If you want to imagine an image for the future, imagine a human face being stamped by John Terry's boot for eternity

The future? It's our reality Ian...

"Let the big clubs break away and get the fans they deserve."

Indeed. If, say, sixteen of them break away, at least one of them won't win a title for at least fifteen years. And one of them will always finished last. I don't think they've thought this through ...

"finish last," sorry, not enough coffee

Ian Plenderleith continues his assault on American soccer, this time directing his ire at the fans attending the Barcelona-Manchester United friendly. I was in attendance at the match as well, and there were many inebriated, clueless fans behaving like buffoons. But where Plenderleith's mention of the fans who tailgated responsibly, arrived to their seats early because they wanted to watch the teams warmup, and generally were there because of their love for, and knowledge of, the game? No mention of the 1992 Koeman jersey-wearing fans? Or those clad in authentic 1999 Man U kits? Better yet, the bloke in a Bedlington Terriers jersey?

My problem with this piece, Mr. Plenderleith, is that it describes only one segment of the American soccer fan, one we refer to as the "Eurosnob." The "Eurosnob" will only watch the Champions League and dresses exclusively in the replica jerseys of Manchester United, Barcelona, or worse yet, Chelsea. They dismiss Major League Soccer as inferior, will never consider attending a MLS match, yet happily pay hundreds of dollars to see European teams playing mostly reserves face another European team playing mostly reserves. But there are incredible fans of MLS and international soccer that nobody seems to be writing about in European-based publications like WSC, FourFourTwo, or World Soccer. What about the 30,000 fans that attend every Seattle Sounders game and belt out deafening chants. Or the 18,000 strong that sell out Philadelphia's PPL Park? Even D.C. United, with smaller crowds because of their decrepit stadium and poor play, has passionate fans that literally make the stands bounce. Are these fans granted entry into your second, "breakaway" league? I agree with your assessment of a great many of those fans in Washington DC, I was aggravated by them and their ignorance. But soccer matters a great deal to hundreds of thousands of American fans who deserve better than to be cast into this "globalized" lot.

Soccer Nobody has chosen to read this article as an assault on the MLS and the US Soccer Experience in general.

I dont think that this is what Ian is doing at all.
Rather he is talking about the (G14/18)top level clubs and how absurd their Europoptastic,Super-Duper,Globetrotting,TV revenue,Champions League ambitions have become.And what this is doing to the notion of proper football that we have come to know and love in the UK and in Europe....

Personally I didnt read it as an attack on American fans at all.


But,in direct response to what Ian has said,I will not in the foreseeable future,attend an English League game above Championship level precisely because ofthis phenomenon...

Same here - this wasn't about the American 'soccer' fan for me either. It could just as easily have been played in Japan/Korea/Australia/China. In fact, next season, it probably will be .

But I do think it is about American soccer fans, after all, the article is about "football's globalized future." First, Dalef65 and Efficient Baxter are correct, Ian is unimpressed with the "Europoptastic, Super-Duper, Globetrotting, TV revenue" future of the game, and so am I. But notice where the problem lies, not in the quality of the football, Ian never mentions that, but in the fan experience. He's critical of those that wear replica kits, purchase merchandise, and take pictures of themselves at the stadium. Ian concludes by saying that the excess of the G14/18 top clubs have the superficial fans they deserve, but where are these fans located? Ian and Baxter situate these fans in America or Japan/Korea/Australia/China. The implication is that European fans won't behave this way, or that football imperialism is catering to bandwagon fans rather than the tribal passions of true European club football. That's why I ask if the "true" American soccer fans will be granted entry into this "second tier" as Ian describes it. Will it be acknowledged that many American fans have undying loyalty to their home clubs rather than jumping on the Barca or ManU bandwagons? Ian directs a great deal of his criticism at fans who have "support" the big teams "with no connection to the city of the team whose colours wrap their duvets." I agree in this criticism, but I still think it paints the picture of America as a footballing wasteland ripe for exploitation by these superclubs, with the implication again being that American fans are neither discerning nor cultured enough to understand what is transpiring.

No attack on US fans intended at all. I think the others have read the piece correctly. Thanks, Ian.

Some very good points made by everyone, though slightly in danger of becoming the usual slightly pointless debate on what constitutes a 'proper' fan. I don't think the replica shirt argument really covers it - people have been wearing them at games for years (and it's possible to pick up retro ones from all manner of online sources so that's not exactly a mark of authenticity of fandom). It's not really a portent of the future - as Ian describes it exists now, and is definitely not confined to America. Is it really that big a deal for those of us who prefer a more traditional football experience? I don't think so. The type of matchday we like still goes on everywhere if we choose to go out and find it, although I admit as someone who is not a fan of a Premiership team it's easier for me to avoid the whole carry-on.

