Will this trend ever change ?

[jai john]

23/12/2008 16:27
Brazil Break Transfer Record In 2008
According to the Brazilian Football Association, Brazil transferred a record number of footballers abroad this year...


Brazil transferred 1,176 footballers abroad in 2008, a record number that beats last year's total by 8.4% (1,085), stated the Brazilian Football Association (CBF).

This year's amount is almost twice the transfer number of ten years ago (530) and thirteen times the figure of 30 years ago (87).

Of the footballers who emigrated abroad, 222 ended up in Asian clubs, 762 in Europe, 105 in other South American countries, 69 in North and Central America and 15 in Africa.

The most popular destination in Europe was Portugal, where 209 players moved to, followed by Germany (58), Switzerland (46) and Spain (34).

According to the CBF, Brazilian clubs don't have the necessary financial backing to compete with clubs from Europe and Asia, and this is the main reason why so many players are transferred abroad.

Each year younger players move abroad, and although Brazilian football still counts with extraordinary talent, this could diminish if this trend continues in the future.

In order to minimise the likelihood of this happening, a new project has been established which doesn't allow players under the age of 16 to sign professional contracts.

[elan]

What is we record? Do you think the TTFF does use stats like this to monitor their programs?

[asylumseeker]

All listed here. Compare that to a total of over 1,500 Argentines playing abroad ... not merely transferred this year. Staggering.

The legal personality/posture of the clubs in South America is essentially different from their European counterparts. This is one element thought to contribute to the situation.  Structure varies across countries and inherently, so does the imbalance and leverage. Some South American clubs are effectively non-profit organizations. In Argentina, for instance, there is an agreement between these 'clubs' and 'attaching SAs' (see this) that provides for various operating factors.

In Spain, at the beginning of the 90s, specific legislation providing for 'sporting SAs' or SADs came into being.  Although clubs like Barca and Madrid have resisted the SAD (them switching is always the subject of speculation and rumour), one of my clubs of sentiment in Spain - Atletico Madrid - has adopted the SAD form. Money and control is big demarcator in this debate.

South American clubs may need to examine reform of their model. I don't pretend to understand all the vagaries of the models, but dahis ah lil flava of some of the considerations that 'reach' the transfer market. Clubs in some countries have been the beneficiaries of legislation providing them with more favorable terms/flexibility than elsewhere ... a risky proposition for one club is a walk in the park for another.

Trend won't change anytime soon. For instance, at the risk of stating the obvious, more money is made from transfers than from gate receipts. Have a look at this Deloitte brief

The foreign presence figures (for Europe alone) are very varied ... 220 Uruguayans, about 30 Colombians, maybe 20 Mexicans (yes, ah know dey not South American), Peru less than 30, Ecuador probably bewteen 15-20 in leagues with any salt, Venezuela and Chile a lil fewer than them. Last year, dey say an Andorran club had the largest number of Argentines on any roster outside of Argentina ... this year that honour goes to a club in one of the lowest tiers of Spanish football ... said to be 15.

[jai john]

All listed here. Compare that to a total of over 1,500 Argentines playing abroad ... not merely transferred this year. Staggering.

The legal personality/posture of the clubs in South America is essentially different from their European counterparts. This is one element thought to contribute to the situation.  Structure varies across countries and inherently, so does the imbalance and leverage. Some South American clubs are effectively non-profit organizations. In Argentina, for instance, there is an agreement between these 'clubs' and 'attaching SAs' (see this) that provides for various operating factors.

In Spain, at the beginning of the 90s, specific legislation providing for 'sporting SAs' or SADs came into being.  Although clubs like Barca and Madrid have resisted the SAD (them switching is always the subject of speculation and rumour), one of my clubs of sentiment in Spain - Atletico Madrid - has adopted the SAD form. Money and control is big demarcator in this debate.

South American clubs may need to examine reform of their model. I don't pretend to understand all the vagaries of the models, but dahis ah lil flava of some of the considerations that 'reach' the transfer market. Clubs in some countries have been the beneficiaries of legislation providing them with more favorable terms/flexibility than elsewhere ... a risky proposition for one club is a walk in the park for another.

