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| Franz Beckenbauer |
In the 1970’s the New York Cosmos soccer team bought Edson Arantes do Nascimento to help promote the new sport in North America with Pele on a salary of $1.4m a year even back in those days such was the ambition. In 1977 World Brazil Cup winning Captain Carlos Alberto was also signed, and soon followed by Franz Beckenbauer. The German already a household name after three times Champions League titles with Bayern Munich, and captaining the World Cup winners in 1974. Giorgio Chinaglia was bought from SS Lazio and was to become a legendary Cosmos goal scoring machine for a number of seasons.
The summer of 1977 also saw Johan Cruyff play some friendlies in the Cosmos colours, before joining LA Aztecs, all helping the sport get profile in an effort to capture the imagination of US sports fans. And more importantly the minds of the vast number of kids playing soccer. In the hope they would become the game’s future players, fans and supporters. All in all a pure marketers dream
Unfortunately within half a decade the New York Cosmos closed and the North American Soccer League [NASL] ceased to exist a year later in 1984. With no fundamental changes to the sporting grass roots or structure of the game. Or indeed it any real commercial legacy faced with the other more traditional US sports, football, baseball or basketball. Many of which were always outlets for various ethnic groups most talented athletes with high financial reward offered for those who made it. Something that beyond Pele, Beckenbauer, Chinaglia and Cruyff few players could earn playing soccer in the NASL. In the end all the clubs ended up with financial problems and disappeared for the most part until the revival came with Major League Soccer in 1993.
The MSL was founded as part of the USA 1994 World Cup agreements with FIFA and was started in 1996 with just ten teams. The new look league provided for an association of independently owned teams, where each team was owned and controlled by the league's investors. The league's closed membership still makes it one of the world's few soccer leagues not using promotion and relegation. It also has protected its long term financial viability and longevity as a result. Also offering many US players a place to return back after careers abroad come to an end. But also attracting some big names from Europe with David Beckham at LA Galaxy amongst the highest profile. Along with Thierry Henry who joined New York Red Bull.
But for the most part the MSL is based on home grown players with a structure that now seems to work better. Albeit the standard might still not be regarded as that competitive.
The model chosen by the Football Association of Ireland for the on-going development in the game is similar in only one way, and that is paying big money for high profile names once again at the forefront of the Irish national. Their purpose being search for international glory at either the EURO’s or the World Cup glory to boost much need match ticket sales to feed the need of an association heavily indebted. Struggling since the collapse of the Celtic Tiger’s 30,000 to meet its financial commitments on the AVIVA Stadium investment alone with 2020 a crucial budget balancing year. The disconnect with the domestic League of Ireland, the supposed grassroots for players and fans, continues to widen with no players in the domestic game able to make it into the national squads under any manager in recent times.
Other than Brian Kerr when he selected Glen Crowe, or John Giles and Eoin Hand in those long gone times. Symptomatic of a battle that has loomed large in Irish football since the arrival of Jack Charlton in the late eighties and the treatment of Liam Tuohy, then manage of the Irish Under-21 team. But those things in Irish Football never change as in 2013 the current Under 21 manager, Noel King, was given the interim role after the departure of Giovanni Trapattoni, and the arrival of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane.
Once again the FAI has gone a route not dissimilar to Steve Staunton and the late Sir Bobby Robson, as O’Neill and Keane have never worked together. Apart from ITV football punditry.
Both former players are very principled and with managerial records that need close examination to see where the consistency really is to be found. Other than O’Neill’s years at Celtic where the SPL is hardly a breeding ground for Champions League trophies. Albeit the current incumbent Neil Lennon did a marvellous job last season reaching the lucrative quarterfinal stages. In addition, the history of happy endings for former players managing their countries is a very short list indeed. Kevin Keegan in England, Jose Antonio Camacho for Spain, George Burley with Scotland or even Juergen Klinsmann with Germany. In the case of Ireland it is a shorter list with most leaving the job in understated fashion and with the booing of fans ringing in through the stadium. Mick McCarthy and Steve Staunton more recent cases. And Eoin Hand in 1985.
During John Giles time it was a player-manager role and at times combined with his managerial duties at West Bromwich Albion. Done so as well on a part time salary and without the backroom support known to most international coaches today. Giles also stated his reputation on the domestic game and revived the fortunes at Shamrock Rovers where he was from 1977 to 1982. There he created a team that played attractive football - unlike the Leeds United team he was part of - on played on the immaculate surface at Milltown’s Glenmalure Park. He also created a legacy of players who went on to achieve on and off the field. Liam Buckley, the top scorer at the club for a number of those years, still a dominant force in League of Ireland management. Having just broken St Patrick's Athletic hoodoo on the league title a few weeks ago.
Similarly Eoin Hand’s achievements with Limerick City reflected those different times when a League of Ireland club could be drawn against the might of Real Madrid in the first round of the Champions League. Domestic players could represent their country. And home managers could get the break at international level
Brian Kerr is without doubt that he last in that lineage.
With the estimated cost of the last manager and his backroom team over the five years about 10million Euro, the gap between the richer and poorer in Irish football just widens all the time. That money escaping the domestic game, which for so many years needed a realistic overhaul and some proper financial support. And perhaps a system like the MSL or IRFU where the franchises and domestic players are controlled centrally. But that would countermand the current UEFA licensing system, which is the route by which clubs are now supposed to adhere to for their finances. But even if a club does win the FAI Cup or reach the Champions League qualifiers remains the only way to make the major financial breakthrough.
