FOOTBALL: HAS COMMERCIALISM KILL THE BEAUTIFUL GAME?

wat is success in e football world nowadays? tis article is from The Star newspaper of Malaysia. has loyalty been destroyed in e modern games? is commercialism more important than football results? whether a club sells more jerseys or winning more titles is more important? has money rule e game so much dat football is no more wat its former self is? honestly, i think football is having a major problem. footballers r controlled too much by clubs dat we can c signs of deteriorating football quality in country matches like e world cup or e european cup. copa america? brazil went 2 an extend 2 send a 2nd selection of players 2 go there. world cup qualifying matches 2 me r jokes becoz players r not in their best shape 2 play, n many many more just got injured or half fit 2 play. some i think purposely have some stupid excuses of injury so dat they can save their form 4 their multi-million pound clubs.

here is an article 2 share:

The Real value of Becks

MADRID: The annual general meeting of Real Madrid Football Club on Sunday revealed the true value of midfield star David Beckham to the club.

Real’s income since 2002 has increased notably, from US$187mil to an expected US$368mil for the 2004-05 season.

Of that, almost half (45.6%) – US$168mil) – is due to come directly from marketing.
Only US$112mil will come from club membership and ticket sales.

“The signing of Beckham revolutionised income through marketing,” said newspaper El Pais on Monday.

If you combine the two fastest growing sectors in the club’s financial activities: television coverage and marketing, they jump from US$109mil in 2002 to an expected US$257mil for this season.

The vast majority of this will be driven by deals struck with companies such as adidas and Pepsi and through the distribution of images and products made under licence.

In all of these, Beckham is prominent, and his interest to television companies across the world should not be under-estimated.

El Pais added it was no wonder that the saying, “I’ll sell the Bernabeu Stadium before I sell Beckham,” is being attributed to Perez.

These figures might also help explain why Perez signed so many English players, a step that had puzzled many Real fans.

The British media’s high-octane voracity for all matters related to Beckham and the English players has served to maintain momentum in marketing sales.

Anything that can help keep up the marketing frenzy must be worthwhile, given these sums.
One curious fact which El Pais pointed out was that, “The signing of David Beckham in June 2003 coincided with the sporting decline of the team while at the same time it saw a quantitative leap in the finances of the club”.

The signing revalued the club’s net worth by 46%. For next year this figure is due to rise to almost 60%.

That would make the image makers of Real, stars capable of attracting the attention of young viewers and consumers, worth more than every other aspect of the club, relegating the playing of soccer to a lowly status.

Almost as an aside, the general assembly was used by Perez to ratify the choice of former Real star, Emilio Butragueno, as a replacement for Jorge Valdano, who stepped down last season as the club’s sports director. – AP