SPORT, COMMENTARY: Commercialization: to Be or Not to Be
By Christina Liang
November 19th, 2005, the Real Madrid FC lost the most important match of the season, the so-called "war of the century" against Barcelona FC, at a humiliating 0-3.
All the data show that the Barcelona got the upper hand throughout the whole match. Even the fans of Bernabeu, who are famous for their captiousness, gave their applause to the fantastic performance from Ronaldinho. Their applause did not merely pay tribute to the "De Ballon D'or" winner Ronaldinho, but also showed respect to soccer as a game. Seeing a wonderful delivery of the sport, anyone who really loves soccer should not hold prejudice, no matter he or she is a fan of Real Madrid FC or Barcelona FC.
It seems that the Derby only showed the strength gap between the two clubs. If Real Madrid wants to get a better result in the next Derby, it is the players that should think over the whole case and improve themselves. And coach Luxemburgo should account for the failure. Actually, he did become the object of criticism. After the game, reports of "the appeal for firing Luxemburgo pierced the sky of Bernabeu" could be seen in all kinds of sport newspapers. People said the arrangement of players on the pitch was not proper and Real Madrid should change her coach.
However, will a new coach save the team? Let's take a look at what Luxemburgo have said about the failure first. "I have been a coach for several years, but have never decided the starting-line with others' interference. The situation is unimaginably complex. Generally, there are more than four players who should appear on the pitch. You can only decide the other seven ones. It's hard for any coach."
He was not evading his responsibility. What he was talking about is those soccer stars. Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham, R. Carlos and Casillas, all of whom are supposed to appear in the name list of the staring-line. If they are not on the pitch, chairman of the club, Florentino will be unhappy with the coach, because the audiences pay to see those stars. Zidane's salary is 75000pounds per week, and Ronaldo has 60000 pounds per week. If their fans could not see them frequently, they would not be worth that much. And the purchase of these famous players is only on the plan of the market manager, instead of the coach. They are part of the "Star-policy", but what the coach needs. Besides, even if these stars are geniuses who can satisfy all the needs of the coach, they are still human-beings. They may not keep up their skills after a summer of tiring global commercial matches.
As the general manager of the Bayer München has said, Real Madrid FC has become Real Madrid C (circus). How can we expect a coach of such a "circus" to present a satisfactory result to us? At the same time, Rijikaard has the definite authority to decide the starting-line. And he has the great players as he wishes, such as Ronaldinho. So obviously, Rijikaard is the winner.
But is chairman Florentino the only one to blame? I don't think so. Actually, it is the result of commercialization. Nowadays, sports are not organized spontaneously entertain people, but a growing industry. If the club can't make enough money, no one would like to sponsor it. Without investment, it cannot provide the audience wonderful performances. As a result, it seems to be irreversible for the development of soccer.
At present, Arsenal FC is busy constructing a new stadium and prepares to make use of Highbury to develop a luxury residence. But the premise of these great plans, including the "Star-policy" of Real Madrid, is that there are a large number of loyal fans. So the preference of the audience is to be taken into consideration seriously. For example, when most of the fans in Bernabeu hope to see offensive football, Luxemburgo should not stick to counter attack, as he himself has said, "In such a club, you can't lose, not even come to a draw, and sometimes you can't just win one to zero."
This inevitable industrialization and commercialization of football seem to be accepted universally. People take them as the only methods of developing the sport. However, has anyone thought of the harmful side of this trend? Will the preference of the audiences (most of them are not experts in football) becomes the most important judgment of the sport? Will the clubs give up many originalities and basic rules of football to "fawn on" the fans? Will soccer just become an entertainment and money-making tool?
Fortunately, there is still something to protect the soccer itself from being distorted---the results. Although fans love to see offensive football and many stars on the pitch, the first thing they care is the results. If the club they love is at the bottom of the League table, they won't buy the tickets, no matter how many "Zidanes" it has purchased.
Nevertheless, the matter is not so simple and optimistic beyond the football-pitch. We can find a similar phenomenon in the area of culture. Ever since the conception of "culture industries" was brought up, the argument between "elite culture" and "pop culture" has never stopped. On one hand, to meet the appetite of the majority, the businessmen should lower the standard of "elite culture". The result is that after several generations, our children may not know the origin of the "elite culture". On the other hand, we should not take their right of having their own culture among the majority. So how can we keep the "elite culture"? And how can we avoid offending the rights of most people? If the results can help the soccer, what can help the culture?