Next summer Liam Buckley and St Patrick’s will have one more assault on that dream in an effort to do what Rosenberg have done for so many seasons in Norway. Keep qualifying perennially for the Champions and plotting their own finances. Until that moment occurs no league of Ireland or their players will be serious contenders for international service. Although Keane's memories of Cobh Ramblers and O’Neill’s at Distillery might bring a new perspective.
What remains true though is that the Irish way of solving most things is by talking the shortest and easiest route. So hiring Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane delivers instant kudos, marketing hoopla, bums on seats. It also expected to fix what Giovanni Trapattoni couldn’t, Brian Kerr failed to in the end, and Mick McCarthy achieved to some degree in 2002 – and that is to make the Republic of Ireland a footballing force. And that leap from 60th in the world rankings to top twenty again.
Admittedly any improvement on the dated staccato soccer practised by the last manager, Trapattoni, has to be welcomed. Even for the players, many of whom thankfully would have never seen the football practised in Italy during the 1980’s – except on You Tube – and must have regarded the Italian master as something of a dinosaur. His detachment from watching and seeking out Irish players playing aboard was perhaps the greatest criticism.
Even the 1996 World Cup winner Jack Charlton was not beyond that role and it was visit to see Oxford United’s Dave Langan that saw John Aldridge and Ray Houghton recruited for the Republic of Ireland. Both proving major contributors to the Irish cause and indeed the Liverpool one also. In Malaga on one occasion years ago, the former Shamrock Rovers centre forward Alan Campbell was greeted through the terrace barriers by Jack when lining out for Racing Santander in a La Liga fixture. The merit of which saw Campbell subsequently capped three times fro his country.
In those days the backbone of Charlton’s team included pure domestic products like Whitehall’s Liam Brady, Home Farms Ronnie Whelan, Shelbourne’ s David O’Leary, and Artane’s Frank Stapleton.
But those days have changed as has the game in England where fewer Irish player hold places in the Premier League. Even less playing high quality finals that could even match the medal haul of the Republic side for example that beat England in Stuttgart in 1988. Nor will that change given the billion pound outlay paid to the Premier League by Sky Sports, BT and others. There is little even Messrs O’Neill and Keane can do about those facts as clubs will always splash out the Agueros, Suarez's from abroad to win silverware. Indeed even for Franz Beckenbauer could do little when he has at the helm of the Deutsche Fussball Bund [DFB] in his time.
But the Kaiser has always been fortunate.
In the 1990’s he headed a high profile commission to address the problems with the German game as they believed there was a crisis. They believed Germany needed more success at international level.
The term crisis was somewhat laughable when the achievements in major tournaments was always the envy of other footballing nations. The perceived weakness being the excess of expensive foreigners in the Bundesliga, which was depriving young German players of valuable experience. But first they needed to improve their skills to win places back on the teams. The new blueprint not jingoistic but a means of ensuring clubs developed long term futures with academies, focusing on individual skills and player athleticism. As that foundation was growing organically German Football Federation was recruiting for the national team for expediency.
Consequently the DFB went through a phase of chasing anyone with a vague German background, offering citizenship to South African Sean Dundee playing for Karlsruher, and then Brazilian Paulo Rink of Leverkusen. Neither of whom proved a long term solution forcing the DFB in 1999 - under their vice president of day - Franz Beckenbauer to seek a better alternative. For that purpose he collected the input from a number of key football people in Germany with two key initiatives.
The first was to create 121 national talent centres to help 10 to 17 year-olds with technique, and a requirement for all 36 professional clubs in both Bundesliga divisions to build youth academies. Fortunately for Beckenbauer the initiative also coincided with the liberalisation of the citizenship laws and a willingness by the DFB to actively integrate young footballers from the new immigrant groups. In 2000 when Germany were named hosts of 2006 World Cup it accelerated that vision as the country came together to boost the national footballing effort.
However the major happenstance – which at first appeared a major crisis – was the collapse in 2002 of Kirch TV, the company that been funding the Bundesliga for over a decade.
Not unlike the ITV Digital’s collapse in 2002 in the UK, it left many clubs with over-geared budgets, huge wage bills that would have only been possible through TV money - and could not be honoured any more. In Germany the Kirch collapse meant that the imported players, all attracted by the generous pay scales, were on their way out. That result then propelled the unknown younger local talent into the first team of many Bundesliga clubs - by default. Ironically it has been onward and upward in German football ever since.
Years later the football practiced by Borussia Dortmund or Bayern Munich is a strong, fast game with precision passing and immediate control. That even made Arsenal’s long admired footballing Premier league prowess look second rate recently.
No doubt the message Beckenbauer would offer the FAI is to think longer term and in time reap the rewards of planning. Also invest some of those millions on the grassroots of the game and the so called miracle results will come in due course. The other thing to be learned would be the economies and values of transfer fees within the Bundesliga.
Susch as Robert Lewandowski’s move to Bayern Munich for a €15m signing-on fee under the Bosman free transfer and earning €200,000 a week. Had he chosen Manchester United they would have broken the bank to buy the 27 year old Polish international for five times that amount and not doubt upped the salary. Not Bayern where the fans are shareholders and prudence is the name of their game. And who can argue with their Bundesliga or Champions League record. Also capturing the best manager in the business, Pep Guardiola.
The FAI may have missed that point and even if the national team wins the EURO 2016, or indeed the World Cup, the domestic game in Ireland will have changed very little one imagines. Unless Liam Buckley can complete his vision for Champions League football at Inchicore. Or Keane and O‘Neill can bridge the gap. Sadly though that is not their priority. But an estimated
eight million euro will have left the Irish game over the next four years paid to the two new managers.
So for the moment Irish football once again looks a bit too New York Cosmos.
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