The “Culture Shift: From England to Spain and Germany?” article found elsewhere on All Out Sports Network raised some interesting points in discussing whether or not a shift in the balance of power among the major European leagues was occurring.
Chief amongst those concerns was the suggestion that recent transfer activity indicates that big-name players are more likely to favor moves to La Liga, Serie A, Ligue Un, or the Bundesliga. The evidence from this summer’s major transfers seems to indicate as much, with several key players leaving England. While it cannot be denied that these moves are going to be losses for the Premiership, it is also worth considering what has occurred in reverse for the prime contenders for the Premiership:
- Ander Herrera, a rising star in La Liga last season, signed for Manchester United from Athletic Bilbao, and figures to be a key player as United begin their rebuilding process under Louis van Gaal.
- Chilean star Alexis Sánchez made the move to Arsenal, where he will join their major acquisition from the summer of 2013 Mesut Özil. Sanchez will also be joined by Colombian World Cup goalkeeper David Ospina and French defender Mathieu Debuchy.
- Divock Origi, Belgium’s young forward who impressed in Brazil during the World Cup, signed with Liverpool, along with Lazar Marković and Emre Can.
- Chelsea opened their doors to Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, and Filipe Luís this summer.
- Willy Caballero and Fernando will be plying their trade for Manchester City.
On top of that, the other less-glamorous clubs were also able to attract plenty of foreign talent to England, including the likes of Enner Valencia (West Ham), Mauricio Isla (QPR), Emmanuele Riviere, Siem de Jong, Rémy Cabella (all Newcastle), Cristian Gamboa (WBA), Jefferson Montero (Swansea), Bojan Krkic (Stoke), Saphir Taider and Dušan Tadić (Southampton). While those are not exactly household names, most of them were involved in World Cup action for their home countries, and they will be expected to provide key contributions for their respective teams. The number of good foreign talent coming to smaller clubs in England also points to another fact: involvement in European club competition is not a necessity when it comes to players making a decision about prospective moves.
Pointing to transfer activity alone does not always tell the full story to determine if there is in fact a downward trend occurring in English football or the English leagues. Many players take into consideration other factors such as the local culture, climate, language, and style of football. The business aspect of things cannot be overlooked as well. From that standpoint alone, for example, Tottenham would have been questioned and even ridiculed for turning down the €90-million-plus that Real Madrid were willing to give them for Gareth Bale.
Looking at the cultural factors, it is perfectly understandable why a player like James Rodriguez would have preferred a move to Spain over all other nations, in spite of how much money may have been thrown in his direction. It is a well-grounded assumption that for players from Spanish-speaking countries, a move to La Liga is the pinnacle of their career, especially if the move involves a team like Real Madrid. In the same vein, a mercurial personality (both on and off the pitch) such as Zlatan Ibrahimović is far more suited for the lifestyle offered in Paris. In the case of a player like Cristiano Ronaldo, who left England for Spain, the case can be made that were it not for the development he underwent in England, he would not be the player he is today.
It is also worth pointing out that while other leagues around Europe may boast more individual talent on their biggest teams, those leagues also lack the parity that the Premiership has. When the seasons kick off across the continent, more clubs in the Premiership can lay claim to being true contenders than in any other league, which speaks volumes about the depth in England. The same cannot be said in Spain, where the real challenge for Atletico Madrid or any other club is not to just break the stronghold that Real Madrid and Barcelona hold over the rest of that league, but to do so on a consistent basis. In France, few teams will be able to match the riches of PSG and Monaco, and in the modern game, the inability to keep up financially eventually translates to a struggle to do so on the pitch. Meanwhile, the game in Italy is in disarray, following the national team’s struggles in the World Cup and with a reliance on aging stars in the domestic league.
The Bundesliga, on the other hand, can claim to have had a similar or even sometimes higher level of play from top to bottom when compared to the Premiership and more fan interest. Yet, it is far more common to see players opt to leave the Bundesliga to take their talents elsewhere. Evidence of that can be seen in the struggle of even the biggest teams in that league to hold on to their stars.
Premiership football offers a faster pace, a more physically-demanding style, a climate that is not always the frieneliest, and a healthy sprinkling of foreign flair to go with the typically-English direct style. Not every foreign player has the ability to succeed in the English league, and history is littered with enough names to provide proof of that.
All that said, transfer activity and the choice of individual players to play in different leagues do not really make a compelling case for a trending decline in the Premiership. Furthermore, this summer’s ongoing transfer activity shows that English clubs have no problem attracting foreign talent, and the track record of English clubs in European competition stands strong among the major European nations. It has been and will continue to be a healthy league that can hold its own against all other leagues as one of the best in the world.
(Featured image: dailyblog.in)