“The path of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.”
William Blake
We have lived through the year of disproportion. I am not referring to Israel’s biblical revenge in Gaza or the comical hysteria of the Spanish right, although that too, but to the distance in the world of sport between expectations and facts, perception and reality.
Let’s start with Barça, a brand so admired in the world, so little admired at home. Seeing the stands of their small stadium half empty against Alavés, well, maybe. But against Atlético de Madrid? The club generates a lot of passion when the culés sit down to talk, but when it comes to cheering on the team live and direct… what a hassle to climb that little hill to Montjuïc! And besides, it’s freezing cold!
Tell it, speaking of exceeded expectations, to the Girona fans. Or those of Bournemouth or Aston Villa or Arsenal, who not only fill their stadiums, but flocks of them travel hundreds of kilometers every weekend to sing in the rain in places not suitable for human life like Newcastle, Burnley or Wolverhampton. I mention Bournemouth, Villa and Arsenal because they exemplify a particularly notable phenomenon of excess: the triumph of the Basque Davids in the hyper-competitive Premier, the Goliath league. The three teams owe their successes to coaches from Euskadi, population 2.1 million.
Added to the exploits of Andoni Iraola, Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta in England (population 56 million) is that of a Basque in Germany, Xabi Alonso, whose Bayer Leverkusen is first in the Bundesliga. It is time for anthropology PhDs to be prepared on the ability of such a tiny corner of the Earth to produce so many world-class coaches.
Equally unusual has been the case of the conquest of Spain by a young Englishman. The players of the old Albion had never done much in the League. Not Beckham, not Owen, not Lineker or anyone. But the 103 million euros that Real Madrid paid in the summer for Jude Bellingham is presented as the bargain of the century. Signed for his virtues as a midfielder, at 20 years old the boy is scoring goals at the pace of Cristiano Ronaldo. For the first time in history, or at least since 1880, a player from the country that invented soccer is on track to be recognized as the best player in the world.
One of his rivals may be the Spaniard who is conquering England. Everyone talks about Erling Håland. There are those who say that he deserved the last Ballon d’Or more than Messi. Please! The Norwegian giant scores goals through a pipe, but outside the area he is a clumsy Viking, not complete, not very pleasing to the eye. As is confirmed again game after game, Manchester City’s indispensable player is another, one in whose absence from the eleven the all-powerful team becomes fragile and human: the magnificent Madrid native and star of the Spanish team, the underrated Rodri Hernández.
Media disproportion: in a year in which countless genuine atrocities have been perpetrated against women, many of them relatively overlooked, Luis Rubiales’ famous kiss generated headlines for months around the world (14 in The New York Times), relegating to an anecdote the glorious victory of the Spanish women’s team in the Soccer World Cup.
Economic disproportion: returning to the Basques, Jon Rahm has received 500 million dollars just for signing his incorporation to a golf circuit, the Saudi one, which is of interest to just over 300 television subscribers. Given how well fed both Barrika’s bank account and belly were already, it is difficult not to conclude that he has been the beneficiary of a certain excess of charity.
Gerontocratic disproportion: that at 36 years old Novak Djokovic continues to resist the attacks of the boy Alcaraz and occupies the number one position in the world tennis ranking at the end of the year is something that surpasses science. Also striking is the gap between how badly he falls among so many and the reward he receives for his tremendous perseverance.
Like Pedro Sánchez in politics or, in a more exotic field, like Donald Trump. Imbalance in almost everything characterizes the world in the year 2023 and sport, once again, has been a true reflection of it.
