Let me accept at the beginning that I am a die hard fan of football. I have played little when in school and college, but certainly I am not a champion nor an authority on it. However, to be a fan should be sufficient for me to express my views. The word used above, 'Africanization' is perhaps not there in any dictionary. I have derived it as similar to 'Americanization'. Before going in detail, let me declare that I am not at all commenting anything 'racial'.
For almost a month I have watched most of the matches in the FIFA World Cup 2018. What I noticed is the inclusion of substantial number of players of African origin. I am a regular visitor to various African countries. I am aware of their athleticism, their natural fitness, their inclination to sports et el. But since the 90s when we Indians got the chance to watch the world cups, I am finding the increasing participation of African players in the European teams, especially the West Europe.
When analyzed the reasons, I have noticed that;
1. Football is generally played by the boys from 'Low Income Group', simply because it is affordable.
2. It needs a very tough mindset to overcome the difficulties. It brings a different kind of fighting spirit in them. This mindset is automatically developed in the boys in African countries for obvious reasons. In fact, many of the South American players also, like Pele, Maradona, Messi, Suarez, Forlan, Ronaldo (Brazil), Walderama, have come from the same background.
3. The financial stability in the Western European countries have reduced this fighting spirit among the boys in these countries. The main examples are England and France. As against this, the East European teams, Serbia, Croatia, still have the local boys in their teams. To add to this, the entire team of Saudi Arabia was consisted of players of African origin. Just because their own Arab boys don't want to exert on the ground.
May be inevitable, but will it ruin the beauty of different styles and mindsets in the world football? The German machine, the Spanish nazakat, the Portuguese attacks, the French artillery, all may get converted to 'almost similar' African beats.
What do you think? Will it end the excitement in the world football?
(by the time I complete this blog, incidentally similar thoughts have been expressed by Mr Sunadan Lele in today's Daily Sakal - a Marathi newspaper)
For almost a month I have watched most of the matches in the FIFA World Cup 2018. What I noticed is the inclusion of substantial number of players of African origin. I am a regular visitor to various African countries. I am aware of their athleticism, their natural fitness, their inclination to sports et el. But since the 90s when we Indians got the chance to watch the world cups, I am finding the increasing participation of African players in the European teams, especially the West Europe.
When analyzed the reasons, I have noticed that;
1. Football is generally played by the boys from 'Low Income Group', simply because it is affordable.
2. It needs a very tough mindset to overcome the difficulties. It brings a different kind of fighting spirit in them. This mindset is automatically developed in the boys in African countries for obvious reasons. In fact, many of the South American players also, like Pele, Maradona, Messi, Suarez, Forlan, Ronaldo (Brazil), Walderama, have come from the same background.
3. The financial stability in the Western European countries have reduced this fighting spirit among the boys in these countries. The main examples are England and France. As against this, the East European teams, Serbia, Croatia, still have the local boys in their teams. To add to this, the entire team of Saudi Arabia was consisted of players of African origin. Just because their own Arab boys don't want to exert on the ground.
May be inevitable, but will it ruin the beauty of different styles and mindsets in the world football? The German machine, the Spanish nazakat, the Portuguese attacks, the French artillery, all may get converted to 'almost similar' African beats.
What do you think? Will it end the excitement in the world football?
(by the time I complete this blog, incidentally similar thoughts have been expressed by Mr Sunadan Lele in today's Daily Sakal - a Marathi newspaper)
I agree completely that different countries have different styles and they are getting faded but here there is no loss . As we can see a new form of football is being made. Earlier the whole team used to play with the same , but now these restrictions are put off and the players are allowed to play their own games. This is making the games more interesting and teams more of a hybrid type. After all if Messi would have chosen not to run because he is small then he wouldn't have been a legend , would he?
ReplyDeleteMy point is that we should not try to criticize the new football over the terms of old football rather enjoy the change.(not trying to say that you are criticizing football but saying that it's not a bad idea to let African players in European teams)
Thanks for detailed comment. I appreciate your views. My worry is about regimentation of this fantastic game. Nothing else.
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