The marathon that is miles ahead of the rest

Back in London last month, I saw at first hand the way that the pause for international games interrupts the usual routine of the fans. And then, a couple of weeks back, I was at home in Rio for the next international break – played out in a very different environment.

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It is clear that for the majority fans, on whichever side of the Atlantic, the club game is football’s main event.  It is the aspect of the sport in which he or she has the strongest emotional involvement.  That applies to those in Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro just as much as it does in London or Manchester. 

But there is a difference - the comparison between the quality on show in club and national team football does not play out the same way.  And the logic behind this lies in the relative strength of South American national team football, and the relative weakness of its club game.

During the club season, international football in Europe these days rarely excites – in general only for special games, or the closing stages of a qualification campaign when places in a tournament are being won and lost.  Otherwise it often comes across as very low key.  In part this is because the standard of many of the European national teams is so low – and also because the standard of the major European clubs is so high.

In the modern age, a handful of super-clubs have been able to accumulate talent from all corners of the globe, and mould it into a living, breathing team unit.  So when the players all go back to their national sides, that talent is dispersed, the weekly togetherness is lost and the standard of the spectacle drops accordingly.  The club supporter grits his teeth and waits for the end of the international dates, hoping that none of his club’s players have been injured in the process.

In South America all of this takes place through the looking glass.  International dates are when the quality rises, because all of those star name players come back from Europe.  And, during the continent’s marathon World Cup qualification campaign, the action is full of meaning.  There are just 10 countries and (though Bolivia have been trying hard to sabotage themselves) no minnows. 

It is so tight that chances missed and points dropped in the recent two opening rounds may still be lamented towards the end of 2017 when the campaign draws to a close and the slots in Russia are defined.  All of the games, then, are intense and meaningful.

The second of the two recent rounds was played on a Tuesday, 13 October. Over the following two nights there was a round of matches in the domestic Brazilian Championship. On 14 October,  the Wednesday, I could not bring myself to go to the stadium or to work up any interest.  It was not burn out after watching 5 games the previous day, and then writing articles on them.  It was more the feeling that, in the wake of the World Cup qualifiers, the league games seemed so depressingly mediocre.  Professional pride obliged me to throw off this sentiment the following night, when I attended a match. 

But it is already fading from memory, while the images from Quito, Montevideo, Asuncion, Fortaleza and Lima will stay fresh for some time to come.  Many of the big names were missing, either injured or suspended – even so the likes of Luis Antonio Valencia, Diego Godin, Willian and Alexis Sanchez were giving their all in the service of their countries.

The sacrifices these players make in order to play for their national teams, especially in terms of travelling time, must occasionally mystify their European club-mates.  I well recall Alan Shearer explaining how he came to give up playing for England, much as he loved the honour, because it was the only way to prolong his career – and he did not have to keep disappearing across the Atlantic.  Perhaps that explains some of the lure of the South American World Cup qualifiers – top professionals, deservedly well paid for their endeavours, are behaving with an amateur spirit.

Things have perhaps been made harder for them in the current campaign.  The 2014 qualifiers were all double headers, with the rounds played on Friday and Tuesday.  This time it is Thursday and Tuesday – so there is more time between the games, but less time before the first one.  For European based players who were in action for their clubs on Sunday, this is leaving things tight. 

They may not be able to fly until Monday, giving them very little time to shake off the journey and give their best on the Thursday.  Press and fans in their home country, though, are unlikely to cut them much slack if their performance is not up to scratch.  Indeed, they are sometimes accused of being mercenaries, of not caring for the cause and of only worrying about their own bank accounts – and still they come.

On reflection, it is not just the increase in quality that makes the South American World Cup qualifiers so compelling – it is also the refreshing lack of cynicism shown by some of the world’s great players.