Blog post: foreign football Winds of the World, give answer!

They are whimpering to and fro And what should they know of England who only England know? Rudyard Kiping, The English Flag (1911)

Football is by far the most popular sport in England, to the extent that it seems to pervade all aspects of our society witness the national soul-searching over the recent racism controversies, or the fact that a well-known news reader became a trending topic on Twitter following her idiosyncratic pronunciation of the name of the former national team manager, Fabio Capello, during a report on his resignation. But as well as being the national game, football is also the worlds game. And it is a cause of some frustration that the consciousness of the average fan in this country rarely extends beyond the confines of English football (and for a good many followers of Premier League clubs, barely beyond the top flight, although that is for another day). How often have fans and the media been astounded, as a player who has been a leading star elsewhere comes from nowhere to light up the Premier League? Why do we insist on ramping up expectation of the English national side before every major tournament, or of the Big 4 English clubs in the UEFA Champions League, only to collapse in shock and disbelief as they crash out in the quarter finals? It is as if we imbue England and English football with the status of chosen people, destined for eternal success as soon as the struggle against the foreign Gentiles is complete. Alright, such a metaphor may be bordering on hyperbole, but there is a valid argument that the pre-eminence of English football has a negative effect, in a number of ways. Its like the often-lamented reluctance of the English-speaking peoples to learn another language: by having instant access to a dominant global force, it might appear that there is an associated comparative advantage. However, in the lack of engagement with other cultures, horizons remain narrow, to the detriment of an adaptable, cosmopolitan society. Many fans would argue that football is all about watching the team from your home town take on the rest. But even allowing for the traditional, tribal instincts of fans, surely the reason that the vast majority of supporters pack the terraces, pubs, and living rooms of this country continue to watch match after match, season after season, is due to a wider appreciation of football for its own sake; and in this sense it is all the more baffling that the English persist in their insularity. English football has always been suspicious or dismissive of outsiders. The Football League lobbied furiously to prevent English champions from participating in the early editions of the European Cup, and England didnt bother to enter any of the three World Cups held before the Second World War. There has always been an axis of arrogance and ignorance within English football, which has historically led to catastrophe: losing 1-0 to the USA in the 1950 World Cup, losing 6-3 to Hungary at Wembley in 1953, right the way through to 0-0 draws with Algeria. Whenever there is discussion of how to rejuvenate the national game, there is much emphasis placed on changes to coaching methods, introducing curbs on the number of foreign players allowed in the squads of top-flight clubs.

But what do we really know of English football, if English football is all we know? I would argue that, in addition to the other steps mentioned above, England needs to address its balance of trade surplus with the rest of the footballing world. We should integrate our consumption of matches in England with those taking place elsewhere: La Liga, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, the Brasileirao, the Russian league, its all available for us if we want it. For a football geek such as myself this seems like second nature, but if the average fan starts to take an interest in the fortunes of Santos, Spartak and Sporting Lisbon, they will not only enhance their appreciation and enjoyment of the beautiful game, but the effects may well trickle down to provide a boost to future generations playing the game. It would help if there were more players and managers taking their chances abroad, although that again is a different issue. Before concluding, there are a couple of further points I would like to make. First, I am not arguing that England is unique in footballing insularity: indeed, it may well be a feature in most of the larger footballing nations. These are simply my observations based on a lifetime of participation in the footballing discourse of this country. Second, I am against any copycat moves to try to wholly replicate Barcelonas La Masia academy or the style recently adopted to great success by Klinsmann and Lw in Germany. I do believe that there is a distinctive English footballing identity that should be preserved and reflected in any innovations implemented by future reviews of the English system (such as the forthcoming St. Georges Park centre in Burton). For instance, one of the factors in Uruguays recent re-emergence as a world power is that, under the influence of coach Oscar Tabarez, the imprint of Uruguayan footballing sensibilities has been pressed upon the national game at all levels. In fact, when played to optimum effect, the physical, athletic, relentlessly quick style of football that we might consider English can produce some of the most enjoyable matches in the world game. After all, it is part of why the Premier League is the most watched on the planet. But that doesnt mean we should continue to appreciate it in isolation.