Pictured: Javier Saviola, photo from Soccerlens.com.
I love football in Argentina. It just has something about it. It has a passion, a rawness which is fast becoming absent in the European game. It is a vehicle for characteristics which the English football puritan wishes in vain would return to the sport. It has noisy, die-hard supporters, attacking strategies. It's football which the well-to-do believe is an unsafe place for them to spend an afternoon. It's bloody fantastic.
Anyway, Paul Newman of The Independent recently embarked upon a series of features about Argentinian football - writing on the ground (not literally) from Buenos Aires, home to the world's second best football club, Boca Juniors...and some others, apparently (my Boca column, Bosteros, will begin in the next week or so). And in his second installent, Newman's investigation, focus and writing is insightful enough to more than warrant a discussion on my humble blog.
There are several fascinating readings to be made from this latest piece - its primary focus is Argentina's habit of exporting its players to Europe which is, in its own right, a superb read - but I'd like to home in on a trend, noted by Newman and interviewee Hugo Tocalli, which can be applied across world football: is the game's increasing focus on size, speed and physicality kicking on at the expense of genius and innovation?
It's important to make it clear from the outset that the players I use to demonstrate physicality over skill are/were not players without skill, rather their physique or speed is their outstanding attribute - whether that is a bad thing remains to be debated.
Hugo Tocalli, it has to be said, makes a compelling argument:
"The players were about 13 or 14. In the second half they brought on two little kids for 20 minutes – [Javier] Saviola and D'Alessandro. They weren't big enough or strong enough to make a huge impact but their skill was clear. Today clubs wouldn't give those two little kids a chance and we wouldn't now have players of their quality."
Think about it in terms of the English game. We have many outstanding players in our leagues, but the trend is certainly headed in the direction of players who are big, strong and fast. Think about Patrick Vieira at Arsenal. Think about the wave of enthusiasm surrounding Papa Bouba Diop during his time at Fulham, Micah Richards at Manchester City, and the desire of managers to have players who combine speed with the strength of a battering-ram.
These players, of course, have skills of their own which are invaluable. Sulley Muntari at Portsmouth has an impressive shot, for example, and Vieira's ability to break up play and then kick off an Arsenal move made him on of the very best in the Premiership. But if one takes 'skill' to mean speed of thought and foot, ingenuity and innovation, some of these more athletic players are lacking. So in that sense, I suppose some of the skill is being bled from the game.
Tocalli's argument is not that big lads aren't skillful - far from it - but that in chasing the 'athlete' over the 'player', football is perhaps overlooking a huge pool of potential talent. That's why we're lucky to have players like Javier Saviola (pictured) - in today's game they simply wouldn't have a chance. On reflection, it makes a lot of sense.
It's also crucial to note the age at which Tocalli believes these smaller players to be subject to rejection. At 13 or 14, players of small stature are overlooked with no consideration of their future development. Skill may be losing out to physicality, but it is not the case that physicality was previously unnecessary to succeed.
The best, most skillful players of the past and present often have remarkable upper body strength. Football is not just about skill, it's about being able to hold off opponents in order to use it. Diego Maradona, Carlos Tevez, Juninho and Cristiano Ronaldo, among countless others, are or were brilliant players. But they were also strong enough and physical enough to allow them time to express themselves.
Tocalli is absolutely right, but his thinking does not only apply to Argentina. If football is to remain entertaining, rather than becoming a test of strength, perhaps it's high time somebody found the next Kinkladze and developed him despite his stature.
Read more
Things aren't too rosy at Fulham Broadway, it seems. The back of the Evening Standard made entertaining reading today, running the headline 'Chelsea stars losing confidence in Grant' in reference to manager Avram being out of his depth by some distance. The only surprise is that anybody didn't make this assertion instantly upon his appointment.
