Born to Algerian parents he was contacted by the Algerian football federation in 2010, but turned them down, expecting to be called up for France at Senior level. When this did not happen, Brahimi opted for Algeria, and in 2014 represented the North African side in the World Cup. The Moroccan star, Achraf Hakimi was born in Spain to Moroccan parents, and was spotted early on by the Real Madrid youth academy, who immediately took him in alongside other future Spanish stars. He was offered to play for Spain’s youth side, but he rejected it, and went on to play for Morocco youth teams, and was a key player in Morocco’s historical semifinal side at the World Cup in 2022. 

Germany is unlike France not often accused of using “foreigners” in their national team, but have a history of players with diverse backgrounds as well. Miroslav Klose, the most scoring player in World Cup history, was born in Poland (his mother represented the Polish national handball team). Klose arrived in Germany as a child speaking no German, and was raised in the country he came to represent, although he later stated that he would have liked to play for Poland. The large Turkish diaspora in Germany have provided players both for Germany and for Turkey. A notable case is the great Mesut Ozil, born and raised in Germany, he has stated that it was a dilemma for him who to choose to play for. He ended having a successful career with Germany, winning the World Cup in 2014, but has also faced a lot of controversy following his involvement in Turkish politics, showing the complex diversity of his background. 

Another interesting case is that of Kevin Prince-Boteng who was born and raised in Germany to a Ghanaian father and a German mother. Alongside his brother Jerome, he played on German youth national teams, but after some disciplinary problems he chose to play for Ghana at Senior level, stating that he felt more Ghanaian, despite the fact that he had never lived in the West African country. In the meantime Jerome became an important player in the German national team, and in the 2010 World Cup the two brothers faced one another when Ghana and Germany clashed in the first round. 

These are just some example, but there are so many more: Thomas Christiansen (Denmark-Spain), Valon Berisha (Sweden-Kosovo), Gonzalo Higuain (France-Argentina), Timothy Weah (Liberia-USA), Diego Costa (Brazil-Spain), Jorginho (Brazil-Italy), etc. 

It is simplistic to assert that a certain national team has “foreigners” on their side; the fact that players are “forced” to choose a national team does not take away the fluidity of multiple identities that is a reality in a world of fluent borders and identities.

The worst Manchester United side ever

 It is not the fans, not a journalist or pundit who recently called the current Manchester United side "maybe in the history of Manchester United". No, the one who said it was none other than the current Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim who said it following another Manchester United defeat in the Premier League, 1-3 at home to Brighton.

This is quite an incredible remark from a manager who only joined the side in November 2024, but who has not had the success that was hoped for (or expected). It was also a strange change for Mr. Amorim, who came from success in Sporting Lisbon, and joined a club who was already in an enormous crisis and it did indeed look that Mr. Amorim had to do something superhuman to change what was happening. 

And now it looks that Amorim has realised the truth: that the crisis in Manchester United is deep, very deep, and that it is about the entire club, not just the manager. 

Does his comment help?

I do not think it is wrong to say what many fans and journalists are already saying, and surely many in Manchester United thinking, specially after another loss, and it is a wake-up call to a group of still-highly paid footballers who are clearly not delivering on the pitch. Manchester United looks less as a team than a group of offended rich kids.

Mr. Amorim may be a great manager; at least he speaks truth, but what he will do about it, remains to be seen.

2025 forecasts

It is hard to be optimistic about 2025, both in and outside football. Football, like the world in general, is becoming more tribal, hateful, since hate and tribalism mobilises more money. Fewer and fewer fans watch because they want to watch good football, but rather because they want to belong to their tribe and hate the other tribe.

