The Award For The Most Stylish Team
In Soccer
My idea is an
award for the most stylish team in soccer each year?
When I say
style, I mean entertaining fans with skill, attacking, dribbling, passing or
other more aesthetically appealing aspects of soccer. I don’t mean who has the
best haircut, or who is best looking, or who has the most attractive kit. I
also do not mean who has the most exciting private life.
To many
football fans, football is not just about winning. It is also about the style
of football they perform.
To these people
football is an art, that must be judged subjectively.
My idea is that
each year a public poll, or panel of experts could vote on who has played the
most attractive, entertaining, and stylish football of the year. The award
could be on a national and international basis.
I would prefer
the award to be 50% public vote, and 50% experts vote.
Some fans
prefer that their team plays
beautiful or
attacking football, rather than just winning trophies.
The fans of
Glasgow Celtic, Newcastle United, West Ham United, and Spurs are often said to
prefer attractive or attacking football to winning trophies. This may explain
why Newcastle Utd and Tottenham Hotspur have not won as many trophies in recent
seasons as teams of a similar size.
Some teams win
trophies by playing more boring, or turgid styles of soccer.
This is why I
think that teams who play the most attractive attacking or skilful football should
be rewarded with an award. So we can remember teams for their style throughout
the ages.
But the issue
of style can have a positive impact on the team’s finances. Because attracting
a domestic or international, support can be helped by the team playing a
beautiful style of soccer.
We have all heard
of glory hunters. The type of fan who just supports which team is winning the
most trophies. But I think there are also glory hunters who choose the most
stylish team of the moment, rather than who wins the most. They choose a style
that reflects their self-image.
The teams of Jose Mourinho are often not as popular, with fans, as the teams of
Alex Ferguson, or Jürgen Klopp have been.
Managers who
develop a side that plays attractive football might do better at developing
their team into a domestic or global brand than managers who choose winning
over style.
How else can it
be explained that Barcelona have become the richest team in football? It is not
just about winning, it is also about style and skill. Messi and his beautiful play
have attracted supporters.
The Klopp Liverpool
side has a huge popularity, not just because they win trophies, but also because
they play with an attacking style of footy.
The Manchester
United team under Alex Ferguson became the best supported side in England, because
they played attacking aggressive skilful football, while winning at the same
time.
The ultimate
for supporters is a team that plays with style and wins tournaments.
But there are
teams that play attractive, football but win no trophies.
Remember the
Kevin Keegan Newcastle United team of the nineties, that should have won a few
trophies. But they were an attractive attacking team.
It is possible
to play with a beautiful style and still win games. Take the Brazil team of the
Pele era. Take the Barcelona side under Pep Guardiola. Also take the Spain team
that won the World Cup in 2010.
Manchester United
under Alex Ferguson. Arsenal in the late nineties and early 2000’s.
Other teams
that won with style include; Glasgow Celtic in the 1967 European Cup.
Aberdeen under
Alex Ferguson in the eighties.
Real Madrid in
the fifties.
There are also
mirror images of this. Of teams that won with a style of football, that upset
opposition fans and in some cases even their own fans.
Arsenal in the
late eighties and early nineties had a reputation for playing a style of
football that was regarded as turgid by some opposition fans. This was so much
the case that opposition fans would commonly sing, ‘Boring, boring. Arsenal.’
Arsenal fans proudly
replied with their own era defining chant, ‘1-0 to the Arsenal.’ This was
because Arsenal had a very strong defence at the time.
I would prefer
to go further with this prize, and not just award the award to the team that
win with style. I would advise the award to go to any team that plays with entertainment
as their key. Even if they are relegated, or lose games with big defeats.
As entertaining
the fans, with attacking beautiful football should be rewarded with an award
for playing the game with style as their philosophy.
There could
also be an individual award.
Once again this
award would go to the player who entertains the fans. Once again I am not talking
about haircuts or private life. I am talking about a player, who plays super skilful,
entertaining football like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pele, Diego Maradona, George
Best, Steven Gerrard, Gareth Bale, Figo
Kenny Dalglish, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, George Weah, Jim Baxter, Garrincha,
Ronaldinho, Denis Law, Jimmy Johnstone, Michel Platini, Paul Gascoigne, I would
also add the Brazilian Ronaldo to that list. Plus I would add from the women’s
game the skilful Brazilian player Marta Vieira da Silva, and the Dutch soccer player
Lieke Martens.
I have to be
honest. Football to me is mainly about winning. I would rather my team won with
the most boring, tedious style of football you can imagine, if it meant they
won trophies. As a matter of fact I would even find it quite funny if my team
won with such defensive ugliness, that they became hated on an international
scale.
But lots of
fans and clubs honestly, and sincerely see style as more important. They would
rather see their team go without trophies, and play attacking stylish football.
Let us award those
fans, and clubs, for their sincerity, and honesty, with an award for the most
beautiful style of playing the beautiful game. For me the most beautiful style
of team, of all time, was the Spain team that won the 2010 World Cup. But who
played the best style of football is subjective just like art.
This award
would not even be like figure skating or ballroom dancing, where there is a set
of clear criteria, that judges weigh on. This award would be like an art award.
A purely subjective decision.
By the way this
is not like the Fair Play Award. The Fair Play Award is given to teams for
their superior morality, or self sacrifice.
My award idea is
about who is playing the game of soccer with an entertaining appealing style.
Fashions changes. What is stylish to one generation is not so stylish to
another.
