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Hobbled Players Becoming Soccer's Pawns:
Injuries? Ignore Them For the Love of Money
By Rob Hughes
Published: MONDAY, JULY 13, 1998
PARIS: If Ronaldo were a thoroughbred racehorse instead of the
world's most prized goal-scorer, it is unlikely he would have been
allowed to compete Sunday. But, limping in pain from a knee injury,
he nevertheless started the World Cup final.
On Europe's racetracks, there are rules to prevent animals from being
injected with the type of painkillers Ronaldo has probably been
resorting to. A fine stallion would be protected by animal-rights
protesters who would shame the owners for putting the
horse through unnecessary suffering, and by shareholders who would
not want their investment harmed by a subpar performance.
Yet Ronaldo is only human, and humankind was tuning into this match
from around the globe. Before kickoff, the question was not whether
Ronaldo might be kept out because of his restricted movement, but
whether a pain-killing agent might enable him to score the first hat
trick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst did it for England in 1966.
Ronaldo started the game needing those three goals to take the Golden
Boot award for the highest scorer in this World Cup away from
Croatia's Davor Suker. The Croatian had 6 goals to Ronaldo's 4 before
the final.
It might be hard to conjure up sympathy for a 21-year-old whose
combined income from Brazil's national team, his Italian club Inter
Milan and his sponsors, Pirelli and Nike, is over $10 million per
year. But as Ronaldo has known since his first serious knee injury at
the age of 17, there is a limit to how much wear and tear, how much
air travel, how many performances the body can take.
"Take care of your body," Pele, the most famous soccer player in
history, said the other day. "I played 25 years only because my body
was strong and I looked after it. For young players like Ronaldo,
like Michael Owen, this is the beginning. Their bodies are the
investment."
Pele, in his role traveling the globe for MasterCard and for
television, is still drawing on that investment.
How long dare we hope Ronaldo and Owen have? The pace of the modern
game is fearful. The destruction is fierce. As we have seen at this
World Cup, one player is quite prepared to put another out of the
next match, even if it is the final, especially if he calculates the
referee won't see the offense.
But the forces of commerce are powerful. Ronaldo's schedule is out of
his hands, uncaring for his limbs and overall health.
There are agents to feed. There is Nike and its $400 million, 10-year
deal with the Brazilian soccer federation demanding that the golden
boy plays every match that doctors will allow.
There is talk that Inter Milan might sue Brazil if, as feared,
Ronaldo needs further surgery to correct the knee damage being
aggravated here. Ronaldo is Inter's player, Inter's investment. The
club wants to take priority over the country.
Indeed, Franz Beckenbauer, who was himself a pedigree player, but now
(among other things) is president of Bayern Munich, has suggested
that future World Cups might be built around clubs rather than
countries.
It is not a new suggestion. Silvio Berlusconi, the paymaster at AC
Milan, Inter's great rival, had the same idea when Milan ruled the
world game with its mix of talents from almost a dozen nationalities.
Both men have been visionaries: Beckenbauer in the way he changed
defense into attack on the field, Berlusconi in his initial injection
of Dutch master players into Milan's previously predictable team.
What they are saying — and FIFA is heeding — is that the money lies
with clubs, not with national associations. True, but here more than
anywhere in the rich history of World Cups, we are witnessing the
license to print billions of dollars through nationalism, rather than
through real soccer appeal.
But the struggle that destroys the rare talents in the sport is
quickening. On the eve of the World Cup final, in early July, the
first round of the "Intertoto" cup was played across Europe to
determine which clubs might be added to the crowded UEFA Cup for next
season.
Relentless is the pursuit of more and more matches to milk gate
receipts, television and sponsorship. This has turned soccer into a
greedy, and most careless, business. In a few weeks, the players who
gave their all at this World Cup will be back on duty for the coming
European club seasons. In a few months, players will be called to the
qualifying rounds for the 2000 European Champions' Cup. Soon,
qualifying for the 2002 World Cup will start.
Nevertheless, FIFA's eyes are on a World Club Cup to fill the
precious few weeks in June and July in the years when neither a World
Cup nor a continental championship is exhausting the players.
FIFA, I know, has a responsible medical committee. It also, I
suspect, has bulging files concerning the repercussions of
overplaying the players. Whether it has a responsible mind, or a will
to restrain from profiteering, it must tell us.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo and the modern generation of star performers are
chasing ever more impressive cash prizes during shorter career spans.
If it is possible to feel sorry for a player made wealthy for life by
doing what millions would love to do, then Ronaldo is the man.
The animal-rights groups might even be considering that humans are a
part of the family of animals.
Rob Hughes is chief sports writer of The Times of London.
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