Many years ago I heard a father tell his son, that he would be three years old, that when he hit the ball I hit her left-handed because that was worth more. Since then it seems that the situation far from improving has worsened and now the goal is to get the little one to be a soccer player, win a lot of money, many trophies, sign for a great football club (better Spanish) and make him win many drinks for his showcases.
Something like that, although much more elaborate and with much better journalistic preparation, presents Juan Pablo Meneses, a Chilean writer whom I heard on the radio the other day to present his work. The book you have written: Soccer players, explains that the goal of many families is turn the little one into a footballer and sell it, through rights, from a very young age. In his case, Juan Pablo explains that he spent two years looking for a young promise and came to pay $ 100,000 (more than 120,000 euros) for the rights of a child.
Juan Pablo explained on the radio how football is evolving, focusing on players who have shown a potential from a young age that can be profitable over time. Although he explained that only 0.1% of total children reach the goal.
Perhaps the most striking thing in history is how the age of the children is going down to 10-12 years and they are protected and directed to achieve success before they reach the age of 20.
He also explained that The focus of this market is in Latin America although in Spain, despite the regulation, it is easy to change clubs allowing, for example, that parents get a job in the location where the team plays. And of course, the child goes with the parents so it is not easy to meet the norm.
And it is that South America is the great provider of footballers for the whole world although it is the Spanish league, by language and by quality, which takes most of the successful players. Also in Spain, the triumph is highly valued and the sporting failure is penalized, so that the kids who come with a winning culture, probably marked by necessity, are more likely to succeed. On the radio, the author talked about the most sought-after players and listed Brazilians, Argentines, Mexicans and Uruguayans, who also have a European passport. All of them are used to fighting and demanding more to boost and reach the European continent.
The book has 224 pages, a recommended price of 19 euros and is from the publisher Blackie books.
The topic raised in the book seems to me of great interest although it is true that the market is demanding sporting successes and that requires updating the players and giving opportunities to new values. And it is normal for new players to be sought among the youngest, which may not be so natural is to force children to limit situations that are likely to harm them and their family in the future. And is that demanding that sport become a form of subsistence should not be the goal for these children.
Footballers (Blackie Books)
Today in Amazon for € 18.05