I would like to add to this point about supporting big teams over your local team I support Wolves and yet was born and bred in Brum Now the fact my Dad was from Wolverhamtpon and supports them doesn't matter to some people they still think I'm a gloryhunter yes really and I agree with Soccer Nobody about ordinary American fans and I think it is unfair to tar them all with the same brush

The fact that these farcical exhibition games draw huge crowds at ridiculous prices while MLS putters along with much smaller crowds and much lower prices shows the US has an awful lot of brainless gloryhunters. I meet them all the time.

I don't see where he's implied that Europeans don't behave this way. They absolutely do. Outside of Britain, the drop-off in support from the top league to the next - or even from the top two to the rest - is staggering. Something like 80% of Spanish fans identify with just two teams.

But these summer games in the US are a more acute example of the phenomenon than games in Europe because they are totally phony. The regular Barca-RM fixtures or CL final draws a lot of rich poseurs just there for "the occasion" but at least then you have to grant them that it does have the potential to be a great and memorable match. With these friendlies, it's just practice. So the fans are just paying for the appearance of superstars with none of the substance.

Ian is well aware that there is also a smaller, but growing, group of hardcore MLS fans who support the local teams. I know he knows, because I've attended many DC United games with him. These fans are certainly part of the "second tier." The newer teams in MLS - Philly, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver - especially seem to get this. They're focused on building up the game experience for the fans and not too fussed about getting David Beckham, etc. That's good.

I hope that Soccer_Nobody is wrong about Ian's intention, because like him, I am a North American soccer fan (Montreal in my case) and feel a little miffed about his assessment of our fandom.

I didn’t have the good sense to be born in Europe so that I can properly support a football club.

Instead, I go to the pub in my Liverpool replica jersey at 8 AM to cheer a team I have no ’real’ connection with. I slap on the Olympiakos jersey when my father and I watch pixeled Greek games on the internet because we rarely get to spend any time together these days and I might as well support ‘his’ team (my dad is a lifelong fan, though his heart lies with his hometown team Asteras – another fake it seems). And my Ajax jersey gets the odd wearing during Champions league games.

I attend the odd game to watch the Montreal Impact suffer in its last year in NASL and will probably do so once we join the MLS. The match day experience is great. We’re not as sophisticated (apparently) as the Europeans, but we try. We sing, we clap and we jeer the other side.

But I also recognize that the football is inferior. Given the chance to see Barcelona or Chelsea or even Man U, of course I will go. Why wouldn’t I check out a reserve team that could probably sleep its way to victory over my home side?

Why are we the object of ridicule?

I don't think you are. In fact the US fans that I see online appear to be ultra defensive and perceptive of criticism that just doesn't exist. Congratulations - you are just like European football fans!

Another brilliantly perceptive piece Ian, reflecting what most on here feel. Dripping with sarcasm too, lovely. As someone said, it's not a dig at the US fan, it's a dig at the sterile sanitised version of "soccer" that top elevel football is becoming, where what actually happens on the pitch is of secondary importance to "the event" of matchday.

"Given the chance to see Barcelona or Chelsea or even Man U, of course I will go. Why wouldn?t I check out a reserve team that could probably sleep its way to victory over my home side?"

Because you'll pay a metric shitload for the privilege and, probably, have to sit miles from the pitch. And if you're really honest about it, you'll see that you're not getting good value for your money.

And I'll bet Montreal Impact, especially when they go MLS, will be part of the community and do stuff to help kids in Montreal and all of that great stuff that makes a team part of the community. Barcelona and Chelsea aren't going to do any of that for your town. I'm not even sure how much they do it for their own towns.


What Ian is saying, without maybe realizing it, is that he doesn't want to see soccer turn into the NFL. The NFL is now just a TV show. In many cities, the fans at the game barely matter to the teams any more, so the teams have jacked prices through the roof and cater almost exclusively to "corporate clients" who just want to be there for the cache of it and are gradually alienating the fan base of working people that really built the NFL.

More and more of those fans, even ones who could afford to attend, openly admit that they no longer want the hassle and cost of actually attending games. For less than the price of a one season ticket plus parking, they can buy a nice HDTV and a package that lets them see all the games in the comfort of their own home instead of dealing with the drunks and bad weather and traffic and irritating music blaring from the PA and all the other crap that is ruining the the stadium experience. (That's not true at all NFL stadiums. I had a great time my one and only time at Heinz Field, but it is true of many others). So instead of everyone enjoying the communal experience of attending a game together, we'll all be in our own living rooms yelling at our own TVs, flipping between games, ordering out for food.

