A new player joined Barca’s squad and the expectations are high already. Ibrahim Afellay has a huge challenge to take as it is not easy to adapt with the intensity and urgency of Barcelona’s football. Especially for a player joining in the middle of a season rather than during the preseason period where there is more time to settle and adapt without the concern of the match the team will play next.
The good thing that will do him a favor is his versatility. He is capable of playing in many positions which will give him enough opportunities to prove himself. Having Iniesta, Keita, and Xavi ahead of him in the midfield and youth players emerging from the farm behind him means that he need to work harder than he ever did if he wants to survive in this demanding club. He can also play on the flanks and he may have a better chance to blossom there.
Barcelona fans need to give him time. Everyone will like it if he surprises us all by a stunning performance that makes him a world beater since day one, but it is important not to bet on that. Historically players take time to catch the team’s tempo but when they do they add lot of pleasure to Barca’s football exhibition.
As for Afellay, of what I saw, he has a talent. And of what I know, he has a strong personality-in a good way. He has to improve his work rate and urgency, which is attainable if he is aware of the level of football he has the opportunity to contribute in.
As I already mentioned, Barcelona had other alternatives inside the club for the positions Afellay plays best, which makes the bar of satisfaction demands higher. But for the price paid, he may prove being one of the best transfers Barcelona made recently.
I can’t avoid wondering if the club will find a new Larsson to sign, as this is still a need to perfect the squad, but that’s another topic. For now, good luck Afellay and welcome to the best club in the world!
Update
Barcelona's youth academy is no doubt the jewel of the club. And there is always a curious excitement to figure the following star emerging from La Masia. There are lots of factors to take in consideration while predicting the next big news. Quality and talent is just one factor of many. Fulfilling a promise, here we are initiating an attempt to predict future!
Youth development is unpredictable. It’s a Pedro/Busquets Vs Bojan/Giovani. That’s why it is almost impossible to make a guaranteed bet. The first squad demands is also a crucial factor that may offer an opportunity for one youth over the other regardless of quality and talent. A new Puyol will most probably have a better –earlier- opportunity to break through than a new Iniesta. New signings -like Afellay- leave an impact. Injuries both in the first team or the reserve change the promotion Queue all together (VÃctor Vázquez?).
Lately, contract conditions became another card that may put one youth ahead of the other on the promotion chain (Jonathan Vs Thiago). And no doubt, the youth natural position and how far it fits the system of the first team plays a role as well. It is more likely for a poacher to have a chance in the first team than a pure second striker who can’t play as a wing or as a nine (One of the reasons why Bojan struggled). Then the number of youth competing on a specific position is also a factor to take in consideration. At the end of the day, no matter how talented the youth are, the first team squad can’t embrace them all. The good ones will be sacrificed to free a room for the best.
That’s why, instead of the usual approach that scout the youth squads, I will start from the first team squad, scouting the needs and the opportunities. Then scouting how the needs concur with the available youth options.
Goalkeeper:
Valdes will be the starter for the following few seasons unless if a youth showed an undefeatable quality. Pinto the free style keeper is the backup for this season. There are gossips that he will stay for another season, will he? How will that affect the youth keepers of the club?
Rubén Miño Peralta
Position: Goalkeeper
Date of birth: 18-01-1989
Height: 191 cm
Weight: 86 kg
I really like this keeper. He is far from being ready for the big theatre but he is showing the attributes needed to succeed at Barcelona. Good in one-on-one and with lot of courage to immigrate out of his goal and serve as a sweeper when needed (though he has to tune that a bit). Will he get the promotion card for next season? Is it better to use a younger keeper for copa matches for example?
At Barcelona B there are two more promising keepers in Oier and Masip. Oier was the first choice at Barca B for a while. I do think promoting Miño means more playing time for the other two. But then, how far promoting him to Barca’s first team bench helps his development? I think the best scenario is to differentiate between “The second Keeper” role and “Valdes Backup” role. Renew Pinto’s contract to be “Valdes Back up” so that in the matches where Valdes starts, it’s Pinto who sit on the bench, not Miño (who stays with Barca B to play). Yet, when Pep wants to use a keeper other than Valdes in the cup matches or noncritical matches, that’s the second keeper – Miño. Will Pinto agree on this arrangement? I think he will. This way Miño benefit most and develop most.
Defense:
On the right back, the club will need a backup for Alves. But now that Adriano and Maxwell are both capable of serving there, I think this is not a need for next season. MartÃn Montoya’s performance for the rest of the season may give Pep a second thought though. He is no doubt a quality player but one can only wonder if he will get squeezed between Alves playing time (he rarely miss a match), Bartra’s Versatility and quality, and the emerging of Juvenil A fullback Albert Dalmau, who will most probably get his promotion ticket to Barca B by next season.
In the center, I can see Milito leaving next summer. That leaves us with Pique, and an aging Puyol. Promoting a young center defender is a given, taking in consideration the number of quality defenders available at Barca B (too many for Luis Enrique to use). Yet, one Center back will not be enough unless if Abidal start playing more as a center back next season leaving the left back for Adriano and Maxwell. If Abidal keep being the first option as a left back, a forth Center back is needed. I wouldn’t recommend promoting an additional center back in this case as there will be a need for more reliable option to back Puyol. Meaning, the club may sign a center back if available. Though, we can’t completely exclude promoting one center back permanently and rotating the rest of the youth defenders on the other spot, testing them then promoting the most convincing on January 2012.
On the left back, it is highly unlikely to promote any youth for next season, but for the season that follows a left back will be a must while either Adriano or Maxwell may leave.
