It’s not just for Fiddlers on Roofs apparently. The Ronaldinho saga is apparently over, as it has been confirmed that, instead of signing a more lucrative deal for Manchester City, he will be traveling to Milan to join up with the Brazilian contingent at Milanello as another in a long line of samba stars to have graced the fashion capital of the world with their presence. What made him ignore Dr. Thaksin’s Blue Moon experiment?
Apparently, the lure of Milan was too much for ‘Dinho to ignore. They have more of a pedigree of forward thinking, attacking football certainly; a leftover of the great Arrigo Sacchi sides that blew past competitors in the late 80’s/early 90’s. They bring a style of football more suited to his particular talents, away from the the chuck-and-run nonsense of England. They also have the comforts of home for him as the lilt of Portuguese will be heard from compatriots Kaka and Alexandre Pato, not to mention Digao, Emerson and Dida , giving Milan more than a passing semblance of Rio or Sao Paolo on the mother continent. Ultimately, they have what clubs like Manchester City, or LA Galaxy for that matter if that report is to be believed, cannot have and that is tradition.
Manchester United has it, as does Arsenal or Liverpool, but all three clubs have gone generations in the past without winning. In Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona do, as do Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan in Italy. All of the above have gone years in their history without winning trophies. Winning doesn’t necessarily make tradition or else Deportivo La Coruna, Celta de Vigo in Spain or Sampdoria and Parma in Italy would have the same cache at different times. Great players can make a club great as Pele did with Santos or Maradona did with Napoli but that doesn’t necessarily bridge the gap towards tradition. Big cities can make a club a traditional power, capitols London and Madrid comply as do larger cities like Barcelona, Turin and Manchester, but how do you explain the lack of tradition in Paris, Rome, or Berlin?
It’s in the supporters, the fan base, and certainly has little to do with even spending more money than your competitor. Nouveau-riche owners like Thaksin Shinawatra or Roman Abramovich can create successful clubs that win trophies by overspending their competitors, but in the end their success has a finite life.
A footballer has been likened to a modern mercenary, have money will travel, but when given the choice he will follow that trophy case, that fanbase, and that tradition that calls to them, more than any lucrative contract ever could.
