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By Walter Broeckx
This really is a special season. For the first time it is not the usual top 4 teams that will go in to the CL.
Before the season we were written off by the pundits and told we wouldn’t make it. It was Manchester City that would take our place. After all the millions they had spent on brand new player-toys it had to be.
All those big shining new superstars they had bought last summer and the summer before with big names as Tevez, Adebayor, Touré, Barry and don’t forget Robinho they would make it to the top surely.
Yesterday evening they found out that they will not be in the Champions League. So this is a big lesson to all those who say, “we must buy at any cost as we are the Arsenal and we as fans deserve it.” It doesn’t work that way. Just like it didn’t work in Spain with Real Madrid.
I know they still can win the league in Spain but they were humiliated in the Spanish cup by a 3rd division side away and at home. They went out in the Champions League against Lyon. And in order to win the Champions League they had bought and spent even more money than City had done.
I think it should be considered great news: you don’t buy titles or the champions league by just buying all the best players in the world and bring them together in one team. In fact at least one team in the CL final this year is a team that has some home grown players in its ranks, filled them up with one big name – who wont play actually in the final – and that works within it means.
That team is Bayern Munich. I don’t care who wins the CL but if someone would ask me to pick a team I would hope that Bayern would win it just because this would mean that you can win the CL and live within your own means.
Just like Barcelona proved last year that you can win the CL based on a team that you have build up for several years and that is based upon your own youth players and added with some wise buys and additions.
I find it rather amusing that just when Barcelona bought Ibrahimovic and sold Eto’o – who could be considered as a Barcelona man – they didn’t make it to the final this time. Maybe if they would have stuck with Eto’o they would have made it. But Barcelona couldn’t resist the buying of a big name and let a not so big name go. I would have Eto’o any day over Ibrahimovic I must say.
So you can win the CL and get to the final when you build a team up from the youth and play good foorball or when you are a club that is living within it means. This is good news for Arsenal as this is exactly what we are trying to do. Barcelona went to a barren spell for 5 years at the start of it and before their project brought them back the trophies. It’s the long way but it can be done.
There was another thing that struck me last night. It was painful to see how many fans, once again predicted the end of the world for Arsenal at the start of the season and then when we were in the title fight but lost it at the end, due to injuries mostly, those same fans declared our team to be shit and the manager as a loser.
And yet we have qualified once again for the how many times again in a row for the CL.
But most consider this to be of no value and no importance. I don’t agree with that and I think that qualifying for the CL is already worthy of some bit of celebrating. Because it means that we can attract players who want to play in the CL and it also gives us a good financial backing to pay off the debts we have made for the Emirates.
But most of the fans think it’s only normal to do this, even with a crap team and a bad manager, and keep on telling us that we didn’t win the title and thus there is nothing to celebrate.
As I just tuned in for the last 20 minutes of the game between City and Tottenham yesterday I cannot tell you much about the game. But what struck me was the way the Tottenham fans celebrated. For them to know that they had qualified for the CL, even be it for the qualifying round, was a reason to celebrate it as if it was a title. And this is the way it should be seen I think.
Those Tottenham fans realised how difficult it is to get that far and so they went mad. Yes I know they had little reason to celebrate over the last decades apart from the odd cup win so they are happy with anything that comes their way.
And we, we are so used to winning things in the last decades and so used to qualifying for the CL every year that we don’t appreciate any more what we have for the moment. We think it’s natural that we finish in the top 4. Well it isn’t and it is in fact a reason to be joyful about.
In fact I was glad last night that Manchester City did not make it to the top 4. I don’t like the money man to win it. Simple as that.
Yes I wasn’t happy that of all the teams in the EPL it was Tottenham that took their place. If I had to make a choice it would have been someone else but nothing we can do about it. But in fact it was the reaction of their supporters and players that made me realize that in fact qualifying for the CL is a big thing for 16 clubs in the EPL.
So instead of moaning because we didn’t win the title we could learn a lesson from the Tottenham supporters – (my God am I really writing this?) – and celebrate the fact that we once again achieved something that is far out of reach for most of the other EPL teams.
We are so used to doing this we forget the importance of it and how difficult it is to do it year in, year out. Arsène Wenger has spoilt us to much in all those years and we don’t appreciate it anymore.
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