Trend won't change anytime soon. For instance, at the risk of stating the obvious, more money is made from transfers than from gate receipts. Have a look at this Deloitte brief

The foreign presence figures (for Europe alone) are very varied ... 220 Uruguayans, about 30 Colombians, maybe 20 Mexicans (yes, ah know dey not South American), Peru less than 30, Ecuador probably bewteen 15-20 in leagues with any salt, Venezuela and Chile a lil fewer than them. Last year, dey say an Andorran club had the largest number of Argentines on any roster outside of Argentina ... this year that honour goes to a club in one of the lowest tiers of Spanish football ... said to be 15.

Thanks for the insight. My main concern is that money is changing the whole footballing  landscape and if something is not done it could get ugly. The USA has addressed the problem in the MLS and in basketball with their salary caps etc. but FIFA is still to address the situation where rich countries plunder the poor, even to the point of robbing the cradles.
Apart from the football aspect there is also the social concerns .....where does the professional consideration start for a minor ? What hold will parents have over children in molding their futures ? Some may say the  money is good for the poor families but take Diego for example , even for a poor street wise boy the money , fame and adulation was too much.
To be saved, he had to be removed from the very envirionment which made him all that money.
The rich clubs may well abandon their youth programmes since it is so easy to get good players, especially minors !
In my view FIFA has a social responsibility to address the matter ....I dont know that they are even looking at it.

[Filho]

From Tim Vickery of Sports Illustrated. I usually like his pieces on Brasilian football. Here he writes about the growing interest and burgeoning education Brasilians are getting by learning more about football in other parts of SA. More importantly Brasilian clubs are starting to act like their European counterparts (Mexico started doing is a while ago)...becasue of their relatively strong currency and improved organization of football clubs (except for the Rio based ones which are still run like amateur social clubs)....


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/tim_vickery/12/23/argentina.brazil/index.html


........And so cultural ties with Brazil's southern neighbor have strengthened, and a TV team has gone down to give on-the-spot coverage of the decisive moment in Argentina's championship. But there's another reason Brazilian soccer should be looking south: As more continental integration takes place, there will almost certainly be more Argentine players playing for Brazilian clubs.

Some high-profile Argentines are already playing in Brazil. Internacional of Porto Alegre has Andrés D'Alessandro and Pablo Guiñazú. In Rio, Darío Conca schemes for Fluminense, while Rubens Sambueza and Maxi Biancucchi (Lionel Messi's cousin) play for Flamengo and Leandro Zárate for Botafogo. In São Paulo, striker Germán Herrera had an excellent year with Corinthians, although it may have to lose him in order to accommodate Ronaldo.

And there's plenty of interest in bringing in other big-name players from Argentina. After recovering from his injury problems, former Argentine national-team captain Juan Pablo Sorín has rejoined Cruzeiro. Proposals from Brazil have been made to the likes of Juan Sebastián Verón of Estudiantes de La Plata and Jesús Dátolo of Boca Juniors.

This trend is easy to understand. Brazil's currency is stronger than Argentina's and it pays higher wages. With Brazil selling more than 1,000 players abroad per year, it makes perfect sense for its clubs to look to Argentina for replacements.

But Brazilian clubs could do more than that. Instead of merely buying in Argentine talent, they could also help develop it. Perhaps the most interesting case of an Argentine player in Brazil is 21-year-old Ariel Nahuelpan, picked up by Coritiba from Nueva Chicago. Nahuelpan is a burly striker who, especially towards the end of the season, formed a good partnership with Keirrison, the Brazilian league's joint top scorer. Presumably, Coritiba's idea is to help develop Nahuelpan, give him visibility and then sell him at a profit.

Brazilian fans and officials complain that Europe whisks away its talent at an ever earlier age. But there are signs that Brazilian clubs are just starting to act in a similar way with countries in the rest of the continent. Cruzeiro, for example, recently signed highly rated teenagers Javier Reina from Colombia and Fidel Martínez from Ecuador.

As the borders between Brazil and its neighbors finally loosen, Brazilian clubs should become more alert to the possibilities of snapping up youngsters from Argentina, the country which has won five of the last seven editions of the Under-20 World Cup. If that happens, Brazilian supporters will have something else to sing about.