It is sad, but with that out of the way I have my predictions for 2025 (I am notably bad at predicting though):

• Liverpool will win the Premier League, and I think that Manchester City will squeeze into the top 4 instead of Nottingham Forest. Amorin will fail to qualify Manchester United to Europe.
• Real Madrid or Liverpool will win the Champions League, whose current format will favour all the traditional top teams as the surprises in the league will all be eliminated in the first round of knock-outs. FC Barcelona will suffer from its financial mess and not get far.
• Brazilian teams will be even more dominant in South America, and all four semifinalists of the Libertadores will be Brazilian
• The Club World Cup will be a big economic success for FIFA as they get the European teams on board, who will completely dominate the tournament with some VAR and referee assistance
• Real Madrid will win La Liga after a lucky streak ahead of Atletico Madrid. Valencia will be relegated and will have a hard time returning to the top flight.
• France will win the UEFA Nations League.
• FC Copenhagen will win the Danish League, Bayern Munich the German, Napoli the Italian, PSG the French.
• Cristiano Ronaldo will return to Europe to finish his career.

The coming World Cups

 It was announced this week that the 2034 World Cup will be hosted by Saudi Arabia. This has engendered a lot of criticism due to the fact that Saudi Arabia has many democratic and human rights problems. Well, I think it is not a new issue as FIFA has awarded tournament's before without any political or human rights considerations, but rather cold-hearted economic calculations. 

FIFA is first and foremost a money machine, and this has probably been the main criteria in selecting Saudi Arabia. That said, other concerns risk undermining the quality and love we fans feel for the World Cup, and one of these changes will already be seen at the 2026 World Cup in USA-Mexico-Canada: the 48 team tournament is just too big, too many teams, too many mediocre matches that will be watched mainly by people from the nations playing them... With already too many tournaments and too many matches, the World Cup risks drowning in the infinity of choices; it will no longer be special...

Secondly these multi-host tournaments that will in 2030 include three "main" hosts (Spain, Morocco and Portugal), with additional matches to be played in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. 

It is simply too much, too massive.

Perhaps a symbol of our time when everything needs to be bigger and more extravagant, but I can assure one thing: despite the social media hype it will not be better than the World Cups that made my generation dream and love football.

I will of course keep watching the World Cups; I even hope that I will be able to get tickets for 2026 in Mexico through the murky and elitist FIFA ticketing procedures.

That will be another challenge...

They appear to have ruined the Champions League

 I must admit I gave the new Champions League format the benefit of the doubt. I admit I am an old grumpy football fan, and perhaps the new format is better for the future.

I am now convinced I was wrong.  

Thins all against all league format with 36 teams may have more matches and thus more money for UEFA and the rich clubs, but it is to the detriment of excitement, simply because 24 teams go through to the playoffs, with the top 8 directly to a last-16. This means basically that the big teams will go through without much effort: take Real Madrid, who after 5 matches have 3 defeats and two victories. In the old format they would be struggling to go through before an all-important last match, but now they are 24th, and will still go through. Sure, some small teams will go through too, but it appears unlikely that Brest, Aston Villa or Celtic will survive a knockout round with sides like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Manchester City (all outside top 8).

Excitement is largely gone in this enormous league format and hard to get excited until the knockout. What a pity for what used to be the best tournament in the world.

Entitlement

I have never been a Real Madrid fan, but these days it is so much easier to dislike a club that despite all its great history and achievements, just feels entitled and bitter.

It comes down to the Balón d’or, a rather silly exercise in the subjective election of the “world’s best player” of football, a team sport… Vinicius Jr., and undoubtedly fantastic player did not get the title, which instead went to Rodri from Spain and Manchester City. Vinicius Jr., who has been a great speaker against racism in football and in Spanish society, felt dubbed and insinuated it was because of racism, while Real Madrid decided to boycott the Balón d’or ceremony, accusing it of manipulating the voting, an accusation that every day seems more common in politics when one loses, and has now also reached the world of football.

Petulant and arrogant behavior that symbolizes the times we live in: instead of congratulating someone, they act as if it is their right to win, and everything else is cheating and injustice. The worst part is that this attitude contributes nothing but minimizing trust in a society already lacking it, destroying faith in our relationships with people, and taking the attention away from the fact that Vinicius Jr. is indeed a fantastic player and that Real Madrid are indeed a great club.

They should be ashamed.

Champions League in Mexico

Yesterday Mexico inaugurated its first female president, so I was off work as the focus was on this historical event. It was thus a good day to watch some Champions League.

