8differences between the
European and the American sport cultures
1The Recruitment of Talent
Europe America
Youth Academies(kids)
Draft lottery(college athletes)
Transfer market(money-based, sometimes also players exchanged)
Loan Market
Transfer market(money not involved, only players and pick options)
D-Leagues
How many teams in the world can afford to sign Leo Messi?
2The Competitions
Europe America
Many competitions:(no playoffs)
A single competition: (regular season + playoffs)
Parallel competitions
American ecosystem of sports, season distribution
Competitions played by FC Barcelona in 2015:
Format Duration1. Spanish League 38 games September to
June2. Spanish King’s Cup Two-leg competition September to
May3. Spanish Supercup One-day competition August
4. European Champions League
Group stages + Two-legs+final
September to May
5. European Supercup One-day competition August
6. FIFA Club World Cup One-week competition
December
3The Competitive Balance
Year La Liga NFL MLB NBA NHL
2015 FC Barcelona New England Kansas City Golden State Chicago
2014 Atlético Madrid Seattle San Francisco San Antonio Los Angeles
2013 FC Barcelona Baltimore Boston Miami Chicago
2012 Real Madrid NY Giants San Francisco Miami Los Angeles
2011 FC Barcelona Green Bay St Louis Dallas Boston
2010 FC Barcelona New Orleans San Francisco LA Lakers Chicago
2009 FC Barcelona Pittsburgh NY Yankees LA Lakers Pittsburgh
2008 Real Madrid NY Giants Philadelphia Boston Detroit
2007 Real Madrid Indianapolis Boston San AntonioAnaheim
2006 FC Barcelona Pittsburgh St Louis Miami Carolina
Total Winners 3 8 6 6 7
Competitive Balance in Spanish and American pro leagues
Brookly
n Nets
New Yo
rk Knick
s
Indiana P
acers
Denve
r Nugge
ts
Los Ange
les Clip
pers
Golden St
ate W
arriors
Boston Celti
cs
Memphis G
rizzlie
s
Toronto Rap
tors
Washingto
n Wiza
rds
Oklahoma C
ity Th
unders
Minnesota
Timberw
olves
Clevela
nd Cavalie
rs
Miami H
eat
Sacram
ento Kings
Portland Tr
ail Blaz
ers
San Antonio Sp
urs
New Orle
ans P
elican
s
Houston Rocke
ts
Dallas M
averi
cks
Los Ange
les La
kers
Chicago
Bulls
Charlotte H
ornets
Atlanta
Hawks
Utah Ja
zz
Detroit P
istons
Milwau
kee Bucks
Orlando M
agic
Phoenix
Suns
Philadelp
hia 76ers
97 94 9483 82 82 80 78 77 77 76 76 75 73 73 72 72 71 70 69 67 66 63 60 60 59 57 57
4538
NBA Team Salary Totals 2014-2015 (Million USD)
347328
10578 73
49 44 38 32 27 22 18 18 17 15 15 14 12 12 11
Salary Cap for 2014-2015 Spanish Soccer League teams (Million EURO)
4College Sport
LSU: 31,527 students UAB: 37,166 students
We don’t do college sports
We don’t award scholarships to athletes
We don’t pay college coaches, nor high-school coaches
We don’t broadcast college sport
We don’t recruit talent from colleges for pro teams
5Game day Experience
Tailgating vs Bars
Alcohol Consumption
Violence
Death of deportivo de la coruña fan
Opinion in The Guardian
Ultra sur despidiéndose de Mourinho
Map of hatred in Spanish football
Thierry Henry’s incident
Alves banana incident – Alves banana incident (version 2)
Eto’o being abused
Tasting Menu A few things you probably didn’t know about sport in Spain
6The Media
Spain America
Headline journalism(no elaboration)
Longer articles
Quote Culture(a quote, no matter how irrelevant, is always news)
Gossip-oriented journalism
Sport-focused public debate
Journalism with no inferiority complex: source attribution, respectability
Marca El País As El Mundo La Vanguardia El Mundo Deportivo
La Voz de Galicia
El Periódico de Catalunya
Sport Abc
2.6
1.68
1.34
1.03
0.690.6 0.59 0.56 0.55 0.51
Audience of Spanish Newspapers May 2014 (daily readers in millions, in red sports media outlets)
7Tradition vs Evolution
In European soccer: We don’t do instant replay
We barely use technology
We don’t introduce major changes in the rules of the game
We don’t have much respect for the referees job
The ‘Hand of God’ in minute 51. Maradona
“I scored the goal "un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios" (a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God)”.
In minute 55, Maradona scored again what is considered the beast goal ever to be scored by any footballer.
Messi has replicated those two goals in his career making his case to be
considered Maradona’s rightful successor.
8More than sport
The Catalan Way 2013
V for Vote 2014
Xavi Hernández and Piqué in “La Diada” 2014
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