That would be a real loss if that's what football turns into.

Could the US/Canadian fans relax a bit, Ian description of the "modern fan" corresponds to an awful lot of people I've seen in stadia in England and has little to do with actual fans of local teams across the pond.

There is point to be made that someone supporting a team that has been going for, say, 120 years is part of a more rooted fan culture than one supporting a team created 3 years ago but given time, the latter will also devellop its own culture. Truly original ways of support a team have long gone in our era of internet and global media (witness the Man City fans recently adopting the turn your back to the pitch, jump up and down of visiting Poznan fans and naming it "doing the Poznan" yet that type of terrace fun has been going for years and was known to me as "Une Greque"...) so it's about finding what rocks your boat and having fun with it. It's football supporterism, not writing philosophy essays you know...

His comments are pertinent and apply far and beyond North America...

"Given the chance to see Barcelona or Chelsea or even Man U, of course I will go. Why wouldn?t I check out a reserve team that could probably sleep its way to victory over my home side?"

Because you'll pay a metric shitload for the privilege and, probably, have to sit miles from the pitch. And if you're really honest about it, you'll see that you're not getting good value for your money. "

Fair enough...and in all honesty I've never gone to the friendlies (Milan, Fiorentina). I was just saying...

BUT, given that I'm not very likely to make it to Anfield anytime soon, if the opportunity to see LFC play in Montreal comes along, be sure that I'll sit 12 miles from the stadium if I have to just to say that I saw them play 'in person' at least once in my life...I don't feel guilty for supporting a team that has no 'real' connection to my community or I.

It's also worth noting that Toronto FC season ticket prices are comparable to those in the Premier league, so I'm not convinced the local team is a real bargain in all cases here.

Plenderleith replied that he did not intend to attack American soccer fans; instead, as Reed John pointed out, he criticizes the Manchester United-Barcelona friendly because it turned European soccer into the National Football League. I agree that this is a sad trend because such events attract “gloryhunting” fans, include gimmicks like corporate sponsorships, replace crowd noise with artificial scoreboard theatrics, and drive prices for tickets and merchandise skyhigh. I’ve seen the same thing happen with American college gridiron, where storied programs try to emulate their professional brethren, replacing marching bands with deejays and turning atmospheric, historic stadia into NFL-inspired caverns. Many of the “global” soccer events that Plenderleith refers to are staged in NFL venues, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that the experience mimics that of the NFL.

But for me, the problem arises from Plenderleith framing his critique of the “future football” within globalization. The underlying suggestion, even if Plenderleith didn’t intend it, is that as football caters to a global audience, as it spreads its brand name to third-world footballing nations, it loses its essence. Rather than remaining its insular (i.e. European) true self, football becomes bastardized for new markets. The implication is that new frontiers remain to be conquered for the mega-team, and these frontiers happen to exist in North America and Asia. Again, I concede that Plenderleith didn’t intend to criticize the fans of these regions, but he inadvertently does so by suggesting these “fans” have no business supporting European clubs or that they don’t recognize the artificiality of these friendlies. I have no problem with Plenderleith’s critique of the ManU-Barca spectacle and its fans, but by saying this is the result of globalization, he unwittingly suggests that global “future football” creates a gimmicky experience to attract the uninitiated.

Defensive? Perhaps I am, after all, I think that “American tours” put on by European football clubs are a bit imperialistic. At least many of these clubs now recognize that MLS exists and play American teams during their tours. But to treat North America as an “untapped” market doesn’t do justice to a league that’s alive and well, complete with passionate and knowledgeable fans. In all truthfulness, my tone was never meant to be read as defensive; instead my initial response simply wondered where Plenderleith might place the “real” American soccer fans. But then again, I guess we don’t always intend our words to be read certain ways. ;-)

"It's also worth noting that Toronto FC season ticket prices are comparable to those in the Premier league, so I'm not convinced the local team is a real bargain in all cases here."

That probably says more about Toronto than MLS. Besides, all the seats at BMO are close to the field.
And it's easy to get to and they sell meat pies. Meat pies!

FedEx Field sucks. It's hard to get to, all the concessions are overpriced and there are no meat pies.


"But to treat North America as an "untapped" market doesn't do justice to a league that's alive and well, complete with passionate and knowledgeable fans."

I agree with that. It's obnoxious.

My problem with the article is that I got tickets to the 2004 European Cup semifinal, and having always been a huge fan of the huger Van Der Sar, wanted a picture with him in it, thus turning my back on the pitch and getting a picture taken with Van Der Sar in the background in the middle of the action, yet making the effort to bend my knees in the middle of the aisle, thus not blocking anyone's view.