There is scant interest for other teams than the Spanish teams in the CL, most of all, obviously, Barcelona and Real Madrid, so the only option to watch in a bar was Barcelona-Young Boys, even though there were so many interesting matches playing simultaneously.

And Barcelona-Young Boys was indeed as boring as expected, as Barcelona cruised to a victory with 5-0, and it comes at a good time after they lost their first match 2-1 to Monaco. That said, with all its crisis, Barcelona is doing great under German Hansi Flick: top of the Spanish League and giving chances to a lot of young promising players appears to be working for now, but is also what Barcelona needs as they are unable to sign super stars. And surely on the long-term it is better for Barcelona (and Spanish football overall) to be promoting so many young players from the outstanding Barcelona youth academy.

The new format of the Champions League is confusing though. As everyone is in a big league, but without everyone playing one another, one cannot study the teams against other teams that you will face, and most annoying for real football fans, adapt the tactics according to other results and new matches in smaller groups. In my personal view it takes away some of the excitement about the planning. As the 8 initial rounds come to an end, the excitement will not be about the top teams, but about the 7th-8th or 23rd-24th, who will snatch the last position for the play-offs. And the top teams will all go through....

 I appear not to be the only one annoyed at the new format. The fans of Borussia Dortmund (a team that incidentally is first in the league after two victories, the latest trashing Celtic 7-1) welcomed the new CL format at home with a huge banner: "UEFA Mafia", protesting against the new format that indeed appears to be a way for UEFA to make more and more money from the ones who love the game.

In Dortmund 

The lack of self-reflection

 Vinicius Junior, the outstanding Brazilian player of Real Madrid, may not be a gentleman on and off the pitch, but he is certainly causing a stir in Spanish society with his accusations of deep seated racism in Spanish society, following the many racist chants he has suffered during his time in Spain. Lately, he has gone as far as saying that the World Cup of 2030, to be hosted by Spain, should be moved because of racism in Spain.

Of course it is nonsense, and the World Cup should not be moved.

That said, the reaction from large parts of Spanish society baffles me, because they viciously attack Vinicius for being ungrateful, a liar, an egoist, a provocateur, and worse.

And this is frankly baffling; because Vinicius Jr. may be exaggerating in what should be done, and he has even said that only a minority of Spaniards are racist (something he is absolutely correct about), but he is calling for a reflection by Spanish society that they absolutely refuse to see! 

Because while it is a minority, there is absolutely racism in both Spanish society and it becomes quite explicit in football, and it is something that they should do something about instead of becoming defensive and most often saying that other societies are more racist (they may be right, but someone else's sins should never be an excuse for your own).

Spain is not a racist country. But it needs to do something about the racism that exists, specially in football, and that is the core of Vinucius Junior's criticism, and is at the core of what Spanish football appears to refuse to accept.

Hjulmand out

Kasper Hjulmand, who has been manager of the Danish national team for the last three tournaments is a nice guy and a popular manager for Denmark who in 2021 made Danish fans happier for the national team that we had been for many years. That said, it was time for him to leave, and indeed since the disastrous 2022 World Cup he overstayed his job.

While one can argue that over his stay he has achieved good results in terms of qualifying Denmark to two Euros and a World Cup, the problem is less in terms of result and more in terms of style and commitment. There are plenty of excuses about the disaster in Qatar, but in truth there can be few excuses for what was the loss to Australia that eliminated Denmark. Following that, Denmark was shaky in qualification: leads were thrown away and a team with strong players from big clubs appeared to get nervous when subjected to pressure. They were unable to keep their heads cool.

Following a close qualification, expectation were not big in Denmark to these Euros, just a careful optimism (totally different from Qatar), and Danes appeared happy to have made it to the last-16 only to be eliminated by Germany. But in my view there were many troubles; I firmly believe that Denmark could have been much better if they had not played a cowardly defensive style in their first matches against Slovenia and Serbia, when instead they seemed satisfied against sides that were not better than Denmark. In small moments one saw the Denmark that could exist, as against England, but there was too much respect from the Danes about "the big teams". 

