At the other end of the scale, Brazil has long had a reputation for being the home of flair football. The Brazilian team of the 1970s is regarded by many as the finest football team of all time. Jairzinho, Tostao and Rivelino were all masters of their art, along with a young lad by the name of Pelé. Because of players like these, many football supporters claim Brazil as their ‘second team’, the one they follow when their own country has been eliminated.
But even the great Brazilians were forced into a reality check, and changed their style. The World Cup final in 1994 was a 0-0 draw between Brazil and Italy, and was probably the dullest World Cup final in living memory. Brazil won, but only on a penalty shoot-out. In the 2002 World Cup, Brazil conceded three goals in the group stages. In the remaining 4 matches (last 16, quarter final, semi final, final) they only let in 1 goal and scored 7. Brazil has been forced to modify their cavalier approach and now place as much emphasis on a solid defence as on a flowing attack.So what's causing these changes? Well, there are more people playing football than before. There are more countries entering international competitions. 116 countries entered the 1990 World Cup, which culminated in a rather dismal final between Argentina and Germany. The 2002 competition, eventually won by Brazil, saw 199 entrants, and FIFA currently lists 205 registered associations who have entered the 2006 World Cup, with the finals to be held in Germany. The major leagues boast players from all over the world, and these players can take what they learn with their clubs and bring it back to their national teams.
New blood means new ideas, and the existing teams either take this into account or lose. Greece won the European Championships in 2004, having started as 50/1 outsiders. South Korea and Turkey reached the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup, and neither would be considered giants of football. The achievements of these ’emerging nations’ in a football sense are proof positive that football has more global appeal than ever before.
Over the last couple of decades, the ownership of football clubs has also started to change. Many clubs are now quoted on stock exchanges – Manchester United and Celtic are two obvious examples. For many supporter-shareholders, profit is not paramount. They like owning shares in their own club for sentimental reasons. This is particularly relevant for emigrants. In the Celtic example, many people who have left Scotland like to have shares in Celtic in the same way that emigrants used to bring a handful of the home soil in their pockets. If your club operates as a plc., you can now own shares in it from almost anywhere in the world.
On the other hand, we have also noticed the emerging trend of foreign billionaires buying a football club outright. Mohammed Al-Fayed acquired Fulham football club, and less than two years ago, the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea football club. Liverpool FC has recently been linked with both the Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra, and Hollywood film executive Mike Jeffries. Supporters' opinions are divided. They welcome the injection of much-needed funds, and are glad of the ability to buy top quality players. On the other hand, they question the new owner's loyalty to the club.
There is concern that their club is little more than an investment, maybe just a toy for the likes of Al-Fayed and Abramovich to spend their spare change on. Abramovich has undoubtedly swelled the Chelsea coffers to the point where they can buy practically any player
they want, but this has come at a cost. Rumours abound of his interference in team affairs, ‘advice’ on player purchases and apparently he is even present for some of the team talks.
Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, owns AC Milan, (along with three TV stations and a couple of Italy's most popular newspapers), but many of the Rossoneri (as fans of AC Milan are known) have become sceptical of his motives. Berlusconi has been known to mix politics with sport in his interviews, and there is speculation that his involvement with AC Milan is just another way of getting his face on the front page. He has gone on the record with criticisms of manager Carlo Ancelotti, and the fact that he is also Prime Minister of Italy (again) has allowed him to extend his reach, sometimes using his dubious sense of humour. Before the 2002 World Cup, he joked that the Italian team would be put in chains if they failed to bring home the cup, a reference to allegations of mistreatment of the Iraqi football team.