Based on that, a young center back will definitely be the luckiest one. It is between Bartra and Fontas. And it is almost a given that it will be Fontas. First because he is a left footed defender who can compliment Pique or Puyol most. And secondly because he is calmer that Bartra who may have better potentials but he get caught out of position more often. If Maxwell or Adriano suffers an injury or Abidal start serving as a Center back more, Bartra will find more time in the first team squad. I see a Puyol career curve in Bartra, starting as a right back then moving to the center.
But make no mistake; there are many impressive options for the following two years. Carles Planas is a good bet for the left back. Abraham is another option there. Marc Muniesa is the fans’ favorite already and he can play as a center back or left back, which may give him an edge.
Sergi Gómez in the other hand is -in my opinion- the future of Barcelona’s defense, though he will need two more years before he start sharing time with the first teamers.
Timeline:
Fontas is a candidate to be promoted after this x-mass break. It also worth noting that Barcelona can still resign Botia who is probably the most mature defender youth farm generated in the past two years. Bartra will know his faith during the following preseason, where a left back will also has a trial.
* In Juvenil A the likes of Vivaldi Bakoyock worth mentioning as well. Quality, But will need few years to show up at the Camp Nou.
Next: Midfield and offense
The Catalans and the Basques will play tonight in Copa del Rey. Athletic always perform amazingly in the cup regardless of their Liga's performance. They will miss Llorente for this match and that's a huge upset. Yet, there is another match to play at their cathedral. So if they keep the result close till then, Llorente may have a saying to complicate Barca's journey in the competition. But will they have a chance to do so tonight?
I think it all depends on Pep's plan for the match. What kind of selections can we expect for this game? Normally, some first team players get a rest in the cup, but I think today the selection will be as strong as possible. There is a X-mass break coming and there is nothing worse than finishing the year defeated. This is a very aggressive team coming to the Camp Nou and Pep will think twice before taking them lightly.
Tomorrow I will publish a post about youth players and their chances to earn a promotion to the first team. Tonight we can enjoy another match and maybe we will have another chance to see Thiago and co performing against Athletic. Till then it is refreshing to rewing the highlights of Copa del rey final 2009 and the celebrations that followed.
FC Barcelona played Real Sociedad this week in the liga, and it was just another amazing show of football and magic. The happiest person on earth was no doubt Barca's president Sandro Rosell, as its this team and those players are the reason why the majority of members are too lazy (and excited) to ask serious questions or voice complains. Ironically, we are talking about a squad structured by the same people the current president revolted to sack, when he was the Vice of the previous President Juan Laporta.
Still, it is not easy to hide an elephant having a "Musth" inside the room. Sponsorship agreement with Qatar foundation is not a walk in the park. This is a milestone in the club's history where there will be a BA (before agreement) and AA (after agreement) calender to record the the club's records.
Defending Rosell, Guardiola, and Qatar
Lets start by defending Sandro Rosell. The rants that doubt his loyalty to the club are nonsense. He is not an evil undercover madridista whose mission is damaging Barcelona, as some angry Barcelona fans stated in the past few days. Sandro Rosell is as loyal to Barcelona as anyone can be, and more. He -and his board- are doing what they believe it is the best for the club. Thats where we may disagree with him (them). Yet, there are no doubts about the intentions.
In the other hand, this agreement has nothing to do with Pep Guardiola. He supported Qatar bid for the world cup for many reasons (Money is one of the reasons, as a professional figure). But that has nothing to do with Barcelona's agreement with Qatar foundation. Pep was an automatic choice for Qatar to promote them in the world cup bid even before the new board inherited Barcelona's management. In fact, Sandro Rosell has more contacts and cross roads with Qatar than Pep, so neither he needs Pep nor the Qatari needs the coach to cook or suggest this sponsorship agreement.
I will not re-defend Qatar and the Qatari toward those who consider it a shame to sign an agreement with such a Bla bla bla country, as I already stated my opinion about this in a previous post. It won't make any difference for me if this deal was with a foundation in Qatar or the Vatican. Thats not the point. At all.
Dealing with the deal
First thing first, lets make one thing clear: This is a commercial deal. A Business, only a business and nothing but a business. Lets put the "Charity" smoke bombs aside so we don't feel guilty whipping the hell out of the agreement. Selling a car to red cross will not make you Mother Tereza. Thats S.E.L.L.I.N.G, and you count your money before you hand the car. In fact, it was better to make a deal with a commercial company than taking hundreds of millions supposed to be invested in good cases. Unless if by Charity we mean that Qatar foundation paid 170 M as a charity to Barcelona, there is no other way to make the statement more valid.
If we agree that this is just "business is business baby!" , we have to see it from a business perspective. I am aware of all the emotional factors involved. All the pride. And there were lot of eloquent posts on different blogs who wrote about this side better than I can ever do. But here is a board of directors telling you "Romance feed no hunger, softy! Grow up!" . So...Was this business deal an Edsel or an IPod?
The first factor to consider is the need. The validity of any deal depends on the alternatives available and the urgency driving one party to make a deal with the other. Was it an unavoidable need for Barcelona to seal the deal?
It is impossible to know the real figures concerning Barcelona's financial situation. Some may like to believe the previous board budget, others consider this board's budget the reliable one and the majority are probably on the fence and can barely take any budget seriously (count me in). Accounting is not the science of stating the facts but the method of perfecting the books to meet specific objectives and already decided numbers. Deloitte or no-Deloitte, it is the client who dictate the results of any budget and the accounting auditing role is to skew the accounting process to meet the client's numbers. Dont tell my taxes vampire I said that.
It is even more confusing to get anything out of the current board's statements. The previous board of directors lied. No doubt about that regardless how far they went in that direction. But they were good lairs and were able to create a good story. One story. The current board failed to meet the basic requirement of creating a story, and that is being consistent. One day Barcelona sells Chegrinskiy because there is a need to pay salaries - the board states. The other day we discover that Barcelona's transfer budget is 50 M plus the transfer returns of Yaya and Chegrnskiy -The board states. Then afterward the board end up sorting out the transfer budget to 50 M. Just that. Its a kind of "Dissociative identity disorder" management with lot of acrobatic accounting and Executive functioning.