Denmark under Hjulmand has followed the trend of many teams: defend and be afraid to win. That only makes football less popular; the teams that are remembered are those who play good football and do not necessarily win, and in Denmark we have many examples of this: 1986, 1998, and even 2021.

I wish Mr. Hjulmand the best, but it is time for new blood and back to better football.

A Death Foretold

 

Marcelo Bielsa is already a legend as a Manager and Football thinker, and his recent reflection on the decay of the football game is as timely as ever as we await the two finals tomorrow of tournaments which seem to confirm the grim future of the game.

Paraphrasing another great Latin American, this is the Chronicle of a Death Foretold, and I agree as I have been watching (and blogging) football for 20 years.

We have increasingly seen in these tournaments that teams are more afraid to lose than with a desire to win, so they largely retreat in a tactically result-oriented style. Some teams try to play more open, but they seem naive as they fight against the tide of boredom; in the meantime you have teams with a great amount of individual talent who treat their players like robots who are not to enjoy or entertain.

And let us face it, players contribute to this decay as well as the gentlemen of the game have all but disappeared: they act, they cry, they protest, they fight, play dirty. It is amazing how VAR has come in and not being used for this, but I also understand it: it seems incredible that we need to treat highly paid grown men as little children.

And VAR... I am not against it per se, but I have said before that it is being used completely wrong. It is being used to justify decisions that will always and have always been subjective, like a penalty, as well as searching with a microscope for faults where they were never seen before and where nobody protests. The blind faith in technology is only creating more doubt and distrust about the game as idiotic conspiracies flourish like never before.

Is it money? Of course it is. The people who can afford to go to a game are not your average income guy. Do you think that people who were in Charlotte for the Colombia-Uruguay match were the bottom of the Latin American income scale? No. And add TV rights, commercial deals and propaganda, and we have the explanation for all the things happening that are undermining the beauty of the game, just as Mr. Bielsa underlines.

Football has totally overtaken religion and politics as "Opium of the People", and as such it has been grasped by those in power as a way of controlling societies. Do these people in power fix matches? Is there a grand conspiracy to make certain teams win? No. But the spread of these conspiracies is useful to take attention away from other of societies' problems. 

We, the fans, are as guilty too. We are puppets. We let them control our primitive tribal instincts to hate other teams and other nations; the worst human instincts. We love being the martyrs, being rightful losers who fought against an evil force, and will never congratulate or thank another fan for a good match. And if we win we will rather insult the losers than recognize that in fact we need two teams trying to win to enjoy a game! (people who say, "I hate them because they defeated us" have in my view not really understood the point that it would be rather boring if they did not try to defeat us....).

There is no such thing as friendly competition in football any longer; it is war and you are judged by who you support - the Political Culture Wars taken to the most primitive level. 

It is a fact that football fans will rather see a team they hate lose than see their own side win. How fucked up is that!?? 

This is an angry rant indeed; but the decay of football is a symbol of the decay of our societies: tribalism, discrimination and hate are the order of the day, and in football we can't even any longer be happy for a beautiful play no matter who does it and a friendly taunt is always seen as an insult.

A sad state of affairs, and I do not have much of expectations of tomorrow's finals, even though I will watch them over beers with my cats and hoping that I get a bit of the happiness that made me fall in love with Football back in the day.

Circus Spanish Football Federation

Few people around the world knew who Luis Rubiales was. But the head of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has become a world celebrity following his embarrassing behaviour at the World Cup final, grabbing his crotch and kissing one of the Spanish players, Jenni Hermoso. He has in a rather pathetic apology defended himself with being euphoric at the moment, but at the same time said that he will not step down from his lucrative position as head of the RFEF. This he categorically said in a speech to the RFEF, and was widely clapped by the many machos of the RFEF, such as the Spanish national team manager Jorge Vilda and Luis de la Fuente.

In the meantime player Jenni Hermoso has said that the kiss was not consensual, and been attacked in an official communique by the RFEF. In support, many players, including the entire team of World Champions, has said that they will boycott the national team until the leadership steps down. Rubiales has been suspended by FIFA and has been widely denounced both nationally and internationally.