A very huge problem in sports is the people that say they were at a famous game, when in fact they were not. How will anyone believe you were somewhere unless there is photographic evidence ? Thus, I applaud those that stand up and have their picture taken with the game in the background, as long as they have the good sense to do it during a goal kick, and not during a counter-attack.

I cant work out if this last comment is serious or not...

No offence..

Ian, another corker! But perhaps there’s something really Machiavellian going on. The German league (Bundesliga) has always looked at the Premiership’s riches with a great deal of envy. Because of the structure of the Bundesliga, particularly their stipulation about ‘local’ ownership and debt it isn’t possible for them to be run “as well as one of our premiership clubs”. There is one attempts that I know of (one with Rummenigge at the helm) of forming a German premiership (with exclusive TV deals and bowel quenching levels of club debt, that has been “kyboshed” by the German FA and the Bundesliga. Prehaps this latest “announcement” is nothing more than Rummenigge’s attempts to do this. Perhaps all he really needs is a corrupt/inept administrator, bent politicians and a “helpful” media mogul.

I totally agree with what Ian is saying. I would just add that, through their attempts to make easy money and gain global appeal, top clubs may even be hampering the progress of the game outside its European and South American heartlands by preventing it from growing strong roots, without which it cannot thrive for long anywhere. Finally, I'd welcome it if the top European clubs formed a breakaway league. It would probably make the rest of the game more healthy and more competitive.

I find myself slowly drifting away from football and more and more towards other sports such as athletics and cricket. They are usually hype free (Bolt and KP aside) and the coverage is not dominated by overly loyal idiots chatting rubbish. I don't seem to be able to watch football anymore without knowing the amount of years that Arsenal have not won a trophy, or what bad Mario has done in a meaningless pre season friendly. The days of football being about football seem to be slowly dripping away. However in following Lincoln I am normally sheltered from such hype and can just get on with following the game and not the soap stories that go along with it and seem to be a feature that even creeps into mainstream news (step forward Ryan Giggs and John Terry who are even mentioned on Loose Women).

This article resonates with my feelings, and I don't think it was about laying into American fans. This game would have been the same if it was in South Africa or Japan.

I'm really not sure what Ian expected to see at an exhibition match other than people treating it as an exhibition match...

The North American fans here needn't worry they're being singled out; as a match going Brit of 24 years experience (home and away) I went to the Emirates Cup on Sunday and behaved the same way as described above, because, meaningless matches are there for people to play the tourist. Friday night however, I was watching my side in a Carling Cup game at Crawley, doing all the 'real' football fan things - singing, swearing, going ballistic when we scored, going batshit when they scored. The same thing in fact, that fans of ManU and Barcelona will be doing once their pre-season of exhibition matches finishes and the competitive stuff starts. Believe it or not, there is room in football for both types of behaviour.

The future of top level European Club football won't involve competitive matches in the USA, don't panic.

'the future of top level European Club football won't involve matches in the USA, don't panic'.

On Saturday the Italian 'Super Cup' (equivalent of the Community Shield) between league champions Milan and cup winners Inter is taking place not at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan but at the Bird's Nest Stadium in Bejing.

Maybe not 'top level European Club football' yet, but it's a start.

Yep,
I bet within 5 years the English Community Shield will be played abroad.And possibly the Carling Cup Final as well....
Thin end of the Game 39 globalisation wedge....

Actually on second thoughts maybe not the Carling Cup Final as the Football League wouldnt allow it to happen.. (I hope)

I appreciate the comments of Soccer_Nobody and DoinBizNis. S_N is a good writer and articulates well. DoinBizNis needs to stay active here in the WSC pages to keep us informed about what is going on in Canada.

Thanks for the lively discussion, guys.

I think MoeTheBarman summed it up: The fans at FedEx Field near Washington, D.C. knew it was an exhibition match where they would not see Messi and they wouldn't see the two clubs even giving 65% effort.

So fans, like the players/teams on the field, act a bit more casual. You would not have seen all the shenanigans (and hopefully none of the rude blocking of others' view)like people arriving 30 minutes late or getting up prior to the half if this were the CL final or a round of 16 or CL semi-final.

If the author found the FedEx crowd a bit too decked out in MANU and Barca garb, well, what did you expect? These are clubs that are foisting their merchandise everywhere. And people like an excuse to "dress up."

The overall thrust of the article is: What we saw at FedEx Field is the "future of the top tier of the game."

Perhaps. Yes, none of us like the overcommercialization. All of us want something that is much more authentic sport/football/soccer.

In the case of Europe's big 6 football league nations, the place to find much more authenticity is the lower leagues. Jobu referenced this in his comments above: We all know where to go to still find that real matchday experience.