Football Was Better When Players Had Betting Slips, Not Scandals
Translated from Swedish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
Opinion
Sources not specified
Context piece
- The author argues that while not everything was better in the past, football certainly was, contrasting the current era with the 1980s.
- He reminisces about players like Jyrki Nieminen, who allegedly kept betting slips during games, as a symbol of a less scrutinized, perhaps more authentic, era of football.
- The piece criticizes modern football's perceived narcissism, excessive data analysis, and the potential for scandals, suggesting a loss of something intangible that made the sport better.
In a nostalgic reflection, the author posits that while the common refrain "not everything was better in the past" holds true for many aspects of life, football stands as a stark exception. He contends that the sport was unequivocally superior in bygone eras, drawing a sharp contrast with the current state of professional football.
Everything was not better before, claims the state-owned gambling addiction company. It is true. What was better before, however, was football.
The author fondly recalls the mid-1980s, citing AIK midfielder Jyrki Nieminen as an example. Nieminen, he claims, would keep betting slips in his back pocket during matches, discreetly checking them against the scoreboard when play moved away from him. This anecdote serves to highlight a perceived difference from today's players, who are sometimes implicated in match-fixing scandals involving criminal organizations, even resorting to scoring own goals or receiving yellow cards as part of such schemes.
How is that not better than when today's players are caught scoring own goals and getting a handful of yellow cards because they are deeply involved in a betting scandal with criminal gangs?
This piece critiques what the author views as the narcissism prevalent in modern football. He questions the necessity of personal photographers accompanying national team players to major tournaments, contrasting it with an era where players were primarily seen in newspapers or sports programs, or as collectible images. The author also touches upon the intense scrutiny of players' diets and physical conditioning, exemplified by the hypothetical case of a player like Janne (from a Swedish Games commercial) whose eating habits would now be meticulously managed, potentially leading to eating disorders. He contrasts this with a past where players might have consumed ten coffees or a couple of beers after a match without such dire consequences.
How is such narcissism an improvement from a time when you only saw the players in the newspaper and 'Sportspegeln', and only when they had done something good (or fatally bad)?
The author admits to not watching any World Cup matches, stating he is "too interested in football" for that. He suggests that while the message "not everything was better in the past" is often true, the deeper truth might be that the person reflecting on the past is the one who was better then. This sentiment underscores a personal longing for a perceived simpler, more authentic time in the sport, lamenting the loss of an intangible quality that made football more compelling.
How was it not better before when Janne got ten coffees (and a couple of beers after the match) if he felt like it?
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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