March
Football, holy football!
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Nowadays it is easy to hear TV or radio presenters talking about team’s chances, players’ progressions, and stuff like that… as if it was all like a PC or Play Station game. But football is bigger, better and more unpredictable than their minds can imagine, and we all would do right by ignoring them, and thinking for ourselves. I know what I’m saying, because I’m from Spain and I live among the Madrid and Barcelona press.
I am not very keen on the British press at all, only a little news (which used to have the most impact and is speculative), get spread in Spain. Let me explain then, what happens in the football press in my little turbulent country. The most important papers and TV channels are from Madrid, we are a “centralist” country: roads, trains, laws, planes…all must pass first through Madrid. And with information almost the same happens , all national television emits from Madrid. It is known that in Madrid there are more Madrid fans (merengues) than Barcelona fans (culés). I’m not saying that Spanish media professionals are totally barefaced against Barcelona, no… In my opinion, they tell us what they want, and how they want, in order to achieve their objectives… yeah, I known this might looks like a spy movie, but is easier than that, maybe with the actual situation between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, it can be understood easily.
FC Barcelona was, weeks ago, first and 12 points away from Real Madrid. What did the media say? “FC Barcelona is the master of La Liga”, “Triplete!”(Liga, King’s Cup and Champions League), “FCB, team of the records”, “Guardiola’s team is a Dream Team” (Cruyff’s team that won the first European Cup for FCB)… there was no measure… At that moment, the Champions League was the most important title for both teams. Then, the distance got reduced to 4 points, and the papers said: “There’s League!”, “Supercanguelo!” (a childish way to call someone coward or affected by diarrhoea),etc. There wasn’t league when the distance was 12? Was it anything mathematically won?
And week after week, the same headlines, the same questions (to players and common people), the same irony when talking about the leader, as it was almost sure that Madrid is going to be Liga’s champion… the result of that, knowing both types of fans: The “Merengues” with media on their side, convinced about their first place because, as everyone knows, “Culés” are specialists in “suffering-without-having-true-or-convincing-reasons”.
But later on, Liverpool arrived (after R.Madrid’s president superb predictions), and that Madrid, the one who had it all to win the 10th Champions League, is out of Europe, can’t win the King’s Cup (beaten by a 3rd division team), and the only thing up to win is “La Liga”, which is now, according to Madrid’s press, the most difficult and rightful competition. You can read nowadays, that Madrid is almost champion because it’s “imperial spirit” and because they will have not Champions League distractions, and that 6 points is nothing, and taking for granted R.Madrid’s victory in the next R Madrid-FC Barcelona match.
And I say: It isn’t more useful to write about FOOTBALL, instead of castles in the air? Isn’t FC Barcelona playing the nicest football in years, to spend some pages on this? Is all going well in R Madrid to support the idea of being champions? Or would it be better to find out what is failing, in order to arrange it for next year?
I can’t stand those articles based in honour, past statistics, hypothesis… I want to read about what makes my manager choose a 3-4-3 instead of the 4-4-2, or why has Lassana Diarra improved so much Madrid’s game. I want FOOTBALL specialists, not frustrated journalists inventing arguments to support their team even when there’s none.
And that, folks, is what has happened this year in Spain, and every year in the past… thank you to all of you who have reached the end of this post (you are really tough, men!), and comment freely. Let me tell you before that, I know media’s purpose (selling papers and/or selling adverts), but it has to be a more righteous way to achieve it.
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Well said! I’m fed up too with invented stories (see Benitez’s ‘mad rant’ as it was reported in the press), gossip and blown up rivalries (fans can do that themselves!). In England we have to watch Match of the day, a roundup of all the footballing action on BBC. It’s hosted by ex-footballers – usually Lineker, Hanson and Shearer, who simply make silly jokes or simplistic comments about the games and players. Why not have some proper journalists to talk about exactly the things you want – tactics, players, how a goal was scored etc.
Great post Ivanhoe,
How does the Catalan media report on the Spanish national team? Are they supporters or not?
I have to confess I learned a lot of my Spanish from reading Marca and As ;)
National team, is usually reported in Catalonia impartially, sometimes with some sarchasm, but no malice. They actually praise the catalan players, more than the others, that’s true…
Let me say that in Catalonia we have two papers (Sport and Mundo Deportivo), and they are like the ones you said (too partial, often with indefensible arguments), and you should buy them only the day of the match, and tomorrow, everyday else, they are only trying to refill the pages with anything…pity!
my dear friends,
I partly agree with Ivanhoe, but the problem is that sport’s press sells regarding the problematic, because they need to have a headline on wednesday too, even if there arent games during that week. The reader of sport’s press (the one that spends one 1€ every day) wants a whole spate of tales related to his own team and the opponent. It’s a tendence that’s very difficult to change, but luckly inside some newsparer there’s always room for some specialised sport’s journalism. I prefer it too, but in order that we can read AS, MARCA, SPORT, EL Mundo Deportivo from internet, we need faithful people that go in the kiosk and buy their newspapers.
Last but not least, catalan press has a lot of stockholm syndrome and it’s as pessimistic as many culés are. ready for the critic!!
Damian, how’re u? where’re u? Im studyin in Paris this year. hope to see u next summer in London, without me worring for my dissertation! I miss london a lot, it’s the greatest city ever!
Interesting stuff guys. There is no daily sport newspaper in the UK (though sports supplements have helped circulation) but reporting tends to be rather ‘insular’ when reporting on Champions League or international matches. According to the UK press, Ronaldo (or Gerrard or Rooney – depending on the day) is the best in the world. There is hardly any mention of players such as Messi, Eto’o, Ribery, Pirlo, Kaka, Xavi, Villa, Aguero, etc. and even less balanced reporting on international opponents.
Excellent argument Pim, I know it’s very hard to fill the papers everyday with interesting news, and that provoques the presence of repetitive and rubbish articles.
Maybe if the improved their contents (with deeper interviews, more interesting and accurate articles, and the GAME above other stuff) it would be easier for me to pay a euro, and it would also help to change many minds from culés (so we could finally say goodbye to that terrible curse called “pessimism”). Or maybe it would cause the fall of papers sales and don’t work at all, who knows!
Farewell guys!
(Pim: you should try to find a hole in your agenda to write something in here, your fan club would be delighted!)