EUropean Championship 2008

 

Oh my......  You had to go there, didn't you Vulkan?  May I put it in not so Capitalist hating way? 

 

I think for some teams it helps them to have some of their best players playing in other richer leagues.  Teams like Spanish along with Italian, English and German, most of their best players play in their own domestic league partially because you get the most money in those leagues.  Of course there are exceptions but the biggest example would be Rafa Benitez and Liverpool having guys like Torres, Xabi Alonso, and Luis Garcia until he went back to La Liga.  And there is also Fabregas in Arsenal.  And Juande Ramos with Tottenham could be attracting more Spanish imports.  This is somewhat of change in trend for the Spanish national team.  Some of there key players now play in the league and the stylistic system that is different from traditional La Liga or the Spanish national team style and mentality.  I think this is s positive trend for the Spanish football in general though I doubt that we will see a flood of Spaniards playing in Bundesliga or Serie A.

 

The opposite case would be the English.  Most of their players play in EPL. Exceptions I can think of right now are Beckham in MLS, Owen Hargreaves when he was in Bayern Munich and Steve McManaman with Real Madrid.  I think this trend hurts the English.  Even if many top EPL clubs are mutinationality teams and they don't play typical 'English' style game especially Man U, Arsenal and Man City, but whenever those players wear that English jersey, they play the English way.  I'm not saying the English style is necessarily a worse style in comparison to the others.  But in a tournament like this where you face many different styles, it helps to have diverse styles of players.  It only gives you more tactical and matchup options. 

 

The French and the Dutch also other examples of their players playing in the elite clubs in the leagues that pays more than the French or the Dutch clubs.  Where they get their players first place is whole another story.  Although current Dutch squad has more home grown feel to them, they are no strangers dig up jewels in Africa or Surinam.   France is now even more extreme case of that.  The best French players don't play in France and most of them are not even 'French'.  But France has been successful at what they do though not in this tournament, and the Dutch still pump out some of the most talented players and some of most beautiful football to watch when they click.

 

Some Eastern European teams like Croatia, Romania and Czech Republic, also benefits from their elite players playing in Western Europe, especially in Germany and Italy.  But in these cases it's not so much of them learning different styles but having confidence that comes from going against the best players from the leagues in daily basis.  It's one thing to think that you can stop guys like Luca Toni or van Nistelrooy, it's whole another ball game if you've already stopped them in a league game before.

 

And then there are teams like Greece in 04 or Russia and Turkey.  Well, Turkey and Greece are in one category and maybe Russia is in another.  Turkey and Greece both have good enough domestic league and some of their elite player play in other leagues, Portugal may also fall into this group. But most of their players get developed and play at home and some of their top clubs are prestigious enough to retain some top players at home.  This makes them easier to practice and organize the national team compare to the Dutch or the French.  And it makes them easier to keep the closer eye on their developments and physical/playing condition all the time. 

 

And then there is Russia.  Not only this team is unknown but also they are the youngest.  For an influential manager like Hiddink this is the perfect team to teach the game to.  It's like the difference between coaching NBA or NCAA in basketball.  You don't have to deal with big egos, you don't have juggle with other clubs' schedules in foreign land and it takes lot less out of the players from traveling especially back and forth to Russia.  And these young players don't know any better.  They don't know any better that they are not supposed to beat these teams.  They don't know any better that Hiddink can't perform the same miracle with every team he takes over.  So they train like  boxers, work on speed, stamina and team work like foot work.  

 

Stamina is also a important factor here.  The bigger star, the  player is and bigger the club he plays for, odds are he played more competitive games, later into the season.  Not only it tires them by the time a summer big tournament come sround but also tired body gets injured easier.  Figo, Zidane, Rooney are good recent examples.  Football is first and the most the running game.  You don't stop running because whenever the ball or a knee hits the ground like NFL, you don't stop running because the network needs to go on a commercial break like NBA.  If you can't run for 90 mins straight, you can't win. 

 

And then there is the hunger factor.  If the Russians don't know better that they are not supposed to beat these teams, but they do know that some of the players they play against make in a month what they make in a life time.  What is the fastest way from where they are to where these elite players are at?  An international tournaments like this.  I'm not saying the Russians are playing their hearts out for the love of the game and the country.  But if Russia finishes even better in this cup or in South Africa, how many of them will end up in teams like Chelsea or Bayern Munich?   Also elite Russian teams themselves are 'capitalistic' teams.  CSKA Moskow has much Brazilian presence.  Zenit won UEFA Cup with another Dutch manager Advocaat.  And there is Hiddink.....  I'm not the biggest fan of the 'Western Capitalism' myself, but just because someone can not afford the best that 'Western Capitalism' can offer at the moment, it does not mean you are not part of it.  Well, at least in football.....    

 

It would be more fair to give an immediate 10 or 15 minutes suspension, pretty much like the 2 minutes suspension in handball.