Then a Sponsor deal with Qatar foundation take place. To start with numbers, Barcelona shirt sponsorship is: 5 years at €30m, commercial rights fee €15m, performance bonuses €5m. But there is one additional condition that went unnoticed in the chaos of the agreement. Barcelona will play a friendly every year in Qatar or anywhere in Europe (Qatar foundation decides). Thats also a significant part of the deal and will have an impact on the numbers, and the nature of the agreement.
During preseason, clubs have limited number of opportunities to play friendlies. Friendly matches earn Barcelona couple of millions . Friendly matches are also important to promote clubs, get them closer to their fans across the globe and increase merchandise return. In brief: Friendly=money. For the following five years, one of Barcelona friendlies will be handed to Qatar foundation. In brief: Thats a loss of money.
In the other hand, friendlies are important to expand clubs' awareness and commertial presence in promising markets from the business perspective. Looking forward to the following five years with the global economic forecasting map on the table, anyone really think Europe will be the best market for Barcelona to focus on in the following years? So while Real Madrid, Inter, and Manchester United for example are working on expanding their commercial presence between USA, Japan, China, and Saudi Arabia in the following five years, Barcelona will spend five years bouncing between Europe and Qatar. How far will friendlies in Europe increase merchandise selling (compared to existing growth rate) for the following five years? What about other markets including USA or East Asia to name some destinations? Of course Barcelona can go to USA beside playing friendlies in Qatar during preseason. I am sure Pep quardiola will be so exited to spend the preseason jumping from one plane to another. Will a friendly in a bad timing cancel a preseason tour? Isn't that also another financial loss?
Talking about Pep Guardiola, if Qatar Foundation will decide where to send Barcelona for the friendlies, isn't it safe to say they at least have the upper hand in deciding the friendly date? How does it sound that Pep will have to customize his preparations for the following seasons based on Qatar foundation agenda? Is it even appropriate that in the following five years Qatar foundation will send Barcelona to play in the country (club) that pay the highest price?
How far all this complexity affect the club preparations and moral in the following seasons? Between the money lost from playing a friendly for free, and the impact of this five seasons plan on merchandise and commercial strategies, It is too conservative to estimate the loss in the range of two millions per year. Thats why instead of 30 M per year from the sponsorship agreement, Barcelona will barely get 28 Million (while the other two are considered as compensation for the friendlies).
Now lets not forget that this is the first main Sponsorship deal in 111 years of Barcelona's history. That's a leverage to tempt the best sponsorship deal ever. Is it true that 28 M is a huge opportunity that is too good to waste? I am aware there are variables in the agreement, but compare it to Liverpool's new sponsorship deal where they will earn 24 Millions annually for the following four years. I do respect Liverpool and once they had three times the commercial value of Barcelona. Now? Thats not the case. I can safely say that if Liverpool can sign an agreement for 24 Millions, then Barcelona must not even consider an agreement that goes under 35 Millions per year plus variables, and without friendlies. And I am not even considering such an offer as too tempting to reject.
But then again, what if Barcelona really RRRReally need the cash Qatar foundation offered? What if there were no other options? Thats reasonable. Yet, Rosell and Co management antiques cause you a mental breakdown if you try to track. I was probably alone demanding that Barcelona must sign Mascherano. Though, not for any cost. In a perfect world, Mascherano is a great signing for Barcelona. In a crisis situation, his transfer was no doubt avoidable. If Xavi can play a zillion match per season though having an injured foot, Busquets -a younger player- can do so as well. If a back up needed, keep Marquez. Sign Senna. Or even use Pique as a holding midfielder when Busquets is not available. None of them will fail to serve the matches Mascherano played so far.
Then Barcelona signed Maxwell's identical. Again, in a perfect world, Adriano is a good utility player. But for a team in crisis he is simply a waste of unavailable money. Puyol can play as a right back if needed. Maxwell can. Pique can, and a bunch of youth are also waiting their turn. If this is a club owned by the fans, Rosell should have asked the members if they prefer a sponsorship agreement plus the transfers of Mascherano and Adriano or no sponsorship and no players. I am sure you will not find such a poll on Sports website anytime soon.
Mascherano and Adriano transfers will cost the club between 70 and 80 Millions in the following five years. We are still not talking about Afellay's transfer, considering that it is a good bargain. And dont let me start predicting how much Cesc would have cost the club in the following five years if Arsenal accepted selling him-even for the 40 Millions Barcelona offered- something in the orbit of 75 millions?
If the club needed this sponsorship deal after the mentioned signings, then we can conclude that -avoiding the unnecessary transfers- the club lack less than a hundred million for the following five years to recover. That's if we assume the sponsorship deal worth 170 M, which is not accurate, first because of the friendlies compensation and secondly because not all the variable amounts will be certainly achieved. One hundred millions in five years mean 20 millions per year. Now it is time to have a look at the club's accounting books for 2009/2010.
Based on the new board 's Auditing, the club generated a revenue of 408.9 millions last year. Mind you, we are talking about the revenue generated by the worst board in the club's history as the current board repeatedly remind us. If the current -better- board succeed to increase the revenue 5 % next year, thats 20.5 Millions, and increasing. But lets not get too ambitious as it is probably hard to increase revenues by 5 % next year. If Barcelona increase their revenues 2% annually, they will generate 126 millions extra cash in the following 5 years.
Regardless of the current board plans for the future, and regardless of the complexities of business and accounting, this percentage (2%) is just an indication that this sponsorship agreement is not a radical u-turn in any way as it is too small compared to the business operation value in the club that will exceed (back and forth) billions of cash in the following five years.
