https://hbr.org/2015/06/what-makes-fc-barcelona-such-a-successful-business
It is true, Barcelona has the deep pockets to buy the best players on the face of the planet. But one would be foolish to think that money alone is the key to Barcelona's success. Their motto of "Mas que un Club" is often written off as an attempt to mask their true identity as a corporation, but a lot of what Barcelona has achieved can be attributed to deeply rooted, often intangible qualities.
Their youth program, La Masia, is constantly praised for its ability to craft youthful talent into refined, world-class skill. The programs mentality of supporting your teammates, smarts over strength, and passing before shooting, are intangible qualities instilled into every player that money simply cannot buy.
Barcelona is not the only football club with money. Real Madrid and Premier League teams often make runs at the Barcelona superstars. Most recently, there have been talks of Madrid trying to acquire the offensive magician, Neymar. In news reports, Neymar's teammate, defensive powerhouse Gerrard Pique, told reporters he'd "bet an arm" that Neymar would not join Real. It is through team cohesiveness and group thinking that allows Barcelona to retain so many players and continue its success.
In short, one cannot blame a club for making money off of the success of its on-field performance. There are many clubs with money who do not have the identity or group mentality that has sprung FC Barca to the front of world football. Barcelona does make money, yes, but the success of the business side could only be achieved by the "Mas que un Club" identity.
~Jordan Rodriguez
Obviously the slogan "more than just a club" is unique to Barcelona, but don't you think that some of the wealthier clubs have similar concepts playing in their favor? Man United for example or do you think that the other clubs are purely money making machines?
ReplyDeleteI would argue that "Mes Que un Club" has become more and more diluted as time goes on. While La Masia is undoubtably one of the best youth academies in the world, preaching many of the intangible qualities that you've mentioned, I think that it's unrealistic to assume Barca's team cohesiveness is the reason why Barca is able to hold on to their players. With regard to the Neymar example, why would he leave Barca, who has gone 34 consecutive matches without a loss, to join arch rival Real Madrid who has been struggling all season? I'm sure Neymar enjoys his teammates and the culture within the squad, but those factors alone would unlikely keep him at the club if they were doing poorly.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of the above comments that there are clearly other clubs who have a "team identity." Austin with regard to your comment, I think it's a pretty open ended argument you make in the direction of their team cohesiveness not being the reason that they retain their players. One of the main arguments I make in my post is that team cohesiveness, success on the pitch, and retention of players are all connected to each other. I am saying that you wouldn't have the other two if one of the links was broken. In short, my argument is that there may be something to this idea of Barcelona having more of a club mentality because we have seen so much success while there are teams like real Madrid who are struggling on the pitch while having their star player tell the press that he is basically better than everyone on his team.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with the angle you take in this argument. Your emphasis on the link between team cohesiveness, success on the field, and player retention are all connected and I do not believe that is just because FCB is a money making machine. Team cohesiveness is one of the most important factors to the success of a sports team and that doesn't come from just having enough money to buy all the best players and stick them on one team. For instance, Real Madrid, after the loss to Athletico this past weekend Ronaldo made a nasty comments about the level of talent of his teammates - this is surely a sign of a lack of cohesiveness. On the other hand, although Barcelona has not lost a game in a while, you always feel a sense of support between the players even just watching the game. They have superstars on their team, but they are also a team first, not individuals - they do embody this "Mas Que un Club" mentality and that is what I believe drives their success.
ReplyDeleteJackie Brett
I agree that the fact the Barcelona invests so much time and resources in developing their players plays a large part in why so man of their players choose to stay with the club when their contracts are up for renewal. In American sports leagues, there is not the same development system and process that there is in European soccer and because of that players switch from team to team a lot more often. Another factor that ties in with Barcelona's La Masia is the fact that a lot of Barca players have grown up playing with each other and have gotten used to and comfortable with each others style of play. In a 60 Minutes documentary, Girard Pique comments that the fact that he is now passing the ball to the same people he was passing the ball to as a youth provides a level of comfort and confidence in their play and that is not something they will be able to get from another club.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your argument that the "Mas que un Club" identity of Barcelona is definitely beneficial in their overall success as a powerhouse club. FC Barca did an incredible job spending time and money developing their youth academy before most clubs did. We also cannot discredit money playing a huge role in their success. The way to attract the best players in the world is to win and have money (which Barca has both) and again the best way to attract coaches and prospects is to have a winning tradition and the ability to pay them (which again Barca has both.) Any young prospect who has the option to play for Barca or Stoke will play for Barca’s youth system because of its rich history. However, it’s not like each of Barca’s top players came out of their academy. Barcelona bought Suarez from Liverpool for around 80 million euros and Neymar for 57 million euros. Without FC Barcelona’s deep pockets, there is no way they would be able to buy and retain players of such high caliber. In short I am agreeing that team cohesiveness, success on the pitch, and retention of players are all connected to each other and Barcelona probably does the best job creating that environment, but again without the money their system would not be sustainable.
ReplyDeleteI generally agree with the argument above that FC Barcelona is "more than a club," regardless of the amount of revenue they're bringing in on a daily basis. Barca has shown immense commitment and maintained a huge support system. They continued to support Catalan sentiments during the dictatorship and today they spend money developing their youth academy showing support in that way. FC Barca has succeeded in this through it's tight-knight community of players who have kicked the ball to each other for years before actually playing professionally. This created an environment in which cohesiveness is its strong suit and lead the club to win.
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