What I’m Reading: June 24, 2007

English clubs are being taken over by wealthy foreigners at an alarming rate. But Thaksin Shinawatra’s bid to buy Manchester City is different from all the other takeovers. That’s because Thaksin is the former prime minister of Thailand. Not only that, the reason he is currently pursuing Manchester City is because he was ousted in a military coup last September. Part of the justification for this coup was that Thaksin had allegedly been corrupt and enriched himself and his family during his time in power.

The natural question, of course, is whether the money that Thaksin is planning to use to purchase Manchester City was attained illegally. Thaksin himself as well as those at Manchester City say the money is clean, but others still have their doubts. Shourin Roy at SoccerBlog points out that Thaksin made his bid for Man City the same day that the current government in Thailand froze many of his remaining assets. One interpretation of these two events happening on the same day is that Thaksin is attempting to put his remaining into a place where the Thai government can’t get at them.

Thaksin Shinawatra, former PM of Thailand and (possibly) future owner of Manchester City

But many Manchester City fans don’t seem to care about the source of their new-found wealth; they only want to know which players it will bring in. David Conn takes such fans to task, claiming that they are turning “a blind eye to his immoral dalliances” in the hopes of matching the top teams in the Premier League. Conn also says that Thaksin might be using his ownership of Man City to regain lost support in Thailand by “us[ing] City as part of his profile-boosting campaign in Thailand. There the rural poor, among whom he remains popular, are part of the global TV audience dazzled by the Premiership.”In addition to wealthy foreign investors in its soccer teams, England also has the highest number of CCTV cameras per capita in the world. Such security cameras are already in use in stadiums across the country. Beginning next year, they may be getting a high-tech upgrade. According to Reuters, these new cameras will be “hidden in lapels and hats [and] allow spotters in the crowd to beam live pictures from inside the stadium back to a control room where the images could be scanned in real-time for troublemakers and hooligans.” Watch out: Big Brother is now bringing his pipsqueak cousin along to the game.

The normal career path for a good South American player is as follows: 1) Break into first team of a local club, 2) Get signed by a European team, 3) Play most of your career in Europe, 4) Return home to play out the last year or two of your career with a local club. Ze Roberto seemed to have followed this path well, going from Brazilian team Portuguesa to Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, and then returning home last year with Santos (his European stay was interrupted in 1998, during which time he played for Flamengo). But instead of seeing out his career at Santos, Ze Roberto announced that he is returning to Bayern Munich. As many others have found out, playing in Brazil can be a dangerous affair, with criminal elements eager to kidnap players’ family members for ransom. Tim Vickery writes in his BBC column that “the social problems of his country have scared his family and he has chosen to return to Europe.”

Juan Roman Riquelme is another player who made a career decision for the benefit of a family member. The gifted enganche retired from the Argentine national team last year, saying that criticism of him had exacerbated health problems suffered by his mother. But, after a blockbuster season on loan at Boca Juniors, Riquelme was persuaded to return to the national team for the upcoming Copa America. For his mother’s sake, I hope he plays well.

I had every intention of typing this post up before the Gold Cup final, but that didn’t happen (and since the game’s already over, congrats to my fellow gringos on our victory). But before the match game, I read an interesting piece (found by my father) that sums up my feelings as an American soccer fan. Titled La Copa NAFTA, it is an exploration of the psychology of a left-leaning American sports fan trying to balance his dislike of our current foreign policy with his desire to support the national team. Writes Simon Maxwell Apter,

These days, in our age of the Bush Doctrine, we Americans no longer have license to cut loose after an achievement in the international arena. We’re seen as bullies and jerks, smug with the knowledge that even a thumping at the hands (or feet) of Nike-clad Brazil more favorably affects Phil Knight in Beaverton, Ore., than it does O Presidente, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brasilia. But shock and awe, quagmires, and ridiculous border fences notwithstanding, there’s still something primitive — something uncorrupted (or uncorruptible) by smugness, by dollar domination — about USA-Mexico, “La Copa NAFTA.”

So, since we already won, I say to the country of Mexico: I apologize for Tom Tancredo and for policies that raise the price of tortillas in Mexico, but (switch to second grade schoolyard taunting voice) we’re better at soccer than you (na na na na na na).

We rule in soccer (that’s a good thing) and in politics (not always such a good thing)

Finally, Luis Bueno had an interesting column in the Press-Enterprise about the declining number of Hispanics on the roster of the LA Galaxy. Until the team signed Honduran forward Carlos Pavon last week, there were no Hispanic players on the team. This is in contrast to the past, when the Galaxy signed players in an effort to reach out to the local Hispanic communities. One major difference between then and now, of course, is that Chivas USA has come to town. One would hate to think that the Galaxy and Chivas USA will effectively become the Anglo and Hispanics teams in the city of Angels.

And some quick hits to finish off:

• A much-discussed article this week was about the Colorado Rapids U-23 team, which is making a strong effort to infuse environmental awareness into the way the club is run. The club is carbon-neutral, as is Ipswich Town, apparently. Al Gore would be proud.
• Anyone familiar with Hispanic soccer leagues knows that the game is just one part of their raison d’etre. A major charm of such leagues is the way they bring out entire families, who make a 90 minute game into a full day of hanging out at the park. With so many people around, it’s no surprise that there are entrepreneurs eager to sell food to those at the game. The food vans that pull up around parks where soccer is being played often have delicious food. But New York City bureaucrats are considering taking away their permits to sell food. Several blogs, including Save Soccer Tacos, have come to the defense of the vendors and those who love to eat their delicious food.

This is the deliciousness that needs to be saved

• US troops stationed in the East African country of Djibouti are working to improve conditions for the local population. This mission is designed to reduce the type of conditions that lead to terrorism. One part of this “hearts and minds” strategy is to play soccer with local children. It struck me that it is only because our own children are now growing up playing soccer that they are later able to do this type of work as soldiers.
• Soccer is used alternately as a way to show the effects of conflicts and as a way to show how the wounds created in such fights can be healed. This week, two matches were cancelled because of simmering conflicts. One instance saw a tournament due to take place in the disputed region of Kashmir called off because of security concerns. A second instance witnessed Euro 2008 qualifiers between Armenia and Azerbaijan cancelled because of the two countries fight over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Meanwhile, a match was played in Jordan between Iraq and Iran. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the many Iraqi refugees living in Jordan put aside sectarian differences to support their team.
• I don’t have any bizarre sports this week to finish off with. Know one? Holler at me with a comment.

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