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Football is the most famous sport in the world. Without learning anything, someone
will be easy to understand about the rules of this match just by watching it directly or not.
Especially in the past, someone could understand how the game ran just by listening to the
radio. In Indonesia this is a folk sport. You do not need a large yard to play it. When I was in
elementary school, my school boy friends even used our classroom to play it till our teachers
were angry. You also do not need a net to sign the goal or the correct number of the players;
you just need agreement with your opponent. Even you do not need any property except the
ball itself. When you watch the movie ‘Garuda di Dadaku’, the boy only needs cemetery to
practice this game.
It seems that football is a cheap sport; but it is not as cheap as it seems. In other parts
of the world, this sport is really expensive, promising and convincing especially for the
business. The one who involves in this business will be very rich, famous and wanted. Who
do not know David Beckham? He started his career in MU before moving to Real Madrid and
now lives in the United States? Anything about him will be sold expensively. In his era, MU
got a lot of profit not only because of his goals but also because of the merchandises. He also
became rich because of advertisement he promoted. People also cannot forget to Brian
Clough who became a legend of football manager because of his controversy and his success
in bringing his club into the first division. It is all about the money.
Of course money demands integrity and achievement. No money without
achievement in football. No club will hire you if you do not show any achievement in your
career as a football player or a coach or even a manager. This year (2009) Christian Ronaldo
gets his highest transfer cost because of his achievement. He was bought by Real Madrid
from Manchester United for £80,000,000. Samuel Eto’o Fils gets his €10.500.000 per year
because of his playing. Could you imagine how rich they are with that money?
Talking about footballers transfer means it is talking about a very high transfer fee.
Transfer fee is a capital sum paid by the club to whom the player is transferring. Transfers
may also involve a part-exchange in which some or the entire capital fee is paid for by
trading another player from the signing club to the selling club. Again, could you imagine the
word trading following this case? As a human being, how do you feel with that word related
with the human freedom and human right?
For centuries, people struggle for freeing human trading because it was tearing out
humanity. The slavery system just ended in the early of twentieth century. But why now, in
the post modern era it becomes popular again and it is legal even there is a rule for that. As
footballers, no matter their position in the club, they seem happy with this condition.
CONCLUSION
Living as footballers especially the players nowadays, especially in Europe, is like
living as celebrities in Hollywood. They are stars who many people adore and want their
presence the green stadium. When I was child, the viewers of football matches were only
men. But now, even the girls scream because of seeing Kaka. Confess it or not, the players’
physical appearances support their existence in front of their fans.
Their life is also glamorous with a lot of money. Just like movie stars who wear
ordinary cloth in their acting, they wear usual sport costumes as their uniform on the green
field. Like the Hollywood celebrities who wear expensive clothes and use luxurious cars to
the red carpet of Academy award, those players also wear expensive and branded tuxedo
when they attended Sport Award. You will not see the sweaty body and uncombed hair in that
occasion. You will see the handsome men with nice smile. They look so gorgeous.
Could you compare it with your work as ordinary person? When you applied a job for
the first time, it seemed same like the players who played in a very small club. Then their
career increase time by time like ours, maybe. There are some hijackings done by some
companies if you are very good. But do you think your previous company will get some
transfer fee for that, and do you think that you will do that in obvious agreement? I do not
think so. When you get the new offer, you will resign from the previous office properly. And
you leave it for better salary. The football players do it too but without any resign letter
because their ‘owner’ releases them sincerely.
Unlike us, before entering new club they do medical exanimation because their bodies
are really worth. For sure, they earn better salary. The insurance for their organs are even
more expensive than that. Any insurance company will ensure my voice as a teacher? That is
another consideration.
From the description above, I find that natural slavery exist for real in the world.
Even though the practice is quite different with the past slavery, but the idea is same. They
enjoy being ‘owned’ by other people through the real trading for better life. For instance, in
southern America the slaves cried being separated with their masters because they felt their
masters had treated them well. They also mourned for their masters’ bankruptcy.
The footballers also really enjoy being traded through transfer as long as the fee is
very good. It shows their social stratification. It is their career. Indeed, there is no physical
suffering in doing their job because they do it by the choice at first. But they work under
pressure for that. They must maintain hard for their performance. The idea of the organ
insurance is also because of it. The contract is also very obvious. But do not you think that it
is a kind of effort to change the idea of slavery smoother? Or is it the influence of absurdity in
the post modern era? So how do the activists of human right think about it?
1 A student of American Studies, Gadjah Mada University Indonesia
December 5th 2009