In the current board -Audited- accounting, where they tried to put all the mess possible on the previous board, the books recorded a loss of 80 Millions (Previous board budget for the same year recorded a profit of 9 millions). It is important to look at the Expenses section and draw a circle around players amortization (71 M). That amortization includes 8 millions related to Henry's transfer from Arsenal to Barcelona. Regardless how valid it is to add this to the budget (after Henry's move to USA), what is certain is that this amount of money will not exist in the current year. It also includes 13 Million amortization related to Ibra's transfer, something the current board could have reduced from the current year budget if they sold Ibra directly to Milan instead of one year loan (even if they received the first payment next year as the current agreement dictates). Add an estimated 5 millions amortization for Chegrnskiy. It also includes amortizations related to the signings of Caceres, Henrique, and Keirrison.
This means that with some more quality management (especially Ibra's transfer conditions), next budget will have 26 M less amortizations to record as expenses (Henry,Ibra,and Chegrnskiy). Then the selling of Caceres, Henrique, and Keirrison will clear their amortization expenses and add to the revenue (transfer return) neutralizing the amortization account completely. That alone will decrease the books deficit from 80 Millions to 9 millions in no time, even if the revenues didnt increase a bit. Sell Milito and you break even. Simple as that. We must not forget the club will start receiving payments from Ibra's transfer next year. So instead of him adding expenses through amortization and salary, he will add to revenue.
Take note, I am still taking in consediration that Mascherano's and Adriano's transfers were avoidable (Keeping Marquez or signing Senna). It is true that some contract renewals will increase some players salaries, but we must not forget that the club already knocked Henry, Ibra, Chegrnskiy and Marquez (if he leave) out of the payroll. All in all a decline in salaries expenses. That means: Even if we go by the current board's accounting numbers, and even if the club failed to increase revenues (The club increased the revenues almost every year since 2003), still the 80 millions loss we saw in the current books will not exist in the following fiscal year anyway. That lead us to believe what the previous board said: Next year Barcelona will generate profit. How many league champions and Champions league contenders in Europe can match such a balanced financial situation? Again we need to be aware that the current board auditing is not a certainty, as they definitely have an interest in showing the financial situation worse than it actually is. All that bring me to the debt issue...
Quoting Swiss Rambler:
"We’ve not been given the full details yet, but the adjusted figure released by the club was gross debt of €552 million (net debt €442 million). However, we do know that this represents total liabilities and is thus misleadingly high, as it includes trade creditors, accruals and even provisions. In fact, Rosell and his cohorts should be ashamed of this needless scaremongering, which is not consistent with standard accounting practice – or, indeed, UEFA’s definition, which explicitly states, “net debt does not include trade or other payables.”
As an example of how absurd the total liabilities definition is, just look at how high other clubs’ gross debt would be using this measure: Real Madrid €683 million, Liverpool €578 million and Manchester United €1.1 billion. Even Arsenal, which is regarded as the template for financial sustainability, would have “debt” of €767 million (though it’s come down a lot since the last annual accounts). This places Barcelona’s €552 million firmly into context. To use an old adage, you have to compare apples with apples."
Still, I will consider the 442 Millions as a debt the club need to pay (which is again not the case). It is a cartoon monster that is easy to counter even through playing by numbers Rosell-way. Sandro Rosell announced many times that the club will be able to reserve an average of 50 Million transfer budget annually. Having a look at Barcelona's squad where the most important players can serve (Key players or squad players) 3 to 5 more years like Abidal, Xavi, Villa, Keita and even Puyol (next year could be his last as a starter though), notice I kept Mascherano and Adriano out, added to players who will be in the club for longer period like Valdes, Pique, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Pedro, and Bojan supported by extremely promising talents like Fontas, Bartra, Oriol, Dos Santos, Thiago; anyone in his right mind believe that this club need to spend 250 M on transfers in the following five years?
If the club increase the revenues 2% as mentioned above, thats a 126 Millions in 5 years. More than enough to strengthen the squad. The club already took a loan for 155 M where 70 % of it went to pay urgent commitments (as the board mentioned), which means rescheduling commitments in a controllable manner. So it is safe to say that 100 Million of the 442 M rumored debt is already on the right track. Put the 250 Millions already reserved for transfers above it and that's 350 Millions sorted out (250 M paid completely in 5 years).
What about encouraging fans to become members rather than kicking them away, which may generate couple of millions more to the cash account? What about reviewing the salaries expenses from head to toe, especially on the administrative level? There are so many options to increase revenue and decrease expenses. Now I am aware that this is simplifying the issue, but it sound relevant for me to say: The club is not in an irreversible situation that require sponsorship agreement to jump for the rescue. It is safe to say the club now is in a better position than it was in 2003.
What this sponsorship deal did is that it ruined the last defense the club can use if things -really- went bad. Before the agreement, the club could always argue creditors that "we don't even have sponsorship agreement...we don't have sponsors for the stadium...we don't...we don't...and still we are the most competitive club and generate a revenue close to half billion" That hidden sponsorship card would have always had more value than it actually worth. The moment Barcelona signed the sponsorship deal this card was revealed and now it has a price tag. It is no more "priceless".
One of the most important things in business is to have a clear mission, vision and branding strategy and to stick to it as far as possible. There is no branding image that can win all the time. The clubs having the most luxurious sponsorship deals are the most debited ones. So it is not true that sponsorship is the make or break for any club's finance. Barcelona's image almost reached maturity in the past few years and there was a chance to stamp it on steel in the coming years. "More than a club" and for the first time in the club's history earned a market value and generated commercial benefits. It is amusing to keep repeating the 408.9 Millions revenue presented in the last Auditing the current board did. If you cant manage a club that generates this amount of money, you cant manage it even if you double the figures.
