Europe, football’s preferred destination
The ongoing football World Cup has also invaded the drawing room of a revolutionary. Cuban president Fidel Castro has taken his anti-capitalist views to the domain of the beautiful game by saying that “a final between two European nations will be as colourless and unhistorical as any since the sport was born in the world”.
Comrade Castro’s wish of seeing a South American team in the final was dashed after Uruguay’s loss at the hands of the Dutch in the semifinal on Tuesday. The Cuban president was also quoted as saying that “the referees are biased against the South American sides”.
In an interview published on soccernet.com, Castro raged that Brazil were at the receiving end of the refereeing decisions against the Netherlands. He has also decried the red card shown to Brazilian holding midfielder Felipe Melo in the quarterfinals. Even though there hasn’t been a debate in soccer circles about the punishment to Melo after he blatantly stamped on Arjen Robben’s thigh, the former guerilla fighter has a different take on the issue. He has extended the Us vs Them battle to the football field.
What the sworn enemy of the US has missed is the number of South American players earning their bread and butter in Europe. The starting XI of Castro’s beloved Brazil had no home-based player. According to Fifa, Robinho is listed as a Santos player but he is still owned by Manchester City.
Argentina’s first-choice team against Germany had only one footballer plying his trade in the local league. And the lone warrior was the worst player on the field!
Castro may not like the way Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City splash the cash to lure the best players from across the globe to their rosters but he can’t dispute the fact that the headquarters of modern football is in Europe. The dream destination of every football-playing African and South American youngster is Europe. It is where real professionalism is. Brazil may possess an impressive conveyor belt of top-class talent but club football in the country is in shambles. The less said the better about African football where anarchy is a common feature. Corrupt officials, dilapidated stadiums and dysfunctional systems have rendered talent-rich Africa a laughing stock at the World Cup.
Hiring and firing is an everyday occurrence in African football. Commentators in South Africa have attributed Ghana’s success at the World Cup to a stable government and a purposeful football association.
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