This is a sad circus. Spain are World Champions and attention goes to these men who live in a previous century. Because let us admit that there are still many men like Rubiales in the world and in particular in the world of football. Men of power who believe they can do anything and behave in any way they want. This is mainly because they have normally been allowed to abuse and misuse. 

If anything good comes out of this circus it is perhaps that the obviousness of men like Rubiales comes to light.

Spanish racism

Vinicius Jr., the splendid Brazilian stiker from Real Madrid, has again been victim of racial abuse from fans, most recently against Valencia. This has prompted him to come out with some harsh words about Spanish fans and football authorities, accusing them openly of racism.

He is probably right.

I have been to many games in Spain, and I am sorry to say that my impression is that there is an incredibly high tolerance for racist and xenophobic abuse than in other countries. This does not only includes openly racist chants as the ones that have been used against Vinicius, but certainly also xenophobic chants against South Americans or other nationalities. In a society already stratified by regional divisions, one can discuss the reasons behind the behavior, but the only truth is that it is wrong, and that a player like Vinicius Jr. should never be subject to these insults. And this is where the Spanish football authorities are acting so pathetically: it seems that the only solution they propose is “we have reported the case to the authorities”, when the real solutions must be to stop the matches, award the three points to the away team, and then let them play without spectators.

There is no other way from stopping this shit from happening, and they should take action.

This World Cup is already disappointing

Surprises are bound to happen in the World Cup, and one of the biggest surprises in World Cup history (and personally for me and many Argentines a disappointment) was Argentina losing 1-2 to Saudi Arabia in the first match of the group stages. Argentina, who has not lost since 2019, lost now, and the prospects for winning the World Cup look dim for the Argentines. Although many could recall that in 2010 Spain lost their opening match to Switzerland, and went on to win the whole thing, Argentina clearly does not have the quality to pull back from the abyss of elimination. A Messi who only plays well when things go his way, and behaves like a little spoiled child when they don't is barely the type of quality player that Argentina or anyone would need. 

He is no Maradona. Expect Argentina to be out as they go up against better opposition in the form of Poland and Mexico, who tied 0-0.

Another, albeit lesser, disappointment was Denmark. Not as much because they managed 0-0 against a highly underestimated but strong Tunisian side (anyone who did not know about their quality has never watched football), but more because the Danes have lacked spine in confronting a FIFA who has not allowed them to play with training shirts that say "Human Rights for All" (how in the world is that a political message!?), and subsequently were also told to play without the "One-Love" armbands or face consequences. The latter was also a warning to other teams, who all succumbed to FIFA's threats.

In my view Denmark lacks spine. The Danish Football Association (DBU) claims to be a member of FIFA to push for change, but does not stand up to FIFA when they are doing something clearly wrong. How far does this reach? Will they even shy away from criticizing open corruption!!!??? I would be more proud of a Danish National Team that stood up for something and lost, than a spineless winning side; and they may not even be a winning side how they were playing against Tunisia.

Be fucking Men, and take a stand while you play your football with pride and to the best of your abilities, even if your opponents are not just 11 players, but also the referees backed by a powerful greedy organization!

I would be proud if Denmark would take the first step to withdrawing from FIFA and take other countries with them.

Bribery accusation

 One SportsBrief report today is accusing Qatar of having bribed Ecuadorian players to lose the opening matech between Qatar and Ecuador. The accusation appears grounded on a twitter account of one Amjad Taha, but it appears difficult to find further information on what the claim is based on.

The sad thing about this, which may not appear true, is that it remains entirely plausible that this could happen; Qatar probably paid to be hosts, so they could be considering bribing their way through the tournament.

And whoever believes that this is not possible at this level should read Declan Hill's exposure of match-fixing in football, which besides documenting match-fixing in the top European leagues, discusses match-fixing in the 2006 World Cup. So it is certainly possible.

