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‘We are not a selling club’

How often did we hear managers saying that? Thank God we don’t hear it anymore, since it rings more hollow than a tin can. Because everyone knows that there’s only three clubs in world football that can really say it. And they don’t even bother doing so, since their exalted position is so bleedingly obvious.

And much as grey-haired romantics might remind us of the earliest days in the sport’s competitions, when all teams were ‘in it to win it’, the stark truth is that in the last few decades football clubs have always been divided into spenders and sellers. After all it’s economic reality which dictates everything, and the white hot popularity of football has turned the beautiful game into an industry in which the players are but the tip of the iceberg. And like all other industries, including publishing, finance etc, it’s an ever decreasing clutch of entities that are calling the shots.

When I was a kid it was the Italian clubs that were the big spenders, and who completely dominated the football scene. Back then clubs could only field three foreign players, whose first destination of choice was the Serie A, and then maybe Real Madrid or Barcelona. The likes of Bayern Munich were left to trawl far flung destinations like Iran to have any hope of recruiting any decent foreign talent, and England was not even considered a plausible destination for non-British players, unless you were Irish, Scandinavian or Andrei Kanchelskis.

This meant the lowly likes of Genoa boasting foreign stars of the calibre of Czech ace Tomas Skuhravy, or an also-ran like Torino being graced by the presence of Belgian genius Enzo Scifo. These guys would rather play with smaller Italian sides than win the league year after year in their own country, since the mere fact that you played in the Serie A was a privilege in itself.

The Italian league was quite simply a jaw-dropping congregation of world-class talent, but my oh my how times have changed, as evidenced by Gonzalo Higuain’s hysterical tears after Napoli were kicked out of this year’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) in a qualifier against Bilbao. It’s the first time in seven years that poor Gonzalo hasn’t played in the UCL. And for all the recent heart-warming talk of him being Maradona’s heir at the San Paolo, expect him to race to the exit door come January, as Napoli revert to their more familiar state of total implosion.

 

 

The Serie A has now gone from a ‘hard fought’ league to a ‘hard fourth’ league, trailing La Liga, Bundesliga and the English Premier League (EPL). Spain’s two top clubs and Germany’s top club are now the ultimate destination of choice, and find themselves the three at the top of the tree in the football hierarchy. They’re closely followed by a second rung of ‘wannabe’ sides backed by rich owners, who exclusively consist of Man City, Chelsea and PSG.

In the third category you’ll find the EPL’s four remaining top sides, and then there’s the fourth and last category of ‘the rest’. This latter class generally consist of well located shop windows for the sides above them, besides being sparring partners in the early rounds of European competition.

Each transfer window constitutes further proof of my theory. It’s why Roma’s Benatia had his head turned by Manchester City, before dropping them like a hot log upon realising that Bayern Munich wanted him to replace the newly crocked Badstuber. Or why the likes of Willian and Salah were on their way to either Tottenham or Liverpool before hearing that Chelsea were interested in their services. Sadly, it also means that the likes of Shaqiri would rather warm the bench in Munich then turn out for Liverpool’s first team.

So with this ever shrinking pool of big hitters, is there even any point in watching the second round of this week’s UCL group stage?

Fortunately football, like any other sport, is in a state of constant flux, with an eternal supply of young bloods in the wings ready to keep established stars honest and on their toes. Regular qualification for the UCL also means a guaranteed flood of money, which helps ensure that some of ‘the rest’ (if going on an extended run of back to back titles in their own domestic league), can make enough dosh to keep a decent and unchanged core of players in their side for a number of seasons.

An unexpected influx of talented youth might also help a ‘selling club’ to go an unexpected distance in European competition. Not to mention canny operating on the transfer market coupled with excellent management, which might help create a side like last year’s Spanish champions Atletico Madrid. A side that can reign supreme for a season, until their team is picked apart by higher spenders during the summer.

All of this helps to make the group stage of the UCL resemble something of a contest, a contest that both EPL and Serie A sides will be keen to rip up in their eternal quest to further progress in the UCL and inch ever closer towards the class above them in the football tree.

 

 

 

And after their narrow loss to Bayern Munich, Manchester City will be desperate to put in a great showing against Roma, in a tie that promises to be the second round’s most mouth-watering fixture, at least after PSG-Barca and Atletico-Juve. Both teams have arguably also been their domestic champions in the last transfer window, with astute signings secured on both sides. The pressure on both teams is such that their managers have quickly sought to dispel it, with the wily Garcia claiming that all of the pressure is on City, whose coach Pellegrini has claimed that the UCL is not the most important thing to win.

This is all absolute hogwash of course, since Pellegrini knows that further progress will be required in Europe this year to further strengthen his position in the eyes of City’s owners, and that the league title alone will not suffice. On his part Garcia would give his right arm for the Italian league right now, as his side run neck and neck with Juventus at the top of the Serie A table. But it’s all to play for really, and after Mangala’s poor outing against Hull City, City must now wish they’d signed up Benatia from Roma, before he was snapped up by Bayern Munich.

