 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
'Hit the wall' Cash fears cloud start of new European seasonPosted: Thursday July 25, 2002 11:01 AMLONDON (Reuters) -- After a World Cup at which most of its nations under-performed, Europe's new club season will kick off under the shadow of a growing financial crisis. Amid the soul-searching in Italy, Spain, France and, to a lesser extent, England, concerns about the viability of the European club game are multiplying. With television revenues uncertain, transfer activity has been sluggish as clubs across the continent nervously eye balance sheets that show player's wages as unrealistically high. The situation is worst in Italy, where several clubs, including the Italian capital's two major teams, AS Roma and Lazio, have been threatened with exclusion from the new Serie A season that kicks off on September 1 unless they can meet financial requirements laid down by soccer authorities. A survey this month estimated the combined operating loss of Serie A clubs in the 2000-01 season at a staggering 702 million euros (US$696.4 million). Three of the league's highest-paid players, Inter Milan trio Ronaldo, Alvaro Recoba and Christian Vieri even offered to take a pay cut. The problems are exacerbated by a row over television contracts and Fiorentina, now in Serie B, are one of the biggest clubs at genuine risk of going bust. Transfer activity among the leading title contenders such as champions Juventus, Inter and AC Milan and the Rome clubs has been almost non-existent as a result. Wenger warning "The car has really hit the wall," was how Arsene Wenger, manager of English champions Arsenal, put it earlier this month, describing the financial situation for the game in Europe as "disastrous." That did not stop Manchester United forking out a British record 30 million pounds to buy England defender Rio Ferdinand in what is sure to be Europe's biggest close-season transfer. Arsenal have barely ventured into the market at all, but Liverpool have been busy, snapping up several players including Senegal's World Cup hero El Hadji Diouf for 10 million pounds. Ferdinand's purchase has ensured that United are the bookmakers' favorites to regain the Premier League title they lost to Arsenal last season when the new campaign kicks off on August 17. Further down the food chain in England, the situation is far worse, with the collapse of ITV Digital costing the 72 other professional clubs in England large chunks of much-needed television revenue. Uncertainty over future television revenue has also ended the recent transfer free-for-all in Spain, whose primera liga is now considered the continent's best. European champions Real Madrid have not signed a single player, although president Florentino Perez insists that is down to a paucity of talent in the transfer market rather than a lack of funds. The big transfer news concerned a player discarded rather than one signed as Barcelona opted to save themselves around $10 million in salary costs by releasing World Cup winner Rivaldo with a year still to go on his contract. Bucking the trend, Atletico Madrid have brought in six players, including Javi Moreno from AC Milan for around $15 million. Deportivo Coruna have twice laid out in excess of $10 million to sign Paraguayan World Cup midfielder Roberto Acuna and Portuguese center-back Jorge Andrade. When the season starts on August 31, the football should be fascinating. League champions Valencia have not added to their squad and, with the increased demands of a Champions League campaign, they may struggle. German boom The top German teams report booming season ticket sales, partly on the back of Germany's unexpected progress to the final of the World Cup. But for many clubs the uncertainty of television income after the collapse of media giant Kirch has meant spending freezes as the August 9 start of the new season approaches. Bayern Munich have been the only big spenders during the offseason, bringing in midfielders Michael Ballack and Ze Roberto from Leverkusen and Sebastian Deisler from Hertha Berlin. Champions Dortmund have bought Torsten Frings and Argentine Juan Ramon Fernandez but commercial manager Michael Zorc says the club is now looking to sell excess players. Dortmund coach Matthias Sammer said Germany's successful World Cup would help the Bundesliga. "It has assured the standing of the league. That's very import now at the time of the Kirch crisis," he said. Nonetheless, Hansa Rostock have shed 13 players on free transfers and in the second division Eintracht Frankfurt narrowly avoided relegation to the lowly regional league due to the poor state of their finances. Turkish troubles Turkey's national side came third in the World Cup, but at home the country's clubs are being battered by a deep recession, debts and the latest in a series of disputes over television money. The local lira currency has collapsed in value, meaning only the very richest clubs can afford to pay hard currency for players. Champions Galatasaray, dogged by a reputation for sluggish wage payments, have picked up some players on loan from Italian clubs, such as Turkish international Umit Davala. But the only big transfer splash was made by Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce, who have already made a major investment in new stands at their ground. They bought Argentina international Ariel Ortega from River Plate for more than $7.5 million. French football will take some time to recover after the humiliation of the World Cup when, as holders, they failed to score a single goal or earn a single point. Amid fears over future television revenue, its clubs are also tightening their belts before the new season's start on August 3. "We have to reduce our wage bill by 35 percent," said Olympique Marseille chief Christophe Bouchet. Marseille and Monaco have declared spending freezes while Lens, last season's runners-up to champions Olympique Lyon, have vowed to continue their policy of buying, and selling on, talented African players such as Diouf.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||||
