What I’m Reading: April 28, 2007

The most interesting article I came across this week is an in-depth rumination on why soccer has lost its historical left-leaning political tendencies. Writing in the Guardian, Barney Ronay’s column, headlined Anyone Want to Play on the Left?, charts the course of the game from its working class roots (”Historically, football’s politics, such as they are, have tended to loiter on the left wing.”) to its state today (”A Premiership socialist? It might not even be possible.”).

Ashley “Cashley” Cole: Not a socialist

Ronay points out that while there are isolated incidents of left-leaning football sentiment (did you know that Wigan manager Paul Jewell has a tortoise named Trotsky?), they are a long way off from the time when Bill Shankly easily espoused his football/economic philosophy based on socialist ideals. “Just take a look at the Premiership,” writes Ronay, “to find out what 15 years of hot-housed free-market economics looks like.” For those interested in the intersection between soccer and politics, this article is a must read.

Soccer and politics may not often overtly mix today, but they have in the past. I have written previously about the nomadic past of Israel’s national team (they have been moved from different confederations in order to avoid politically sticky encounters against, say, Iran). This week came further details about the antipathy of some countries toward Israel’s national team. In an article about Jews in Iran (a fascinating topic on its own), Scott Peterson of the Christian Science Monitor writes about the role of soccer in fomenting dislike of the Jewish state prior to the Iranian Revolution.

During the Asian Cup final in 1968 (which Iran won, 2-1) Iranian fans wore eye patches and chanted abusive slogans, to mock the Israeli defense chief Moshe Dayan. According to published reminiscences, “some homes of Jews in Tehran were attacked and set on fire.”

In a match-up between Iran and Israel in the final of the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran, protesters against Israel, members of then-shadowy Islamic groups, prepared to attack the Israeli soccer team.

“Our aim and dream,” recalls Ezat Shahi, identified as a “revolutionary fighter” in recently published memoirs, “was to create an event similar to the 1972 Munich Olympics, when the Israeli team was taken hostage by Palestinian gunmen from “Black September,” in a standoff that left 11 Israeli athletes dead.

Security measures forced protesters to scale back those plans, but rioting broke out that night.

“On that night, [the authorities] couldn’t prevent people from doing what they wanted,” says a witness who asked not to be named. “As soon as Israel expanded its power [in the 1967 war] and oppressed the Palestinians, even the liberal part of Iranian society started to call them Zionists.” Those flames, encouraged by Islamist groups that would play a key role in the 1979 revolution, helped define the Islamic Republic’s opposition to Israel …”

I have also written previously on Argentina’s obsession with Diego Maradona. This week, an article in Argentine newspaper Clarí­n discusses the rise of weekly rumors of Diego’s death. “Rumors of Maradona’s death,” says the newspaper, “are slowly becoming an Argentine tradition.” The writer speculates that the rumors are the result of two things: 1) Argentina’s past, in the public developed suspicion of “facts” written by a media largely controlled by less-than-truthful dictators and 2) a ploy (it doesn’t say who might be behind it) to prepare the Argentine people for Maradona’s death. The writer compares the situation to that of Fidel Castro and suggests that powers behind the scenes in both countries are spreading rumors to prepare the people for the deaths of national icons.

I am very interested in the role of soccer among immigrant communities. Being an American, I am most familiar with this phenomenon in the US, but of course it exists throughout the world. This week came an interesting story which focused on the importance of soccer in the lives of African refugees in Australia. The article focuses on two players, Remzi Dermele and Salah Musa, both originally from Eritrea who have settled in Melbourne.

Remzi Dermele and friends play the beautiful game

Says Mia Bromley, director of YMCA youth services in the area, about Dermele and Musa, “[Soccer is] all they want to do. It’s what they think about. It’s what they dream about. It’s what they talk about. It’s everything.” Bromley contrasts the boys’ passion with that of many residents of their Australian city: “Footy [Australian rules football] may rule elsewhere in Melbourne. Here soccer is everything.” Hmm … an English-speaking country whose variant on rugby has become extremely popular but is increasingly challenged by immigrants who play soccer? Sounds very familiar.

Johann Cruyff is one of the best players ever, referred to as JC in his native Holland and El Salvador (”the savior”) in his adopted Barcelona. Cruyff gained much of this admiration both for his sporting skills, but also for his unique convictions. He is a believer in playing soccer the “right” way (read, an attacking, attractive style with wingers). Cruyff also has developed a cult following as pseudo-philosophical genius. A book published translated into English in 1999 called Ajax Barcelona Cruyff: The ABC of an Obstinate Maestro is simply a set of extended interviews done by two Dutch journalists with Holland’s most famous soccer star.

This week, the Netherlands World Cup Blog documented the linguistic eccentricites of Cruyff. On the occasion of Cruyff’s 60th birthday, a blogger named Jan describes the way the Dutch master has used and shaped language throughout his career. Cruyff, Jan writes, “has become a subject for liguists and social-anthropolists [sic].” Jan gives examples of how the unique way Cruyff uses language has shaped the way others speak. Cruyff has introduced new phrases to Spanish (like many learning a new language, he directly translated a saying from his native tongue, but unlike most, his misuse was adopted by the general public).

Cruyff also uses language in a creative way to express his unique philosophical convictions. Jan writes that a business book has been published on the “wisdom” of Johan Cruyff. One example of Cruyff’s wisdom (there are many, many more on the original post): “Before I make a mistake, I see it coming and then don’t make it.”

A striking picture from the New York Times this week in an article that discusses the effects of the increasing number of security walls being built around Baghdad. Let’s hope they keep children like this safe from harm, but I suspect that walls will not stop the bloodshed that is currently taking place in that country.

And a few quick hits to finish off:

• If you speak Spanish (or want an excuse to read the gibberish produced by online translators), the Spanish newspaper El Paí­s had a remembrance of William McCrum, the inventor of the penalty kick.

• Nicolas Sarkozy, the conservative presidential candidate in France, recently won the first round of voting. Now he and rival Segolene Royal are wooing those who didn’t make the final round, including centrist Francois Bayrou. Though Bayrou has not officially endorsed a candidate, he seems to be leaning towards Royal. Angered by this, Sarkozy used a soccer analogy to attempt to ward off the threat of a potential Royal-Bayrou partnership, which would almost surely win the election. Said Sarkozy, “We’ve never seen a World Cup final where it is the teams who came third and fourth that are demanding to play the final. That is called disputing people’s choice. The presidential election is not the business of the political parties, it is the business of the French people.”

• And to maintain the one-week old tradition of finishing off with a bizarre sport not at all related to soccer, the New York Times this week had an article on bicycle polo. Amazingly, this sport has existed since the 19th century (a little cheaper than polo with horses), but today it is being reinvented by hard-core bike messengers.

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