Roma have been quick to adequately replace the Moroccan ace in their back line, but will suffer because of some absences in their first team. City’s Fernandinho has already declared that defenders are going to prove crucial to this tie, and expect an in form Edin Dzeko to ask serious questions of the new Roman backline.

Arsenal are another English side desperate to put their recent loss to German opposition behind them, in the form of Borussia Dortmund. Redemption will be sought against a Galatasaray side whose squad suffered no significant loss of personnel over the summer, and which was quietly strengthened by new manager Cesare Prandelli. The Turks pride themselves on regularly making it through the group stage, and their tie with the Gunners will evoke memories of that famous UEFA Cup final in 2000, when they became the first and last Turkish side to get their hands on European silverware.

As for Wenger’s men, does anyone really care anymore? Arsenal are a side that I find doomed to be eternally boring. When not churning out dull 1-0 wins during their now distant George Graham days, they found revival under Wenger, with a side as full of charm as a forensic laboratory that’s just been sterilised. Players like Overmars, Bergkamp and Henry wowed us with their skill but little else, and had a personality about as exciting as watching paint dry. Except for their distant run to the final in 2006, the Gunners seem to linger about the UCL like a faint smell of disinfectant, for Wenger is nothing if not boringly conservative with his decisions.

It appears that star signing Alexis Sanchez is already getting up the French manager's nose because of his brilliant unpredictability, and expect a minor revolt at the Emirates if the Chilean is benched like he was during last weekend's London derby. As much as the open-handed spending of rich owners can get up my nose, Arsenal are seriously the other extreme, a team that never over exposes itself financially whilst making huge profits each year. Already short of holding midfielders and fit strikers, it’s left to their attacking midfielders to get them out of jail, and expect plenty of post-match talk about how this could be their year. It's seriously time for the Arse to find a new manager!

 

 

Chelsea is the English side who fared least badly against German opposition, managing a 1-1 draw at home against Schalke. Mourinho is constantly erring on the side of caution this year, so desperate is he to secure a trophy after an unnervingly barren couple of years. His memories of Sporting and Bobby Robson might be warm, but there will be no quarter given to his old employers, whose defence has lost both Dier and Rojo to EPL sides.

I expect Mourinho to go for broke in this game, and he has already declared that he will throw the injured Costa into the fray. Nani will play out of his skin for the Portuguese side, at Manchester United’s expense, but Mourinho would have done his homework on this tie, working the phone to his dad and other contacts back home to identify weaknesses in the Lisbon side, who will find it difficult to get through a solid Chelsea defence.

Juventus is the second Serie A side still in the mix, and managed the business comfortably against Malmo. Yet their game away to Atletico is going to prove a real test of how far they have come. Allegri has had them sprinting out of the blocks to the top of the Serie A, but Simeone’s side are showing daunting signs of revival, with the wily Argentinean filling in for departed players very well. On their part it is a sign of how low Juventus have sunk in world football that their holding onto midfielders Vidal and Pogba was widely heralded like some major coup.

They must be thanking their lucky stars that Manchester United did not make it to the UCL this year, whilst quietly reinforcing their ranks with players who are full of potential but who might not yet light up the highest club stage. In the circumstances a draw for the Old Lady of Italian football would prove a very positive result, whilst a win against Atletico would be simply amazing.

Last side under review are Liverpool, who got remarkably far in the EPL on a three cylinder engine last season, before being pipped at the post. Having lost his most important cylinder over the summer in Suarez, Rodgers has since sought to build a five cylinder engine which can manage the added racecourse of the UCL. Extra width has been added in defence and midfield, but with the influx of new players it was always going to take time to gel.

After their sluggish start to the season, many have been quick to dismiss the Reds out of hand, a view given added weight because of their years spent in the wilderness. Their latest game, a derby draw at home to Everton, was also a disappointing result, as much as Jagielka’s stunning equaliser was hard to prevent.

But it might also prove the start of a turnaround. Their defence is coming together, although the synapses in midfield and attack are still to spark effectively. If they do, Markovic’s famous speed could mean opposing defenders having to face the equivalent of another Sterling running at them. Meanwhile Balotelli's positional discipline and resistance to intense provocation is as welcome as it is baffling, but has it taken some of the spark away from his game? There’s no saying what’s going to happen to the Reds this term, for this really is unchartered territory for them.

And reading their opponent will be the main quandary for an FC Basel side that will be strong and organised at home, determined to keep their fan’s enthusiasm up with plans for their stadium to be expanded. They are a side who have of late beaten Bayern at home, and have also managed to keep their squad intact, with a few more additions to their playing staff and the appointment of Paulo Sousa as manager.

Something is telling me though - and it might just be sentiment - that after their improved showing in their last league outing, a couple of unexpected counter attacks from Liverpool might help the famous Reds to pip this one.

But hey, it shouldn’t be that hard to manage against a side with a mere fraction of your spending budget!