Introduction
The job of a soccer federation is a thankless one. While superstar players and coaches earn the plaudits when a national team does well, the federation is often blamed in cases of disappointment or failure. Soccer federations are bestowed with the unenviable tasks of managing a collection of prima donna players, balancing long terms objectives such as youth development with short term success, and serving as the sole bearers and preservationists of a nation’s soccer legacy.
This collection aims to take a closer look at the work federations do in these and several other areas. These federations, representing 10 of the nations competing at this summer’s World Cup, operate with varied degrees of resources, support, and opportunities at their disposal. However, although in socioeconomic and sporting terms England and Honduras are at opposite ends on the scale of development, important lessons — some of which apply to each — about soccer administration and cultural identity can be gained from studying both of these nations’ soccer federations.
While the following pieces are intended for all readers, regardless of knowledge of the sport, certain aspects of the game discussed are difficult to comprehend without having the experience of intently watching the sport at the professional level. Among these concepts is the idea that soccer can be played beautifully; teams that intricately thread passes together, interchange players fluidly, and possess the ball with attacking intent produce a style that can be termed aesthetically pleasing because it is more entertaining to watch. Conversely, a team’s style may be considered negative or cynical if players minimize space on the pitch, maintain relatively stationary positions, and seek to win the game through physicality instead of dazzling skill.
Another important understanding for readers to have in order to comprehend the role of soccer federations is that national soccer teams carry an identity that usually reflects on a nation’s cultural identity. This identity is manifested in various ways. Details as small as a national team’s jersey color reflects upon a nation’s sporting and cultural identities; Brazil’s yellow represents its spark and flair, Spain’s red resembles the furia roja used to describe the Basque region of the country as well as the national soccer style, and the Netherlands’ orange typifies the unique and bold manner in which the Dutch conduct themselves in soccer and in life. Moreover, a nation’s style of play often — although, less so in the modern age — epitomizes a nation’s culture, an idea best exemplified by the 1970’s and 80’s Soviet Union team whose style could best be described as eleven members working tirelessly within a well-organized collective, a perfect metaphor for communism on the playing field.
Finally, readers must not look at the work of soccer federations within a vacuum or even just within the context of sport, but in fact must consider the impact of global events on the circumstances of these organizations. Among the most significant of these events is globalization, which has spurred unprecedented growth in the eyes of optimists and homogeneity in the eyes of pessimists. Dutch tactical methods have been imported to Spain and come to replace Spanish methods of playing the game. The European ideal of defensive organization has infiltrated even the most naively attacking countries, as evidenced by Brazil’s adoption of the ‘European’ 4-2-3-1 formation. Thus, in the words of soccer writer Jonathan Wilson in his book Inverting the Pyramid — a work which heavily influences all of the thoughts presented here — “globalization is blurring national styles,” however, still, “tradition … is strong enough that the styles remain distinguishable.”
With these things in mind, the following profiles will examine federations in a similar manner. By looking at the history of the sport and the federation within each country, these profiles will evaluate effective methods for growing the sport and making the men’s national teams more successful, and elaborate about what the future holds in store for these federations as they continue with their work in 2014 and beyond. Although the entertainment, drama, and spectacle of the World Cup needs no addition, my hope is that this work provides fans new and experienced alike with an interesting supplement that provides a background and context in which the teams competing at this summer’s World Cup are situated.