Beside, who said that this UNICEF-BARCA partnership reached its peak commercially? All what the club did was stamping the logo on the shirt and selling it. The UNICEF-BARCA partnership had massive potentials that the previous board didn't recognize and the current board killed. You can at least double Merchandise return through developing this partnership. You can sell almost anything with a UNICEF-BARCA Logo stamped on it from plates to printers. Even with a 50/50 profit share between the two parties Barcelona can still enjoy an increase in commercial return.
Agreements could have been made with third party to create pubs brand that generate franchising agreements across the globe. Sportswear. Restaurants. You name it. All based on the same partnership that offer UNICEF a share of the return. Anyone will spend money on items that match the market quality, knowing that a share of that money will go to support good cases, whether Barcelona fan or someone who has know clue about football all together. Thats a way to boost commercial return and club image through being faithful to the club mission and history. And we are still talking pure business.
I just cant stop explaining how unnecessary this agreement is. How damaging. But I am committing myself to shorten my posts a bit (though it is too late for this one already). Finally, whenever Rosell doesn't show up to announce something and send his directors instead, you know there is a problem. Ibra's transfer, Membership regulations and now sponsorship deal. Then they say "we can discuss it later in the Assembly", and it is astonishing how the members hatred toward Laporta make them accept anything thrown their way. Discuss what? "If you -dear members-don't like the agreement we can still pay some millions penalty for breaching the sponsorship contract" says Rosell.
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| All have flaws, all have pros. It depends on what you want to see |
In a series of three posts -this is the final part, I made an attempt to create a countering argument against the massive stream of attacks targeting Russia, and especially Qatar. The posts do not necessarily express my personal opinion but an attempt to be outside the box and figure another version of the story. Sometimes it is important to be reminded about own flaws to become more understandable of others cons. Call it an attempt to be the devils advocate if you like (Many times I received advices to become a lawyer. hm...). But be careful, this post may contain offending views for those unwilling to read anything that doesn't echo their own believes. After the logistics, the technicalities, now we reach the misconceptions.
World cup 2018 will take place in Russia while Qatar will host World cup 2022. Dooms day. And the ranting engines started to roar like never before. FIFA is corrupted! (No shit!).
Then the holier-Bigger-Better than though anthem blew its horns, as predicted. Democracy! Human Rights! Environment concerns! Corruption! Terrorism! And again Terrorism! Just 'cause it sounds more convincing when you repeat it twice.
All this ranting proves the FIFA were right to make the decisions they made. Regardless of the luxury discussions about "technicalities", this FIFAstic decision served beyond football, revealing the ugliest face of the trident engagement between Arrogance, ignorance and hypocrisy. This make people who were not that excited about FIFA's decision (count me in), stand up and bow for Blatter and co. If Football-and Sports- role is to bring people together regardless of their differences, to make them know, then this FIFAstic move proved being a master strike.
Now heading to Qatar, the country that received most of the critic. Basically because it is an Islamic country in the Middle East. And fox-news generation visualize Middle east as a compact homogeneous Ben laden-ish block of cannibals jumping over each others' back with sharp daggers dripping blood all over the place.
Let me start with this tiny -side note- information: Qatar is more a "Liquefied Natural Gas" country than "Oil". HA? Yes...that's true. It is one thing when a blogger or someone who comment on a blog or a casual chatter mix-up things, but it is another thing when some "professional" journalists on the payroll of well known journals start ranting without putting an effort to know the most attainable details about the subject they discuss. So for those who want to explain how Qatar bought and corrupted everyone, Pullleeaazzzee refer to the LNG country, not the Oil country. At least this will give some credentials for your argument, and delude your readers that you have a clue what you are talking about. Deal? Deal.
Thats just a demonstration about all the nonsense we read in the past few days. Lets go straight to the point, and I hope I dont forget anything...
- Women's hair: First, I cant avoid pointing out -sarcastically- the current "let us see it. LET US SEE IT!!!" obsession in women hair. But I wont ramble about it (we want to brief right?). So I will just say, YES women can walk in Qatar without the need to cover their hair or to wear the traditional Qatari clothes (In some European countries women have no choice to decide). Surprise surprise! And YES women can go out alone without the need to have any men with them (I am laughing while stating the obvious here). In fact women can go out and walk anywhere at anytime day or night in Qatar, something I don't think women (or even men, so to speak) dare to do in some of the biggest cities in Europe or USA.
- No history in football: Why do people consider this a flaw in Qatari bid? I don't understand. In fact, it should be considered as a plus. If we want the best team to win the world cup, then we need to create a fair competition. The basic element for fair competition is to play the game in a neutral stadium. A great team hosting the competition at home will have an unfair edge over the rest. World Cup 1998 was not a fair competition. World cup 2006 was not a fair competition, so as world cup 2014 will not be a fair competition. The country that host the world cup must not be one of the best 20 nations in world football. this way we create a fair competition. In the other hand it spread the contribution and involvement between nations so excited because their teams are title contenders, and other nations who will never win the world cup, but they can at least have a better chance to host it.
- Freedom of speech: We will keep this one short boys. It is true, freedom of speech is not guaranteed in Qatar or the Middle East (more or less). But here is a small remark:" There is no freedom of speech anywhere in the world". There are taboos in Middle East, so as there are taboos everywhere else. You doubt? Where are you from? Ask journalists in your country about it and if they brag that their country is the land of freedom, we put things in practice: I pass you ten essays and you pass me ten. Lets see how many posts of mine you can publish in national journals in Europe and USA (for example) and how many of your topics I succeed to publish in the Middle East. I lived in Lebanon (and visited many middle east countries), and now I am living in Sweden (and had my ramble across Europe). I can safely say there is more freedom of speech in Lebanon than Sweden/Europe. Just as an example. So let's cut the crap.
