Are Soccer Players More Like Telecommuters?

This question came about recently after the news of David Beckham, who is now in the United States, and Ronadinho being titled as an AC player for Milan, Italy, transferred locations.

These reported iconic players have made their moves despite having played well for their teams for years and having pocketed many championships.

Is this a sign of waning loyalty? It is not a question of money at all, and this is a subject we would rather keep away from, but what motivates them? Why do iconic players like David Beckham and Ronaldinho move base? What’s so exciting about Italian and American teams that lure them from their own teams?

Ronaldinho reportedly stated that the Brazilian team hasn’t been scoring well and wasn’t on the winning streak. I ask: What the heck is he being paid for then? Isn’t he the one who should be doing something about it? His games and plays have been watched by the Italian team management and they have finally managed to have him there in attendance, although his contract is yet to be signed.

Guess what? Although Ronaldinho is famed to have worn a number 10 t-shirt for plays, he is now about to forsake that number because the player on the Italian team refuses to part with it. So much for the excitement Ronaldinho was looking for in Italy. Standby for a cuppa Cappuccino!

Coming to another one of those icons — David Beckham — Ellis Cashmore, a professor of culture, media and sport at England’s Staffordshire University who has written a book on Beckham said, “Beckham may have been a larger than life character, but in America he’s become a medium-size fish in a very big pond.”

David Beckham has had an iconic football career having starred and led two of the world’s most illustrious clubs for more than fifteen years and is now trying to make an “impact” in the US. Ronaldinho, on the other hand, has had a fairly glittering transfer from Brazil to Italy by finally walking into the All-Italiano Team.

According to a New York Times article aptly titled “Beckham is playing well, But without the Buzz”: “If this is a global sports icon who will transcend the sport of soccer in America and carry it on his shoulders,” as Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber proclaimed last year, “then Beckham has plenty of lifting to do. It has been a year since Beckham arrived in the United States, and while the ball has been moved forward, it has not been launched in the manner of one of his trademark free kicks. Rather, it has been a series of small dribbles.”

Are the players losing sheen and popularity? That’s precisely what’s happened to these football players who seem to be working like Location Independent Professionals or telecommuters who don’t really need to have a base home, home turf or home land to work from. Football players won’t fit the bill. Fans lay their hopes and clubs/corporate invest money on them only to see that they shift gears and fly planes off to another land.

hen they aren’t doing this, they are busy with their WAGs!