Where to go from here?
A good friend of mine from England constantly complains that today’s English Premier League (EPL) business model is destroying and will completely eradicate what he calls the real English football. Not to get into much detail, his concern is basically that the big 4 – Arsenal F.C., Chelsea F.C., Liverpool F.C., and Manchester United F.C. – are no longer English teams that prioritize the utilization of English players to create opportunities for young local players. The fact is, it is inevitable, and it has to be done not only by these four clubs, but also by any team with aspiration to get into one of the European club competitions. The top 4 out of 20 will have a spot in the Champions League. The 5th and 6th place will represent the country in the UEFA cup, a less prestigious but also profitable European trophy. But let me take it a bit further; it is a model that must be followed by any team that intends to stay in the EPL, it is unquestionable that to have the quality in the field necessary to stay at the Premier Level, clubs will have to reach out of the local pool of players, with no exceptions.
How would the Triangle Model work?
A top European organization would partner or acquire a team in an intermediate market (I call these markets intermediate because of their local economy) like Russia, US, or Japan, and discovery markets in South American and African countries like Brazil, Argentina, Nigeria, etc., that are known to have sizable production of talented athletes.
To illustrate this idea, think in the following lines:
- Man United would be the mothership or headquarters club,
- an MLS franchise would be the intermediary club, and
- a Brazilian club would be the support and development unit.
The three clubs should have one head technical director that would create a global vision to guide all three organizations to follow the same culture of play, development, competitiveness, and profitability.
The attractive contracts EPL clubs are offering to foreign players tremendously diminish the opportunity for young English players. In a Triangle Model, young English players who usually play for the reserve teams could be sent to the support units where they can be developed and exposed to first division leagues in those countries. In case you are a hard-core English fan, let me clarify one thing: reserve matches and leagues are not as competitive as MLS (Major Soccer League) in the USA, and it should not even start to be compared with Brazilian first division. The main club will have an upper hand on new talent development from the Brazilian club with the advantage of developing potential talents in a homogeneous environment, since both organizations are under the same technical director, which will give more time for the new talent to be properly developed and move to the EPL just when technical fundamentals and physical development are fully matured. It is well known that clubs can't dedicate the necessary attention and, in most cases, dedicate the necessary time to develop their own players. Take as an example the case of Ikechi Anya who just signed with Seville. Anya (21) was tried and released for a couple of teams before heading to Glenn Hoddle's Academy in southern Spain to receive what would be his last chance. Hoddle conceived the idea after seeing the devastating effect on youngsters being told they had no future at the clubs they were contracted when he was managing Swindon and Chelsea, and a belief that the final decision, in many cases, was taken too soon. Or the case of Liverpool's defender Alvaro Arbeloa who came through Real Madrid's youth program and was released by the club for $1 million to move to Deportivo after playing just 2 games for the main team. After just a year as a Deportivo player, Arbeloa was transferred to Liverpool for $4 million in 2007. Now, Real Madrid is considering re-signing Arbeloa for $11 million.
In times where stratospheric amounts of money are being paid to players of high caliber, the issue with the roster internationalization model is that mature international players are becoming outrageously expensive commodities and to invest in young promises can be considered as uncertain as finding a strong stock in today's market. The solution is to change the model and globalize operations like any other business: The Triangle Model.
Why partner with the MLS?
To take advantage of the growing and profitable American soccer market. There are several advantages here:
- There is no language or cultural barrier with the main club
- Short flights leaving daily to Europe
- Incompatible season schedules
The MLS could be used as an intermediate market for young Brazilian players, given the necessary time to learn the language, adapt to a new culture and system of play, and an international environment.
The MLS model is unquestionably successful; don’t get confused, I am not talking about game quality, which I think is improving, I am referring to the potential to make money. The new Seattle franchise, Sounders F.C., had an attendance of 28 thousand fans on its inaugural game. A skeptical will raise eyebrows and say “Well, it was just the first game, let’s see a year from now”. The response: “Well, they sold out the first two games, plus 22 thousand season packages”; in my book, that’s unbelievably good!
At the personal level, I would see an old dream come through: I would love to see young English players playing in the Brazilian first division. Why? The domestic Brazilian soccer is played on its own peculiar speed, like it or not, it won 5 World Cups! Not better or worse than any other, but different. Keep in mind that in the last two times that the Brazilian clubs faced Champions League champions in Tokyo for the FIFA Club World Cup title, they won both games (Internacional S.C. vs FC Barcelona and São Paulo F.C. vs Liverpool F.C.) a few years back. How? Game management, which is what Brazilians do best. A team needs just one chance to win a game if you don’t let the opposition score.
Back to my dream, I would like to see these different speeds mixed in its raw format which is present just when players are very young and don't have too much financial ties and all the unpolluted stamina to succeed. With time, players won’t be themselves anymore, the very large majority will become bureaucrats like any other professional, one can be a good bureaucrat but still a bureaucrat, Anderson from Man United is a good example; he was way more exciting when he was 19 years old playing for Grêmio. I understand he plays a big part of Ferguson's master plan, but he hasn't scored in his two years of Man United because his leash is short.
A second part of my dream is to see an influx of young international players from countries with strong soccer history playing in the US. The benefits would be unprecedented to the continuation of the development of soccer business in this country. And last, for my English friend I really hope that England finds a solution to increase the opportunity for its youngsters to develop to the highest level. The way things are going, countries like England will become less and less competitive in international competitions.
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