Gangsters Paradise: How soccer has become more than a sport - Amar Parikh

One thing I have come to learn about soccer is how the culture of a certain cub is shaped based on the supporters. The thing about soccer is that it has a lot of political/racial/social aspects within the various clubs and the rivalries with opposing clubs. In chapter 1 The Gangster’s Paradise Foer talks about his experience with the Red Star fan club called The Ultra Bad Boy and how their image boosted Serbian nationalism during the 1990s. The image of the club has become tainted do to violent fans committing acts of hooliganism.

In soccer, their fans known as ultras, which are, die hard fans showing their support with flares and banners during games. These fans are unfortunately also known for their violence towards opposite fans. The Heysel stadium disaster was an incident that occurred in Belgium in which Liverpool supporters broke a fence and pushed it up against Juventus supporters essentially crushing them. This incident caused a huge uproar within the British media because British hooliganism was already an issue both in the UK and aboard. This incident causes all British teams to be banned from all European tournaments indefinitely, which would later be uplifted in 3 years.

 Soccer is a sport in which clubs can become aligned with the idea of a certain movement. An example of this is the rivalry of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, dubbed the El Clasico (the classic) is arguably the biggest rivalry ever seen in sports. From the outside it may seem like it is just a sports rivalry however, there is a lot of political tension between the two teams and their fans. The region of Catalonia where Barcelona is located has strong sense Catalanism. They oppose Real Madrid who aligned themselves with Spanish nationalism. During the Spanish civil war dictator Francisco Franco banned all regional languages and culture in favor of a uniform Spanish identity. This threatens to destroy Catalonian culture and many of its citizens were heavily opposed to Franco’s movement. This very oppression has caused the Catalonian citizens to have great pride in FC Barcelona because it represents the very idea of Catalonian culture and heritage.

This tension between two teams can also be seen in the international game as well. During the Falkland War there was territorial dispute between the UK and Argentina over the Falkland Island. Four years after the war England and Argentina played in a knockout match of the world cup in which Diego Maradona scored the “hand of god”.  This angered many English fans because of the obvious handball but it was never called. Fans saw this as a form of revenge because the British won the war and left the Argentinians embarrassed.

            World soccer shows up that a club can be more than a club for a group of individuals. Their identity and ideology can be expressed by the club and gives their supporters a sense of pride. Soccer rivalries can expresses political rivalries, ethnic rivalries, and even religious rivalries. As long as there is opposition in race/religion/politics there will be opposition in soccer.  

Foer, Franklin. How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. New York: HarperCollins, 2004. Print.