November 19th, 2005, the Real Madrid FC lost the most important match of the season, the so-called "war of the century" against Barcelona FC, at a humiliating 0-3.
All the data show that the Barcelona got the upper hand throughout the whole match. Even the fans of Bernabeu, who are famous for their captiousness, gave their applause to the fantastic performance from Ronaldinho. Their applause did not merely pay tribute to the "De Ballon D'or" winner Ronaldinho, but also showed respect to soccer as a game. Seeing a wonderful delivery of the sport, anyone who really loves soccer should not hold prejudice, no matter he or she is a fan of Real Madrid FC or Barcelona FC.
It seems that the Derby only showed the strength gap between the two clubs. If Real Madrid wants to get a better result in the next Derby, it is the players that should think over the whole case and improve themselves. And coach Luxemburgo should account for the failure. Actually, he did become the object of criticism. After the game, reports of "the appeal for firing Luxemburgo pierced the sky of Bernabeu" could be seen in all kinds of sport newspapers. People said the arrangement of players on the pitch was not proper and Real Madrid should change her coach.
However, will a new coach save the team? Let's take a look at what Luxemburgo have said about the failure first. "I have been a coach for several years, but have never decided the starting-line with others' interference. The situation is unimaginably complex. Generally, there are more than four players who should appear on the pitch. You can only decide the other seven ones. It's hard for any coach."
He was not evading his responsibility. What he was talking about is those soccer stars. Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham, R. Carlos and Casillas, all of whom are supposed to appear in the name list of the staring-line. If they are not on the pitch, chairman of the club, Florentino will be unhappy with the coach, because the audiences pay to see those stars. Zidane's salary is 75000pounds per week, and Ronaldo has 60000 pounds per week. If their fans could not see them frequently, they would not be worth that much. And the purchase of these famous players is only on the plan of the market manager, instead of the coach. They are part of the "Star-policy", but what the coach needs. Besides, even if these stars are geniuses who can satisfy all the needs of the coach, they are still human-beings. They may not keep up their skills after a summer of tiring global commercial matches.
As the general manager of the Bayer München has said, Real Madrid FC has become Real Madrid C (circus). How can we expect a coach of such a "circus" to present a satisfactory result to us? At the same time, Rijikaard has the definite authority to decide the starting-line. And he has the great players as he wishes, such as Ronaldinho. So obviously, Rijikaard is the winner.
But is chairman Florentino the only one to blame? I don't think so. Actually, it is the result of commercialization. Nowadays, sports are not organized spontaneously entertain people, but a growing industry. If the club can't make enough money, no one would like to sponsor it. Without investment, it cannot provide the audience wonderful performances. As a result, it seems to be irreversible for the development of soccer.
At present, Arsenal FC is busy constructing a new stadium and prepares to make use of Highbury to develop a luxury residence. But the premise of these great plans, including the "Star-policy" of Real Madrid, is that there are a large number of loyal fans. So the preference of the audience is to be taken into consideration seriously. For example, when most of the fans in Bernabeu hope to see offensive football, Luxemburgo should not stick to counter attack, as he himself has said, "In such a club, you can't lose, not even come to a draw, and sometimes you can't just win one to zero."
This inevitable industrialization and commercialization of football seem to be accepted universally. People take them as the only methods of developing the sport. However, has anyone thought of the harmful side of this trend? Will the preference of the audiences (most of them are not experts in football) becomes the most important judgment of the sport? Will the clubs give up many originalities and basic rules of football to "fawn on" the fans? Will soccer just become an entertainment and money-making tool?
Fortunately, there is still something to protect the soccer itself from being distorted---the results. Although fans love to see offensive football and many stars on the pitch, the first thing they care is the results. If the club they love is at the bottom of the League table, they won't buy the tickets, no matter how many "Zidanes" it has purchased.
Nevertheless, the matter is not so simple and optimistic beyond the football-pitch. We can find a similar phenomenon in the area of culture. Ever since the conception of "culture industries" was brought up, the argument between "elite culture" and "pop culture" has never stopped. On one hand, to meet the appetite of the majority, the businessmen should lower the standard of "elite culture". The result is that after several generations, our children may not know the origin of the "elite culture". On the other hand, we should not take their right of having their own culture among the majority. So how can we keep the "elite culture"? And how can we avoid offending the rights of most people? If the results can help the soccer, what can help the culture?
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