Football as an indication as to the source of madness in the modern world « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Over 750,000 visits per month
By Dominic Sanchez Cabello
With the weather like this, the economy like that, and the shop relatively quiet. We in Parade Antiques look to football for the answers. The Olympics simply doesn’t do it for us – it’s far too sane. Apparently, as soon as you stop paying someone 200,000 a week, they just become all together more measured and righteous. Can’t understand it? The spectacle, as impressive as it is, just lacks that sensation of impending doom, cold sweat and general anxiousness that Arsenal alone are able to instil.
Professional Football is generally a fine indication as to where the madness of the modern world stems from and to which end it is progressing. For example the world can’t be too bad if someone paid 24 million for James Millner? Or, perhaps it could…
A consolation of an English summer saturated with rain is that the Euro’s in Ukraine and Poland brought a little happiness to proceedings. In times riddled with ravaged economies, despotic regimes and showings of Royal pomposity, something that resembles sanity is a refreshing change.
Cast your minds back a few weeks, to a time where football was on our TV screens, proper football that is, to a night in Gdansk, where the Spanish bench gave a telling insight as to why its Economy is in such a pickle. Fabregas, Navas, Cazorla, Mata, Valdes, Martinez… to an Irish bench of Doyle, McShane, Hunt, Kelly, O’Dea, Westwood and so on… one had the makings of a pretty good six a side team, the other, a cracking darts team.
Now, I’m no expert, but It seems that aside from all the currency problems, export productivity, mass unemployment and various other economic nuances that I don’t care to understand, Spain has spent too much time and money teaching its Children how to be good at football at the expense of teaching them how to bring money into the country.
They could restructure their system of education to promote long-term economic viability, but that would be a coward’s way out. In many ways, the situation they are in is a very curious one and calls for some curious methods. At present they have the best footballing infrastructure in the world: the most pro-licenced coaches per capita, the best players, some of the best facilities and importantly the most exportable football culture.
This horde of talented footballers allows endless possibilities. In the short term the production of more football-shirts for export would be a way of creating more jobs and exporting Spanish culture to the developing world, because let’s face it, football is much better than McDonalds. The wealth acquired from these new markets in Asia/India/Africa can finance the creation of more football teams situated in favourable destinations to be later bought out by some bored Sheikh with sovereign wealth lying around.
A network of Spanish footballing academies across the world wouldn’t go a miss. It has an established and pleasant ring to it: The Spanish Footballing School, Vienna; a few more here and there, couple in Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, maybe even Pyongyang, who knows? Wouldn’t be many other football academies there.
With this footballing cobweb being weaved around the world, creating an empire 5 times stronger than comparable empires connected by steel, wealth would flow back to the Spanish Metropole.
Over time the coffers would look far rosier and with rosy coffers come the possibility of more adventurous operations.
From here (and I know it sounds drastic…) annex Portugal? Or at least include the acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo in the peace terms. Followed by reclamation of their historical colonies in South America, or again… just Lionel Messi. I think you see where I’m going here.
In time, the Eurozone, minus Germany, may be up for sale. Ireland could be developed as a nation of pristine emerald pitches, Greece as an aesthetic and physical conditioning enclave, Italy as a boot shaped centre of fashionable, football kit development, France as a sports-nutrition clinic.
Ultimately, the result would be the struggling Eurozone developing as an international footballing division of labour. Which is of course a beautiful thing, the standard of football increases through economic prosperity. And no, before you ask, I’m not biased in the slightest.
Dominic Sanchez – Cabello
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