- A country too small to host a world cup: First of all, Qatar is a member of the expanding CCASG where other countries are in the queue to join. Citizens move smoothly from one country to another in this union and soon they will have a common currency (though I am not sure if they will reconsider after the Euro's crisis). They are also a member of The Arab League.
That will not make the country bigger but it shows that the world cup is not only about few hundreds of Qatari, but millions of people living in the middle east . Besides, it is much easier for people from around the globe to go to Qatar, than for any middle eastern to book a visa to Europe or USA (no one want a middle eastern in their plane, right?/end "sarcasm"). Thats why this world cup will be more attainable than any other world cup.
Having all the stadiums close to each other create a challenge for Qatar to manage. Can they manage? We can only judge after the event. But it also has its advantages. Anyone traveling from another country may have a chance to watch two or three world cup matches in one day. That is not the case when the stadiums are spread thousand miles away from each other.
- Alcohol and homosexuality: First, if you are planning to go to Qatar (and some other conservative countries in the middle east) anytime soon, make sure not to make out in the middle of the street. You already heard that some homosexuals were captured by the Qatari officials, but you shouldn't feel you will not face the same trouble if you are not homosexual.
The thing is, it doesn't matter if you are homosexual, heterosexual or petro-sexual, that's not the point. Qatari are conservative people -at least in public. That's their culture, religion and tradition. They like to walk their children across the city without being worried that they may witness any "Odd surprises". Whether you are married, or one night adventurer or love rat, control your gun and hold your fire till you reach your room. I am sure you can do that, it even add more pleasure and excitement if you have to wait. Qatari police do not put cameras in the rooms to check what happens when two guys rent a room together. There are homosexuals in each and every Middle east country. You can find some through facebook, and if you can then no doubt their country's intelligence can as well, but they don't go out hunting after them. So this is the deal, in your privet bubble, follow your rules. In public, respect your host rules. And for me, that's fair enough. Sexual life is a privet practice, not a public showcase.
There are laws in Qatar that may offend homosexuals and upset alcoholics. True. There is a need to have open discussions about some of the laws and try to change it (Especially if their are laws that consider homosexuality as a crime, which is wrong no matter how you see it). It is also important to discuss the whole homosexuality issue with Qatar and all other nations who may see this case from a different perspective based on their cultural background. Thats all fine. But if we consider it a crime to let Qatar host the world cup because some laws offend a group of people then we must not host the world cup in any country that offend Hinduism (more than a billion adherents) for example. Regulations that allow cows slaughtering must be changed in any country that want to host the world cup.
Now here is another thing: We like alcohol as a part of our life style, they forbid it based on religious demands. Why is it them who have to change and not us (And BTW I don't want anyone to change their life style)? Why is it always our own values that should be considered as the margin of "international" right and wrong?
We like Alcohol. it brings lot of joy and set the mood right. But if regulations are meant to protect individuals and societies, Alcohol is damaging for individuals and societies, as proved by each and every medical and social study.
So while Alcohol-friendly countries do not dare to put strict regulations because its a loss of votes where people who like Alcohol-same as drug addicts- love to get high. There are other countries where the cultural belief helped them to reach there. We don't need to follow them. But how relevant is it to say "Screw your youth and move backward to our position if you want to host a world cup"?
If you think about it, it is even so wrong that FIFA's main sponsor for a competition followed by youth, is an alcoholic drink. Is that even compatible to football or sport in general? Does Messi get drunk before the games?
In any way, this "do it our way" argument sounds like accepting an invitation to have dinner in a Jew or Muslim house but then criticizing them for not serving pork. If you don't like it, don't go there. Simply put. BTW shouldn't we change the universal laws so we forbid pork to satisfy Jews and Muslims (that's another billion of people)? Just saying...
- Environment damages: This is one of the most shallow excuses. It is not Qatar who complicate Kyoto agreement. I think it will be a good idea that FIFA refuse to offer any country that contribute mostly in CO2 Emissions the chance to host the world cup. This is a sample of a schedule that help in deciding the countries that can (or can't) host the world cup. Regardless of the fact that Qatar suggested an environment friendly alternatives to counter FIFA concerns.
- Democracy, Terrorism, corruption and all the other stuff: First thing first, democracy is the method where the majority of citizens agree on a system to rule the country. Luckily Qataris are not numerous, so it is easy to figure if the existing system is what they want. I have no idea. If the majority of Qataris are comfortable with the current ruler, then who are we to stick our nose and complain? Did anyone investigate their opinion about their regime? Good question.
Now to the big question: Can the countries that promote, support, and protect dictatorships preach against it?
Some people not even aware that the project inspired by School of the Americas expanded already, creating a franchised system of dictatorships across the globe. It is true that there are dictatorships and corrupted systems in the Middle East (now that this is the case in hand). But the truth is that such regimes are there because they count on the backing of those who like to preach about democracy.
On daily bases, people in the middle east raise the voice and spread their fleshes on the streets demanding a change while putting their own safety on the blade (including women -for those who are sooo worried about women life in the Middle East). It happens every.Single.Day. They are doing their part of the job putting pressure on the first face of dictatorships' coin and showing will to sacrifice for the good case. Are the preachers doing their role dealing with the other face of the coin? Because if Mr. Keyboard hero believes he lives in a "democratic country", he cant say "It is not my fault". The existing politicians represent you, and you carry the responsibility of their actions.
I can -kind of- understand someone who say: "I don't like politics and I don't like to talk about it". I say "Fair enough", regardless of the fact that global era makes it impossible to spread responsibilities and blame. But when someone just feel like throwing couple of shallow statements then retreat to bed laying under cover alone to touch and enjoy, someone will have to pull him out to a seat, look straight in the eyes and say it the way it is.