However, there are reasons to be skeptical about the accusation, not just because the lack of documentation: firstly, why bribe many Ecuadorian players, one or more of whom could step out and reveal what was happening? Much easier would be to simply bribe a referee (something that Declan Hill documents is quite common), or  simply the goalkeeper to make one drop? Or just intimidate Ecuador by different means that do not need bribery? (something Qataris are probably good at). Furthermore, an accusation like this, appearing plausible, could be an elaborate way to get many people to make bets for Qatar to win, creating a distorted betting market, something that is often the case in football, and which is monitored for alleged bribes. 

Surely there is a lot of betting going on; billions moving around for this World Cup.

So I find this particular story to be implausible, although I find it plausible that it will happen in the World Cup, and that this is not the final accusation in a World Cup that should have never been awarded to these Qataris.

Why the World Cup should not be every two years

 There has been a lot of discussion about this lately, with FIFA apparently gathering strength to propose to hold the World Cup every two years. As is probably to be expected I am against this: nothing is more special in terms of football than the World Cup (if not in quality, where the Champions League is much better), and already the expansion of the number of teams is diminishing its importance, and holding it every two years will further diminish it to nobody's benefit (I understand if FIFA sees it as a potential for short-term profit, but I cannot see how it can be any benefit whatsoever in the longer term).

And I think today's Nations League semifinal between Italy and Spain is another example that FIFA should be careful to not give us so many matches, that in the end nothing is special. The match was great, with the European Champions of Italy losing an exciting match 1-2 to a rising Spanish side. Arguably two of the best teams in the world, playing a competitive match at the highest level, but the stadium in Milano was not even sold-out! This should be proof enough that if too many matches are there, interest from fans will diminish.

A great match, and probably a great final, but there is already so much football, that FIFA must be careful to take away what makes it special.

Christmas every month would not be special.

Messi's exit from FC Barcelona

Lionel Messi's 21-year stay at FC Barcelona has ended. We all knew the day would come, but I guess the shock was about how abrupt the end was, not least for Lionel Messi himself, who appeared crying during the subsequent press conference. 

Everything comes to an end, and this moment is one for remembering the incredible contributions Messi made to FC Barcelona and to Football during his stay at the club. He has been an incredible player to follow.

Because let us admit it: it is not the fact that he is leaving, but how it happened. FC Barcelona has appeared a money-circus for many years, and Messi's exit appears as much as an economic tit-for-tat between la Liga and the club's management, who after pushing for the so-called European Superleague has had its financial troubles exposed. In sporting terms Messi's exit gives Ronald Koeman little time to build a transition to a new team and they appear weak as the la Liga season is about to start.

In sporting terms Messi's exit could be interesting, and perhaps he may also be interested in a new challenge as his career nears an end. Paris St. Germain is increasingly being touted as his next club, and this will surely be interesting as he reunited with Neymar, and will play alongside extraordinary players such as Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria, Marco Verrati, and even Donnarumma in goal! If Messi can adapt to another team than Barcelona (something that is not guaranteed, as he has never done a change before) the Parisians will surely look like the team to beat next season.

In the meantime, I hope Messi adapts and continues making football fans happy wherever he ends up.

Football 1- Money 0

The Super League lasted only two days, as nine of the twelve clubs involved (except Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus) decided to withdraw after the massive outcry amongst so many people. Since then, some club owners have tried to apologize, while most notably Real Madrid President, Florentino Perez has continued to try to defend the idea with nonsense such as "we will save football". 

Thank God and Fans that the idea has been shelved (for now...).

But one has to wonder: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

These people are hugely rich businessmen, who own football clubs, and say that they want to save football; that they are interested in "dialogue" about how to save the game. But in everything they did with this league-idea is contradictory to this: no dialogue (not even their teams knew about the initiative) and no understanding of the traditions and culture that their business is built on. The total proof that a top 0.1% of the richest and most powerful men (always men) in the world, who think that they are the sole owners of the truth.

Truth=Money.

Florentino Perez has been talking about the money they have lost during COVID. I am no businessman; no economist; but I do know that sometimes times are hard, so I have an advise to any football clubs: spend what you have!!!! That is what all us normal people do. But you wouldn't know that.

