This blog will
discuss the issue of British footballers plying their trade abroad – who, where
and why…I will cover the good, the bad and the positively indifferent, going
from Major League Soccer in the USA to the Australian A-League, with several
stops in between.
So firstly why bother discussing this issue?
After all England has got the world’s best football league hasn't it? Maybe…We
have the greatest selection of cuisines…sometimes. And finally the unmistakable
British culture (complete with knob jokes…), topped off with our tropical
weather…
Before we all run
off to find our passports and book a skanky flight on Lastminute.com to some
god forsaken Greek island, to escape the X-Factor, Garth Crooks and the issues
raised above, you should sit back and ponder the reasons the modern footballer
might choose to up sticks.
It is my opinion
that in the main footballers would be tempted to play abroad for 3 reasons:
1) Because they
are bloody brilliant…
Back when the
English Premier League (EPL) was a mere paedophilic football dream, the early
1990s, the best of the best would be snapped up by Europe’s elite. Given the
exclusion of English football teams from European football in the 1980s if you
fancied a crack at the European Cup you either went to play for Glasgow Rangers
(think Chris Woods, Trevor Steven, or Mark Hateley) which was clearly a mistake
due to the fact that Glasgow is in Scotland last time I checked, coupled with
the fact you had to play some pretty average teams in some pretty shocking
weather….
No the real prize
was to move to the best European clubs, which barring Bayern Munich meant
basically going to Spain, or more likely Italy. Following the exploits of
Italia’90 Europe was reminded of the plethora of English footballing talent and
it wasn't long before David Platt joined Chris Waddle and decided to move to
the continent (because the UK isn’t within the continent of Europe somehow…).
Whereas Chris Waddle was stuck on the south coast of France with the phony
Irish man Tony Cascarino, taking performance enhancing drugs at half time
(those were the days…), Platt managed to get a transfer from Aston Villa to
Bari, and thus live on the south east coast of Italy. Widely regarding as one
of the better players of Italia’90, Platt took well to Serie A and scored 11
goals in 29 appearances, proving that cultured English midfielders do exist
(and can travel), despite Steve McMahon trying to prove otherwise during his
World Cup…subsequent moves to Juventus, and then more successfully Sampdoria
followed before Platt returned home to play for Arsenal. In a similar mould to
Platt (although not physically or mentally clearly) Paul Gascoigne also caught
the eye of the Italian scouts and secured a move to Lazio in 1992, his transfer
being delayed after he tried to destroy Gary Charles in an FA match 12 months
previous. Three injury hit years did not diminish Gascoigne’s standing in the
Italian game, and along with Paul Ince (at Internazionale in later years),
cemented the growing reputation of British footballers within Italy.
Whilst the strength
of the EPL grew, in both financial and footballing terms in the 1990s, the
opportunity to realistically challenge for European honours still led to the
cream of the crop being tempted abroad – not just English players such as
Beckham, but also the best foreign talent remained overseas (think Real Madrid
Galacticos). The higher technical standard of football in Spain and Italy also
provided a stiffer challenge, and I believe it is to the benefit of the England
national team that players such as Paul Ince and Steve McManaman relished this
challenge, not to mention the benefits to the players themselves (a chance to
learn Spanish because Macca could barely speak English after all…come to think
of it he probably also taught Carragher ‘english’)
In the 21st
century the balance of power began to swing in favour of players staying in the
EPLs and earning the gross domestic product of a small African state – and that
is why I believe we don’t see players such as Rooney (who may not have a
passport in fairness…), Ashley Cole or Steven Gerrard seeking transfers abroad
– to the absolute detriment of the national team. I firmly believe Gerrard in
particular would have done well in Italy. Furthermore the current crop of
talented young England players, where Jack Wilshere sticks out, would become
consummately more rounded players if they tried their hand in the La Liga or
Serie A. The true attraction of money is only too evident when you think of the
increasing number of top players going to Russia for instance – a league where
10 years ago you surely wouldn’t have seen Samuel Eto’o playing, let alone
rising stars such as Aiden McGeady. In fairness to McGeady I think Spartak was
a good move for him, very different challenge to the SPL, a chance to play in
the Champions League and grow as a person in a new culture. Add PSG in France
into the mix and you could argue that the balance of power is shifting all over
Europe – but I maintain that the very best players should want to play
for Real or Barca, and to a lesser extent Juventus or Bayern Munich – to push
themselves as footballers and benefit the national team. Face it playing for
years in the EPL hasn’t really made the most of Rooney and Co’s talent, let’s
hope Wilshere, Rodwell and Sturridge see the light, otherwise more quarter
final disappointment awaits us. Although at least England bother to qualify –
note for Craig Levein and Chris Coleman….
. 2) Because they
want to further their careers…
This section relates
to players that are still developing, rather looking for one last pay day at
the end of their careers. These players will often be found playing to leagues
outside La Liga or Serie A, such as the Super Leagues of Greece, Turkey or
Switzerland. These players may not have been an immediate success in the EPL
and believe that playing abroad will help them in the long run. Plus, they
often end up playing European club football which after the sad demise of the
Anglo-Italian cup is a mere dream for many Championship players…
Players in this
category worth mentioning include Scott Carson, Kyle Lafferty and Matt
Derbyshire. Carson had a promising career initially, but after that infamous
night in goal against Croatia (think McClaren under an umbrella…) he soon
spiralled downwards (at least internationally). His surprise move to Turkey
with Bursaspor will undoubtedly expand his experiences, and probably increased
his England recall chances, as it was reported that Capello kept tabs on him.