Besides, dictatorship can be dump and obvious, like one man ruling a country till death. Or smart and sneaky, like a lobby or two ruling a country since ever and for ever, though behind the curtains with dolls in the highest positions to serve their masters' needs. Everytime people get sick of a doll and show anger toward the whole situation, a new election (with lot of promises and excitement) change the doll and bring new hope (drug) to calm down the flock. Show must go on.
Its laughable to accuse Qatar of terrorism. Seriously. Lets check how many war crimes Qatar (Or middle Easterns in general) committed compared to other bidders who wanted to host the world cup (2018 or 2022). How many countries did Qatar invade or sent soldiers to, neglecting clear statements in the international law that forbid it? Lets take any international organization you like and review their reports. Based on that, we decide who can and who must not be allowed to host the world cup. I call that fair and right. And don't let me start talking about bloody corruption.
There is also this "Damn them!!" chauvinist argument against Oil/Gas middle east countries. Because they are rich, they are corrupted and deserve no respect. I will not argue that. But why the same people who damn the primitive middle easterns do not complain when those same "Terrorists/corrupted/primitives" offer them jobs and contribute in keeping their economy alive? So, when they keep Mr. Holly-man on the payroll and buy him a beer, its all good. But when they want to host a world cup they are suddenly lacking the human values needed to do that. I see... Now what can we call that?
But then again if Qatar is the monster of all Evils of dictatorship and corruption, USA has a huge military base in Qatar capable to change their regime and bring "justice and love". Oh...yea and "world peace". Let the knights of rights do the job. They didn't hesitate before.
What I know for sure is that Qatar will make lot of changes in the following twelve years to meet the international standards (Everyone will be able to drink till get drunk and puke under each and every tree separating the stadium from the hotel room). But if it will be up to me, I would recommend that Qatar stay loyal to it's culture and introduce it to the world. Every country, society, culture, or religion has its flaws. People who are willing to accept differences will enjoy a life experience of watching football matches and knowing more about the other human living on this planet. A chance to see things the way it is on-site, not as the propaganda want to show it per interest. Those who cant accept seeing things outside the box can follow the tournament at home resting on their favorite couches. After all, this is how middle easterns followed the world cup for decades. So, fair enough.
Again, nothing uglier than the trident engagement between Arrogance, ignorance and hypocrisy. Something you can stumble upon both in the east and the west where each party feels they own the naked truth and are the right opposing the ultimate wrong existing elsewhere. Then they start a holly war to change the other or kill him. It is not about wearing a tie or a Burqa, covered hair or dressed in a bikini. It is not what you feel like dressing, but how far you can reach people having a different criteria about clothes, life, and what goes beyond that.
After we discussed the logistics in the first part, lets deal with the "technicalities". There were lot of noises about the technical flaws of the winning bids. Hosting a world cup has never been (and will never be) a technical decision. Right? If Russia's bid was catastrophic from the technical perspective -leading to the claim that those who voted for Russia are FIFAnatically corrupted- then why did Mr. Geoff Thompson -England's FIFA ExCo representative-vote for Russia -the weakest bid technically- in the second round? Of course he is not corrupted -because he is English and English gents don't -EVER!- do that, the same as English players do not -NEVER!- dive.
Obviously Mr. Geoff Thompson had his own reasons. But why is it hard to believe that there are some people -who are not English- who might also have their own reasons to vote in the same direction?
Is it true that BBC panorama program had an impact on FIFA ExCo voting? You bet. Is there anything wrong about that? Following English media reactions after the voting, one argument sums it all:
"Voting for Russia proved the claims about FIFA's corruption. FIFA had a chance to clear its name by voting for England, they wasted it!"
I see...Well, BBC plan went in the wrong direction then. Timing the program just before the voting was meant to create a pressure on the ExCo to "clear their names" by voting for England. There is no other explanation for the timing of the program. The thing is, the BBC played it so wrong. In Fact, if the Exco voted for England, that will prove everything said about their corruption. It will sound as if they made a panic voting, trying to Buy England's silence. The competition between England and Russia was so close, as the telegraph described the two bids before the voting:
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EnglandTechnical report in brief: Fifa risk ranking: 14 low risk categories, 2 medium risk and a low overall operational risk. Report reveals England has made the most detailed proposal, and praises both legacy plans and commercial strength of the bid.
Can they win? Yes, but they’ll have to come from behind to do it. Major challenge to make it in to the final round against Spain or Russia, but if they do it’s winnable.
Odds: (William Hill) 13-8
Russia
Technical report in brief: Russia has five areas of medium risk, with air transport judged a high risk because of the absence of a reliable rail network and concerns over the pressure this would put on air travel.
Can they win? Definite contenders and received wisdom has them vying with Spain in the final round, but Russia are chasing many of the same votes as England, and may not be the clear favorites.
Betting odds: 8-11
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Then the BBC attempt was intended to add more weigh to England's bid, but it was not well-calculated and causes an irreversible damage.
One of the aspects of England's bid flaw, was the messages they tried to send through there campaign. Now seriously, in a country where there are lot of Excellent marketing consultants it is astonishing how bad the campaign was from marketing perspective. After the bidding, English officials were talking about "They don't like us because they believe we are arrogant" then in their campaign you only find slogans about"Bring it back home" and bragging about this and that. Bad. Just Bad. talking about "it has been a long time since the competition was hosted in England" sound smart. But it still give more credentials for other bidder complaining that the tournament has NEVER been hosted not only in Russia but in Eastern Europe all together. They should have worked more on the message they want to present for England's bid, rather than getting too confident about the technicalities.
