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Vieira, Figo, Campbell: A fan-fair for reason

A footballer is like any other employee and maximise his earning power and potential. So why the big fuss by fans when players move on?

by Tim Love on 17 January 2007

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Sol Campbell: homophobic abuse (gettyimages.com)

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As Sylvester Stallone warmed the hearts of Everton fans during his brief visit to the club last weekend to promote Rocky 126, another comeback was well and truly completed at Ewood Park. Thierry Henry was back and stronger than ever for Arsenal, and Gunners fans have their hero doing what he does best again.

It seems like a very long time ago that the Frenchman seemed destined for a move to Barcelona, and what if the unthinkable had happened? Let’s play make believe (horrible for any Gunners fan reading) and imagine Henry had decided to move to Spain at the end of last season…

In this terrifying dream, let us take the horror further and cast a tearful eye over what would have been so very sad: Arsenal-Barcelona, May 3, 2007, Champions League semi-final, Emirates Stadium. The tie is finely balanced at 0-0 after the first leg in the Nou Camp. In the 90th minute, Henry collects the ball on the left, drifts towards goal and unleashes an unstoppable shot past Jens Lehmann. Arsenal are out of the Champions League and it is the man for whom the fans used to chant who has caused the exit.

It is a scenario that would have any football writer in heaven (unless they happened to support Arsenal). The Gunners legend, still in the prime of his career, plying his trade for the very same team that destroyed Arsene Wenger and one side of north London’s dream just one year earlier. It would be a classic scenario of a hero becoming the enemy, and it is easy to imagine the sound the Arsenal fans would make; a deafening noise of disapproval. The question is, would it really be fair to consider Henry a villain for simply moving clubs?

The nature of fans today suggests that players must give their hearts to a club when they sign a contract. In the eyes of supporters, that piece of paper binds the player to them and the club, and if they decide they want to continue their careers elsewhere, then it is seen as an ultimate betrayal. This should not be the case. People outside the world of football change jobs frequently, be it for more money, a change of location or an ambition that needs fulfilling. When Joe Bloggs moves jobs, it is rarely seen as an act of the devil. Footballers, however, do not have this privilege, which is extremely unfair.

There are many examples - Patrick Vieira, for example, decided that he wanted a move to Italy after nine years in London. Whenever he played for Arsenal he gave 100 per cent, and certainly he played the best years of his career at the club. Yet when he returned to Highbury with Juventus for the 2006 Champions League quarter-final, he was widely ridiculed because of his leaving the club.

But then again, football and sensibility have never really intertwined. Look at the treatment of Luis Figo after moving to Real Madrid from Barcelona - there might be intense sporting rivalry between the clubs, but is it really worth throwing a pig’s head at the man (other than for comic value)? Even if Figo only moved for the money, 99 per cent of the spectators at that match would change jobs if it meant a pay increase.

A final case to look at - and surely the most contentious one - is Sol Campbell’s transfer to Arsenal in 2001. On his return to White Hart Lane he had bottles thrown at him, homophobic abuse and was generally ridiculed to the point of disbelief. Campbell had simply moved to a club playing European football, who were willing to pay him more and who were higher in the Premiership table. It is another Figo-esque scenario where the fans believe they have some sort of divine right over the player - a ludicrous proposition. Just because Spurs fans detest Arsenal, it does not mean the players must, too.

If Henry were to score for Barcelona against Arsenal, he would be looked upon as another Judas. But would he not just be doing his job, as he did for all those years at Arsenal? Who could begrudge a man for moving to a huge club, in the same way that most professionals have ambitions which are perhaps not entirely fulfilled within a working capacity. We fans need to take a look at ourselves and see that whilst we watch ‘our’ players for 90 minutes per week, they do have lives off the field and ambitions which might be achieved by moving clubs.

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Comments (3)

by Geoff on January 17, 2007

Have to disagree with your views. You cannot compare Joe public moving from £17k a year to a job paying £25k, that sort of increase could change a man's whole way of life and indeed that of his family. When a player is paid £110k a week it matters not if it's £125k a week, he's still made for life. In TH14's case he came to Arsenal as an ordinary winger that Juventus threw out, now he's the worlds best player, so he owes Arsenal and fortunately for us he realised that and showed the kind of loyalty sadly lacking in footballers these days. Sol Campbell is different, he told Spurs what he wanted and they didn't give it to him, but he gave them the option. Please don't compare what they earn with the moral values of an average fan.

by Paul on January 17, 2007

I understand what you are saying, but when you are living the ridiculous lives that footballers do that amount of money can make a difference. More importantly, the comment you make about Henry. Yes he learnt his trade at Arsenal, but had he had left to play for Barcelona it would have been fair enough- a new city, a new club, a new life for the remainder of his career. He is not bound to the club just because in the mind of the fans he should owe some sort of life debt.