He will invariably also get a better tan than playing at altitude at the
Hawthorns…
Kyle Lafferty
decided against playing in the 4th tier of Scottish football and
opted to try his hand in Switzerland, with FC Sion. Whether the footballing
standard is actually superior to the SPL is debatable, although Basel have made
progress in Europe recently (just ask a certain Mr A. Ferguson). Lafferty is
still developing and playing in a different environment will surely aid him,
but his subsequent transfer from Sion will determine whether it was the right
move in hindsight. He may attract other European teams as opposed to SPL/EPL
outfits given where he will be playing for the next 3 years.
Matt Derbyshire
never truly made the grade at his hometown club, Blackburn Rovers, and accepted
an offer to play for Olympiakos in Greece in 2009. Whilst his time in Greece
was limited he did made an impact in some key games, and experienced some
Champions League football. A change of coach at Olympiakos saw Derbyshire out
in the cold and a subsequent return to England, where he has struggled to
firmly re-establish himself. Whether Derbyshire would have gone further if he
had remained at Ewood Park is open to discussion, he was doing very well at
England U-21, and scored one of the first goals in the new Wembley stadium (3-3
against Italy). His stats in Greece were very good and I thing at the end of
his career, wherever that takes him, he would argue that his time abroad helped
him as a footballer.
Clearly this is just
three of a vast number of players who fit into this category, such as Derek
Riordon and Garry O’Connor, and many others up for discussion….
3) Because the
end is nigh…
The final category
is a mixture of footballers whose careers are coming to an end, think David
Beckham, and those players who developed no further and became footballing
‘journeymen’(literally in this sense…).
The Major League
Soccer (MLS) league in the USA is perhaps the best example of where such
players from Britain may wind up. Whilst David Beckham Ltd (he is a brand not
just a man after all…) may grab the headlines with his stylish, yet mediocre
performances for LA Galaxy, and Olympic cameos, many other Brits have quietly
gone about their footballing business. Darren Huckerby made a particular impact
for San Jose Earthquakes, from 2008-2009 (albeit his time was cut short through
a hip injury which forced him to retire). Other noteworthy players include
Danny Dichio (who played in England, Italy and finally Canada with FC Toronto),
and Terry Cooke – the ultimate journeyman footballer with 11 clubs including
both Manchester teams, the Colorado Rapids in the MLS, North Queensland Fury in
the A-League and finally Gabala of Azerbaijan (under Tony Adams!). Just goes to
show that with a modicum of talent, sheer determination and a valid passport
you can have a career as a worldwide professional footballer…
Further down the
pecking order of‘developing’ football leagues you will find the Australian
A-League, and the resting place of several prominent British footballers; most
recently of course being a certain Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey with the
Newcastle Jets (who I am assured are not a budget airline with black and white
stripes, but in fact a football team from New South Wales). There he will form
a deadly strike force with Michael Bridges (formerly of Sunderland no less).
Robbie Fowler also did a stint at the end of his career and was generally
thought of as doing well, adapting his game to his fitness/speed limitations.
This category has the most examples, such as
Lee Sharpe (Sampdoria), Tony Dorigo (Torino), Andy Todd (Perth Glory), John
Curtis (Gold Coast United) and Francis Jeffers (Newcastle Jets), not to mention
Neil Emblem (Waitakere City, New Zealand) or Paul Ifill/Chris Greenacre at
Wellington Phoenix. Then you have the extreme examples of Nicky Butt (Hong
Kong) and Lee Hendrie playing in Indonesia
The reasons why
players go abroad clearly vary considerably, and can include the temptation of
a new culture, the chance of a last decent pay day, the opportunity to test
your skills in better leagues and more simplistically dual nationality (i.e.
Colin Kazim-Richards, England-Turkey-England). The presence of a particular
coach or player is also an important pull factor, players such as Kyle Lafferty
will line up alongside Gennaro Gattuso this season at FC Sion, whereas Graeme
Souness was instrumental in taking Tony Dorigo to Torino, before being
sacked…and David Platt also secured the signings of Lee Sharpe and Danny Dichio
for Sampdoria (although I am not sure the fans will thank for those signings).
To conclude I am
glad we have British players mixing it up abroad, even Joey Barton at
Marseilles, as it all adds to the beautiful game and hopefully if the right
young players venture outside the EPL will benefit the national teams of the
UK. Let me know your thoughts and who you wish had gone to play abroad and
why…and don’t I say “I wish Emile Heskey had gone earlier because was always
shit”, irrespective of how true that may or may not be. I appreciate I have
missed out on many footballer legends, such as Lineker (Barca, and Grampus 8),
Hughes (Barca and Munich), Beardsley at Vancouver Whitecaps and Hoddle at
Monaco but I would suggest most readers are already waning at this stage…..over
to you………….
Gareth Thomas
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