Then there are suggestions like "Putin called some voters -personally". But in some other interviews England's representatives leave you astonished while telling how some FIFA members promised the prime minister, Beckham and the royal family to vote for England, then they didn't. And please..."They promised to vote for us"...Ask anyone who was involved in any kind of elections from classroom representatives to national leaderships they will all tell you how naive this complain sounds.
Did Russia (and Qatar) try to create intensives for Exco members to vote their way? Hm...One of the members is from Thailand. England arranged a friendly match to be played against Thailand to help world cup bid . Why will England need that if it is all about technicalities where England is supposed to have the best chance? Now there are rumors they are canceling it after the voting . Is THAT "fair bidding"? Isn't there any conflict of interest there? Thats corruption, no matter what dictionary you check. Thats just one example of many we know, and more we don't. So lets stop this "we played it fair...poor we..." claims. The only difference between different bidders is that some had more intensives to offer than others. Fullstop.
Then you wonder, where were all the whiners -at least- in the past two decades? There were lot of incidents where people stepped in to complain about FIFA's corruption while the current preachers were hiding in their holes. Now everyone want to become a national hero, and its as easy as screaming "Corrupted!!" While carrying a banner with FIFA's name on it marked by a red X. Then FA chairman Roger Burden ride Alexander's horse announcing he will quit as a protest against FIFA corruption. But before anyone HAIL Burden's English pride, alow me to share this little irrelevant detail: he was actually planning to quit anyway. But now he can exit passing under the bow of glore, rather than sneaking from the back door. Good radiance.
It is so wrong to look at the technical reports and jump to conclusions. If the technical reports decide it all, then why do we wait the voting? Let's refine the technical criteria as far as possible and decide the best host per se. Obviously we will end up having one country in each continent that is capable to create the best infrastructure in the continent and the world cup will keep dancing between handful number of countries for ever.
It wasnt a technical decision to play the world cup in USA 1994. It wasnt a technical decision to play the world cup in South Africa. It barely was a technical decision to offer the world cup to any country. So why now? Higher risk? Less qualified? Well, it depends on how you see it.
Keep in mind that we are talking about a world cup that will take place 12 years from now. Taking the economic curve of Qatar -for example- and comparing it to any other contender, it is easy to predict that Qatar's economy will be more reliable in the following 12 years to meet the world cup demands than the rest. Is Spain-Portugal 2018 more reliable than Qatar 2022? Technically -and at the moment- they are better. Yet, in Spain they are failing to meet the demands of managing the LIGA, even though -technically- they can.
I have a serious doubt that this whole EU will have to answer some big questions in the following few years and there is a big chance that it collapse.
In the current economic difficulties where everyone is demanding cutting down costs, it will be easy to arrange a campaign in USA (2 years from now?) to generate public opinion that oppose spending on a tournament a massive segment of the citizens dont even follow the sport it will host. I am aware the basic infrastructure is there, but you still need to reserve a budget for all the customizations needed to meet the demands of the tournament. And lets not start a discussion about "profitable tournament", there are no profitable tournaments for the hosting countries anymore. We can play by numbers and stretch it one way or another, same as Greece did before. But the fact is that all the big tournaments in the past few years from world cup to Olympics caused economic challenges afterward in the hosting countries.
Was all that in mind when FIFA decided the best alternative to host the world cup?Was it more relevant to only consider the current technical advantages of all bidders? or was it right to try to forecast long term dis/advantages? especially for a tournament that will take place 12 years from now. I cant claim any of the mentioned points were the incentives behind voting for this nation or that. But it is easy to see that there is another face for the story other than "they bought it undeservedly".
People forget another factor FIFA focus on: Offering the chance for new countries to host the world cup. All the alternatives for 2022 hosted the tournament in the past two decades-beside Australia and Qatar. Thats an important factor to take in consediration, and while Qatar's bid was extremely impressive the way they put it, Australian's were not as convincing. Qatar took all the notes presented in FIFA's technical report and worked on it till the presentation day showing strong intentions and determination that they want to make it happen. No doubt, that bring lot of reliability, confidence, and votes.
Next: My favorite -last part: democracy, terrorism, and the holly horses of western values.
Special thanks for Gabriele Marcotti for all the information he provide about this subject. He provided lot of the material I used in this post, though he carrys no responsibility about anything published in this article.
Apologies for lack of posting, I am suffering neck problems added to intensive work schedule. For now, this is the first Paragraph of my Champions league preview for the match Between Barcelona and Rubin Kazan.
Whats wrong with this Kazan club?! Barcelona never beats them! Will the Catalans break the Tatar spell this time? Or maybe it is not what you think it is…
The conspiracy of the world cup.
Allow me to break it down to you in few lines. If you think it is FIFA who planned the whole thing, you are wrong. That’s just what they want you to think. All FACTS you can read exclusively here:
Putin called Rosell few months ago. The deal: If Barcelona officials help Russia to win the world cup by leaking information about Spanish campaign, Russia will help Barcelona to qualify to the knockout stage of the Champions league. Barcelona in return plays a weakened selection against the Russian club Kazan in the last meaningless match. Norway officials told all parties that they are willing to finance the process and offer money to economically-struggling Greece so that Panathinaikos hand Barcelona the 6 points they need for an early qualification. Norway had one request though: All parties should help Qatar to host world cup 2022. That’s a part of a deal between Qatar and Norway, a country with experience in petroleum and will benefit from new contracts in Qatar. Do I need to remind you that one of the FIFA officials who voted for World cup hosts was from…GREECE?!!!
You will ask: “And what is the Russian role here? And what about Copenhagen’s impact on the group, smarty?!”
That’s your problem, you…normal people with no connections. Russian patriots already dealt with that Copenhagen little problem. Viola!
All results are sorted out to fit the plan. Yet, there are rumors that Madrid Anti Reality Corrupted Agency -MARCA is holding investigations about the whole issue. (Read More on The Offside)