Comments on: Football, holy football!

By: Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:16:28 +0000

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!)

By: damianf

damianf — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:40:35 +0000

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.

By: pim

pim — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 09:49:25 +0000

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!

By: Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:22:52 +0000

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!

By: damianf

damianf — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:10:51 +0000

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 ;)

By: grell

grell — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:11:09 +0000

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.