Wiebe: British pound dominates UEFA Champions League
While the investment in foreign players might bring British clubs success, it hurts the grassroots development of British players.
Three of the four teams in the semifinals are British.
By Andrew Wiebe (Contact)
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
Care to argue the superiority of the British pound? Look no further than the surviving sides in today and Wednesday’s opening legs of the UEFA Champions League semifinals.
Three of the four remaining clubs fighting for a spot in the May 21 final in Moscow are English. Even more remarkable, the semifinals could have been an all-English affair had the draw not pitted Liverpool against Arsenal in the quarterfinals.
For the third time in the past four seasons Liverpool and Chelsea will clash in the semifinals at Anfield, in Liverpool, England. Fellow European giants Manchester United and Barcelona follow that spectacle with one of their own Wednesday at the Nou Camp, in Barcelona, Spain; a matchup of two squads familiar with this stage of the competition.
In fact, the whole scenario seems oddly familiar. That’s because last years edition of Europe’s premier club competition was nearly identical at this point. Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool are making their second consecutive appearances in the semifinals and though Barcelona missed out last season, the club was champion in 2006.
Make no mistake; the power of the pound is on full display, but the only thing English is the currency. Lucrative marketing and television rights of the Barclay’s Premier League overflow the already hefty coffers of foreign owners, attracting top international players and managers to the hectic British game.
The end result of the lavish spending and lagging grassroots player development are squads and clubs distinctly un-English apart from the supporters. Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool counted only 12 total Englishman in their lineups for the second, and decisive, quarterfinal leg. Chelsea and Liverpool did not even include one English player on their benches, and all three clubs counted at least nine nationalities within their squads.
Even the coaches guiding thoroughbreds like Spaniard Fernando Torres, Argentine Carlos Tevez and Ivorian Didier Drogba learned the game elsewhere. Spanish mastermind Rafa Benitez leads the turmoil at Liverpool, Israeli Avram Grant guides nouveau rich Chelsea and Scottish genius Sir Alex Ferguson steers the helm at United.
The development of the game in England suffers by embracing foreign talent and funding, but it seems the British have found the key to UEFA Champions League success nevertheless. With three Barclay’s clubs alive for the second consecutive season, there is no doubt the power of the pound has prevailed now, and will for the foreseeable future.
Manchester United boasts a talented young core composed almost entirely of South American and European talent, including the world’s best player in Cristiano Ronaldo. Liverpool seems poised to ride the coattails of the prolific Torres to even more success with the backing of feuding American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Chelsea will go as far as Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich million-pound splurges take them.
Today and Wednesday millions will tune in to see many of the world’s best players battle for the most sought after prize in club football. In the process they will witness the power of the world’s premier currency, and what could be the beginning of English dominance after only two Champions League victories in the past 23 years. It’s a new era in UEFA Champions League football, one dressed in English colors but driven forward by players, managers and owners from around the globe.
— Edited by Patrick De Oliveira
Discussion
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Hello to everyone at the University of Kansas,
I found your story about the success of the UK clubs in Europe an interesting one but I would like to point out that you shouldn't refer to them as "British" clubs. The Premier League clubs are drawn from the provinces of England and Wales. The Scots have the Scottish Premier League, dominated by Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers (big sectarian divide!!) and I must admit that I do not fully understand the organisation of league football in Ireland. I think Norhern Ireland has its own league as distinct from the Republic of Ireland. I know this is confusing for people from overseas but on the cover of my passport are printed the words "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" (a big name for a small country). The UK is made up of the provinces of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The capital city of Wales is Cardiff. Cardiff City have made it to the final of the FA Cup but there is an argument going on in footballing circles about whether Cardiff City should be allowed into the UEFA Cup competition next year if they win the final. It was announced this morning that the Welsh national Anthem will be played at Wembley stadium for the final (for the first time ever), along with the British national anthem (huh?).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/cardiff_city/7366478.stm
This fragmentation is also a big problem for the Great Britain olympic team:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4523318.stm
Anyway, sorry for making such a big fuss about this. I think Scots might be inclined to be offended more than anyone else.
Just to add to the confusion, if you didn't already know, the UK used to have an empire. Many of the countries that made up that empire formed a commonwealth after becoming independent. We now have a competiion called the Commonwealth Games. All of the home countries: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales compete as separate entities!
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