Transfers
Whilst most of the world’s industries continue to struggle in the aftermath of one recession, at the same time as riding through the current financial crisis which threatens to send the world into another one, European football ignores Katie Price’s – more accurately her corporate sponsor’s – concerns for the economy, her glee at “China’s latest GDP figures” and her solution to it all and continues to spend, spend, spend.
Amidst the Eurozone crisis, the volume of transfers occurring is up 16.6% from 2009 at an average of 10 transfers per club, across the 500 clubs surveyed by the CIES Football Observatory. Undoubtedly, the new money in Russian football is somewhat distorting of this figure, with five of the current top seven clubs in Russia’s top flight, the fortunate beneficiaries of the plutocrats of their country.
The recent spending of newly owned Anzhi Makhachkala, which has seen, most notably, Roberto Carlos and Samuel Eto’o join the side, has aided a perceived improvement of the Russian League: since 2009, there has been a 17% increase in the amount of active internationals plying their trade in the Russian Premier League from 11.6% to 28.6% and this isn’t down to an improvement of Russian youth players into fully fledged internationals, nor an increased development of club-trained players.
The increase in the quality of the league has come at the expense of youth development: using the same time frame as above – 2009-2011 – the percentage of club-trained players playing in the Russian top flight has fallen sharply from 20.2% to 12.2%. Whilst the Russian Premier League can claim to be the host of more international players than France’s Ligue 1, La Liga and Serie A, it has cost them a long term future of Russian product and will thus continue to rely on a succession of short-termism philosophies from owners willing to spend a fast buck.
The Demographic Study 2012, compiled by the CIES Football Observatory, which surveyed the 500 clubs in the top-flight of 33 European countries, showed that, on average, over 2011 each club made 10 transfers and 11.1 including promotions up the ranks and into the first team. However, proving that going with the flow doesn’t mean all shall go swimmingly, FC Barcelona, who won La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, made only two purchases in 2011: Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas.
Furthermore, Spain’s position as the highest of Europe’s top 5 leagues when it comes to club-trained players making up La Liga’s roster, 24.7%, is reinforced by Barcelona: in promoting Thiago Alcantara, Fontas and Dos Santos, Barcelona’s club-trained make up was 42.9%, 4.2% higher than England’s most club-trained friendly side, Arsenal, at 38.7%. Yet, Barcelona aren’t even the most prolific at player development in La Liga; Real Sociedad has a figure of 62.5%, Athletic Bilbao at 54.2% and Santander’s is at 44%. Meanwhile, much like the Premier League’s Wigan Athletic, Getafe does not have a single player that was trained at the club for three years between the ages of 15 and 21.
Height
In his Dispatches article for World Soccer, Brazil’s correspondent Tim Vickery, recalled that, “Brazilian coaches have argued over recent years that the physical evolution of the game demands six-foot midfielders and makes extended passing moves outdated.” Brazilian coaches are observant of the European game, it seems, and so they should be after Barcelona so comprehensively beat the best the country can offer.
For the second successive calendar year, player heights in the European top flights is at an average of 182cm, or, for an easy comparison to Ramalho and co.’s deduction, 5’11. Hats off to the coaches in Brazil. Germany, a current powerhouse of world football, has the tallest average height in European football at 6’ and their tallest side, Werder Bremen has an average height of 6’1. The tallest side in Europe is Volyn Lutsk at 6’2 and they finished 11th out of 16 in the 2010/11 season. It would be fair to say, they are Ukraine’s answer to Stoke. Talking of Stoke, they are the oldest average side in the Premier League and the 8th eldest in Europe at 29.08-years old.