The rules on the transfer of players from one team to another during the competitive season are destroying the very idea of a team in soccer. Insigne has just signed a contract that binds him to Toronto starting from next June. Morata would like to leave but he will not be able to because Juventus does not have another center forward. Icardi always has his bags ready. These are just some of the most famous examples of these days, not to mention Cristiano Ronaldo who a few months ago went to Manchester United with the championship started.
Many players are turning into soccer mercenaries, who move according to the economic interests of the club, their procurers and themselves. Haven’t you noticed this? Yes, of course, but never before has this dimension of soccer taken over the idea of building a team united on the objectives to be reached. It is a process that requires and cannot be subject to frequent changes.
What is the basis of today’s supporters, certainly not the team in its concreteness made of names and surnames and of the game expressed by these players. We are becoming more and more fans of an abstract idea, of what that team means to the fan but not of what it is now. On the other hand it is useless to get attached to a player because it is likely that tomorrow he will be sold to save the club’s budget or because he wants to earn a few million more. This is the case of Lukaku who now complains about his new team and we have to witness the liturgy of the coach excluding him and him apologizing and saying that he will work to regain the trust of the fans.
Soccer is losing one of the essential aspects of any team and that is that you win and you lose but together. We will no longer see the famous final 15 minutes of Manchester United that were the expression of a collective mentality built over time or the cynicism of Juventus in bringing home the result or the enthusiasm generated by the 10 and 9 teams because today there are no more and we will no longer hear phrases like: “give the ball to …. that then he takes care of it”. Turning a phrase by Eduardo Galeano on its head, I think that over time fans will no longer say “today we play”, they will lose the sense of “we” in favor of a more neutral “today my team plays”.
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