I am happy it is over for now. But I hardly believe it is over. Money has been sneaking into the world of football for decades. Prices to go to a match are eye-watering (and I am one of the people who can afford it, so I won't be a hypocrite and say I haven't) and it seems impossible to find decent prices or unique TV packages where one can follow matches. 

If we want to save football, that is the dialogue one must have. That said, we must also admit that nothing lasts forever. Football has existed and grown to become a global sport for some 150 years. Maybe it has reached its pinnacle; maybe in 150 years from now football will be a funny quirk amongst historical nerds. Nothing lasts forever, but we are many who don't want to see its early demise.

The League of Greed

The news that 12 European top clubs would form their own European Super League has surely shaken the football establishment, with top politicians even commenting on what most football fans seem to consider a stupid, not to say dangerous, initiative for the sport. 

I always try to be open to any idea. A Super League would get encompass 12 strong teams into what would be some interesting matches. However, this is also the only good thing I can think about the initiative, as much as I try: a closed league would destroy competition and the possibility of the little guy beating the giant; it seems more an initiative for these top clubs to protect themselves and the humiliation of losing to the likes of Alcoyano, Aston Villa, Red Bull Salzburg or FC Porto...

I cannot in any way see that the clubs involved in this league are thinking about the best for the game of football; they must have never played or watched the game in their lives! It seems to be only a question  of who controls the money; the eternal human impulse of greed. 

Although the Champions League also gives plenty of money for UEFA the entire conflict seems to be about who gets the footballing millions: Some football administrators or some of the richest businessmen in Europe, with the financial backing of JP Morgan? 

What will probably happen is that they all will reach some lucrative deal to share the millions, while the interests of the fans are put aside; although many fan groups have said they oppose the Super League, I would be surprised if these same fans are not cheering their teams in the very same tournament in a few years. 

As old-fashioned as it may sound I hope the Super League comes to nothing; that the clubs that have taken the initiative are suspended. That fans, managers and players from these clubs come together to reject the greedy plans that threaten to destroy the sport that they all profess to love. 

But I won´t bet on it.

COVID-19 suspension?

As the COVID-19 virus continues to ravage societies in Europe, many have gone into renewed lockdowns. Although football continues to take place under protocols without spectators, the increasing reports of infections among players have led to discussions as to whether football should be suspended, just as it was last spring.

The discussion is one about what football is for: is it sufficiently important for society so that it should continue? 

As lockdowns pushed people's mental stability, the argument goes, football represents an escape from the reality of quarantines and fear of disease. I find this a strange argument: football has always and will always be an escape for the millions and millions around the world who struggle every day, but who love football. In this regard, football resembles more a religion than the entertainment sport it really is. So if Churches remain open, perhaps football should too?

Football is a mirror of wider society, but at the same time footballers are entertainers, and people see them (right- or wrongfully, mostly the latter), as examples; in this regard football has failed: they take measures not to shake hands at the start of matches, but they, when goals are scored, one sees them hug and kiss, and at the end of the matches hugs and handshakes are exchanged freely. While this does not mean that young strong men will get COVID-19, the example for a society struggling to contain the virus is not the right one. Furthermore, as more reports of sick players appear, one has to wonder whether many of these young men ignore protocols both inside and outside the pitch, and this represents not only a bad example, but a societal risk. 

Football has many societal costs; this should not be another one to add to the list.

Edison Cavani and racism

Edison Cavani is being investigated for racism. The Manchester United striker thanked a friend on Twitter with the expression "Gracias Negrito".

Now, in most places in Latin America, including Cavani´s Uruguay, Negro is not an insult, but an endearing term. I have friends and family members that we call "El Negro", and that cultural context is a thing that is grossly missing in this accusation against Mr. Cavani, who can and should not be accused for racism for this.

All this is not to say that racism does not exist in Latin America: it certainly does, and too little is done to fight it. However, an expression as that used by Mr. Cavani is not racist (ask the friend he said it to), and must be understood in the cultural context in which he used the expression, which remains very common. The risk here is that the justified fight against racism is reduced to correcting petty cultural misunderstandings that have little or nothing to do with the real fight against the scourge of racism.

I hope that the FA will see this and not punish Edison Cavani.