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CLUB FOOTBALL VS INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL: MY HONEST FEELINGS

 I love watching football, be it club football, age specific tournaments, or even international football. Truth is football came into my life at a time I was really down bad and it sort of became my savior, my motivator, my source for happiness. As someone who watches most matches live, it was obvious for me to tune into the 33rd AFCON going on at the moment in Cameroon (if you wanna know more about the AFCON read my blog). When I started watching I was full of excitement and hope, after all I was going to watch a new tournament, new countries, new players of whom I had never heard of, new styles of play and the new tactics I was gonna get exposed to....it was like a wet dream for me. But since I've watched a few matches, I'll be totally honest here.....I really didn't enjoy it that much. I mean, sure I wasn't foolish enough to expect European level of football, but still a part of me was really hoping for real entertainment. That not being the case, here are my thoughts on why I feel the international tournaments fail to provide similar entertainment like the club football. So buckle up and enjoy;

THE PLAYERS

The players are the most important assets of football. Without them there would have been no football at all. Well, the AFCON has players like Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez and many more world class players, and I was so looking forward to seeing them. But on the pitch they became almost unrecognizable. All three players I mentioned have been noneffective for their respective teams so far. And I don't really blame them. You see, every continent has its own style of play. Europe is more physical and technical whereas South Americans have their own damning flair. African football in that sense, is more on the non technical and extremely physical side. Hard tackles are way more common than a defense splitting run. And these players playing in some of the best leagues in the world are finding it difficult adjusting to this level of football within such a short period of time, and hence the lull in their levels.

THE DURATION OF THE TOURNAMENT

Lets talk about the duration of some of the biggest international tournaments. The FIFA World Cup, The Euros, The Copa America and the AFCON all end up within a month. This, if you ask me is detrimental in the long run. I am not asking for the world cup to go on for a year, but with more teams their duration will increase. This along with the gap of four long years between successive tournaments destroys any sort of rhythm or continuity. Now lets take an example. Let us suppose if the Premier League was a tournament which took place every 4 years. Initially there will be wait for these 4 years to pass by to see the league. But if suddenly a new league emerges with the best players, that excitement for the premier league will fall. Same has happened with the world cup and other international tournaments. With the advent of so many new and improved leagues along with guaranteed entertainment every matchday, people don't have to wait eagerly for the world cup to come over.

CUP COMPETITIONS VS LEAGUE

All international tournaments are essentially cup competitions. Leagues have been gaining popularity in the current times due to the test of mental and physical character it takes on the teams. You won't see an epic relegation battle in a cup competition, neither will you see the title being won on the last day of the league. Cups are unique in their own sense with upsets being more common in the cup competitions. All it takes is a good cup run and then its onto fate. Leagues demand much more consistency on a regular basis and hence are seen as tougher than cup competitions. 

PRIDE OF A NATION

Lets clear one thing, there's nothing bigger than playing for your country. The country you love, the country which is your mother, the joy of representing your country in front of the world has to be one of the most elite feeling in the world. Playing for the country is also special because you are selected from a bunch of players into the final squad, you are given this enormous responsibility to play for your flag. But with each passing day the sight of players changing their country or choosing to play at a lower level for money is becoming common. 

Players have the option to choose to choose to play for their country of birth or country of origin, which is absolutely fine by me. Problem is, why are they allowed to play for a country they are related extremely distantly, like via their grandfather or a distant uncle? I am against this as it allows people to exploit this opportunity which should not have happened in the first place. Just image the French team without their African players like Mbappe, Pogba, Kante or Mandanda. Suddenly they loose key men from key positions. The African teams have really suffered due to players opting for the European countries which doesn't throw a good light on the rules around.

Money is not a problem, excess money is. Earlier it was never imaginable that players can really throw away the pride of playing for their country to some few dollars. But it is becoming a bigger reality every day. Brazilian player Oscar shocked the world when he went to play in China at the peak of his career at 25. He's 30 today and has shown no interest in coming back. And why should he? Not every Brazilian can land a contract like Neymar, they have families to look after. But Oscar cannot give this excuse, he was earning reasonably well. Italian player Lorenzo Insigne is set to leave the glory of Serie A for the more lucrative life the MLS. Its safe to say his career with the national team is over. The occurrence of good players in their peak going to East Asian leagues and China, taking a more lucrative contract over the glory of the national team has become more these days.

THE POPULARITY OF FOOTBALL LEAGUES

League football is special, it entertaining, its absorbing and extremely tough on the players at the same time. You need a team to win a league, while a few individuals are enough for a cup win. Remember how Leicester won the league in the 2015-16 season? Playing every three days, one day against Newcastle to next day playing the Arsenal, that's the beauty of a league. And no wonder fans feel more passionate for their teams in a league. People form the same country can go the extent of physical harm when derby matches are played in a league. The Rome derby between Roma and Lazio, or the one between Red Star Belgrade and Partizan Belgrade, or even the famed el Classico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, league football has given the world numerous derbies which international football has just failed to give a platform too.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

Well, I don't know to be honest. I love international football, but there's no denying the fact that club football is way more popular. I would rather see the star player from my team rest during the international break rather than getting injured while playing a non essential match vs a lower ranked team. International football tournaments have to come up with a way to keep the young fans engaged even if the tournament is four years away. New economic rules and regulations should cover foreign teams too so that they cannot poach young players from their respective clubs. The players, on the other hand need to give it their all for their nations too. But with a jam packed calendar already, how much juice will the players have remaining when the international tournaments kickoff after a hectic season with their clubs?


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 Hey everyone, wrote this after a long time. I was a bit sick hence the delay. If you enjoy the content do share my articles and follow the blog for future updates.

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