Is Argentine Football in Crisis?

There's no doubting that Argentina remains one of the primary sources of talent in an increasingly over-crowded and competitive footballing world. The likes of Messi, Tevez, Agüero, Higuain, Milito, Mascherano would seem to be indicators that Argentine Football is thriving. However, the truth is rather more complex.

The fall of the Titans

It doesn't take much to notice things have changed in Argentine football. In recent years we've seen historically dominant teams struggle tremendously, while the "smaller" clubs have stepped in to fill the resultant void. "Torneo Clausura 2010" saw Boca Juniors finish 16th, San Lorenzo 15th & River Plate 13th; despite Racing Club's big money purchases, they continue to struggle with phantoms of relegation; Independiente was comfortably in first place, only to slip up and finish 4th; Even Velez, who aspired to winning both the "Libertadores" cup and the "Torneo Clausura", was eliminated from one and finished 9th in the other.

Transformations in the player market

Historically Argentina has been a football supplier; Europe has been the destination for it's goods and finished products. Argentine clubs have generally understood this to be their place in the food chain and they've worked arduously in the task of discovering, training and shipping talent off to Europe.

Here's an example of how this worked:

Esteban Sabbatasso is an aspiring footballer, who's shown a great deal of talent at a young age. How would he and his family go about building his professional career?

a) He might be discovered by a large Argentine club (hopefully River Plate), work his way through the youth program, make it to the first team, gain a good deal of experience and be shipped off to Europe for millions at a ripe age of about 20 or 21.

b) If he wasn't "discovered", he could try out at River Plate (top choice as far as a youth program) and if he was good enough, he could make it through all of the above steps and get shipped off to Europe.

c) He could try out, or be discovered by one of the other medium to small-sized clubs with good youth programs (Newells Old Boys, Rosario Central, Argentinos Juniors), and eventually be sold to one of the larger clubs in Argentina (Boca Juniors, River Plate, Independiente, San Lorenzo, Racing, Vélez), play for a season or two, and be shipped off to Europe.

So, as you can see, most the talent produced in Argentina was generally funneled through the larger clubs en route to Europe. This was -naturally- advantageous for the larger clubs, but it was also beneficial to the Argentine game in general in, although it was a bit unfair. Players were sold abroad as "finished products", for which much more money could be extracted, and as a result their was a greater deal of capital flowing into Argentine football in general.

This has all changed now. European clubs have found they can do without the "middle-man". They're now going straight to the source and buying these players at a much younger age, while they're still worth pennies. It's even become common practice to "buy out the parents" (while the kids are still under-age), offering them jobs and apartments if they'll move to Europe and put their child into the clubs' youth program. Many European clubs have even set up scouting agencies within Argentina, where players are tried, and their profiles are sent back to Europe for evaluation, etc.

The European market grew tired of paying for the goods, and decided to do the farming themselves. Thus, the local farmers are beginning to go out of business.

Naturally, this has all sorts of repercussions. Argentine club football has begun to lose it's place of prestige; Argentine clubs have struggled in the early stages of Copa Libertadores (a competition which was once dominated by them). Likewise, the level of play at home has diminished considerably.

Recipes for survival

Given these prospects, being successful in Argentine football is no easy task. The pressures are enormous and their is very little to work with. These are times for clever and conservative policies, for austerity and wise management. And that is why the smaller clubs have done so well: they're already accustomed to living on tight budgets. They've healed their economies and have learned to be patient, to not get into debt, and to make long-term plans.

Some clubs have attempted to make emotional appeals to some of their "former stars", who are now near retirement. In Boca and River's case this has not borne the intended results, but; who can doubt that a large measure of Estudiantes' recent successes have been thanks to the presence of Juan S. Verón, who gave up money and prestige to make Estudiantes his home?

Other clubs are now seeking to offer parents of up & coming young stars a cut of their child's eventual sale, in order to keep them from moving abroad. No doubt, these are desperate times, and Argentine clubs will have to think of methods such as these, to help stop the bleeding.

Reality is beginning to set in, and there's no questioning that the days of plenty and of free-for-all corruption are coming to an end. Those who intend to survive will have to be serious, vigorous and astute in the management of their club affairs.