Leicester City - The anti-capitalists
Capitalism has been rapped on its knuckles. The financial bubble has been burst. The beautiful game is beautiful once again. At least for the time being. The rise of Leicester City has been remarkable for a number of reasons. But the most important one is - they have proved that throwing money in the face of a problem does not solve it.
In fact, it might only exacerbate it. Just ask the fine folks in both halves of Manchester. For a few years now, the transfer fees in European football have reached ridiculous heights. Numbers like 50-60 million euros are being thrown about without batting an eyelid.
In England, among the top clubs, only Arsenal has resisted the urge to spend money like a gold digger married to a Russian Billionaire. That too because their manager, known as the Professor, has a degree in Economics. But even he, a rationalist of the highest order, has buckled under the pressure and spent in recent times.
However, this was before Leicester entered the frame and spun the very notion of buying trophies on its head. If they win the title this year, many clubs will have to introspect and look at the way they go about running a football club.
A different way to reach the top
The Leicester way of doing business can be summed up in the words of the ex-Uruguayan president Jose Mujica - “I am not advocating poverty, I am advocating sobriety“, he famously said in an interview. Of course, the only people who must be devastatingly unhappy with this development and such remarks are the agents.
The Savile row suit wearing sharks with greasy palms who sell their wares in the shady markets of European football. The lower the transfer fees, the lower their commission. Hence, they must not be ecstatic with the spanner Leicester City have thrown into their giant capitalistic wheel.
Football was heading towards a dangerous territory where the value of a player is decided not by his talent, but by the talent of his agent. We can only hope that the Leicester model will show an alternative path to football club owners and sporting directors.
Now, the holy grail of all questions related to Leicester city. How are they doing it? How are they beating these gigantic whales rolling in money and resources to come up trumps? How is a gentle old man who was shown the door at club and international level leading a bunch of rejects (and I use this word here with the utmost respect) to potential ultimate glory?
There is no one single and simple answer. Their success, like most successes, is a cumulative effect of multiple factors. The demise of Manchester United and Chelsea vacated space at the top, leaving behind a beautiful glistening throne which invited suitors like Arsenal and Manchester City to usurp it. But what did they do?
Like men drunk on wine and power, they stumbled right at its foot. While Leicester City and Tottenham, charged towards it like juggernauts.
Both Clubs managed their cash in an astute manner. Both gave starting berths to players unheard of. Both played with a small squad and seldom rotated their starting XI. Both have stable centre-back partnerships.
Other reasons that come to mind are Tottenham’s double training sessions under Pochettino (the Bielsa way at work) and Leicester’s sports science centre (arguably one of the best in England).
But these are all logical reasons. What is happening at the King Power is anything but logical. So, shall we invoke the magical then? At the beginning of the season, the King Power stadium had some visitors who spend their time in a world rather different from ours. The Thai owner of Leicester City had invited some Buddhist monks to bless the team and the stadium.
Whatever mantras were chanted, whatever totems were evoked; they certainly seem to be working. And talking of bald magic workers, Manchester City has also decided to invite one, albeit for a longer period of time.
Pep Guardiola joins the Premier league next season. What will his strategy be? Will he still splurge cash like a spoilt kid with a trust fund? Or will he look towards the City academy and its products? Chances are he’ll do both.
If, and that is still a big if, Leicester City win the Premier League, it will be a fairy tale that’ll make Cinderella look pedestrian in comparison. However, there still will be questions. Will the fairy tale ending lead to the departure of their Algerian Prince? Will they be too hungover, with victory, champagne and fat salaries, to mount a charge next year?
Nobody can answer these questions except that old man with a flowing white beard called Time. So, we’ll leave him to grapple with these questions as we wait with bated breath for the rest of the season to pan out.