European Soccer Clubs Needs to Stop Disrespecting America and Its Fans
Just because we don’t produce top players and likely won’t ever reach the semi-finals of the Men’s World Cup doesn’t mean we deserve to be treated as afterthoughts by European clubs.
As background, I played soccer for twenty-one years and coached for seventeen seasons with my U.S.S.F. coaching license. Over the last seven years, I’ve missed no more than a handful of Manchester City (City) matches, which means I’ve watched or listened to hundreds of Premier League matches, Champions League matches, Carabao Cup matches, F.A. Cup matches, and Club World Cup matches. My son and I traveled to Manchester, England, to watch the ManCity v. Burnley F.A. Cup match at Etihad Stadium on March 18, 2023. I’m a loyal Cityzens Member with more ManCity apparel than one person should own. I bleed ManCity blue and can sing “Blue Moon” with the most fervent Mancunian. I hate Manchester United.
My point is I love soccer and City.
Imagine my excitement when I learned that City scheduled a friendly match against Chelsea at Ohio Stadium on August 3. I would get to see my favorite players (Bernardo Silva and Rodri) in my hometown. That excitement was crushed and replaced with great disappointment and frustration when City Coach Pep Guardiola announced that none of the players who played in Euro2024 or COPA America 2024 would come with the team on its U.S. tour this summer. I fully understand that players who made it to the semi-finals or finals might need a rest before the grueling Premier League season opens in mid-August, but was confused as to why the amazing Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku would not make the trip, as they last played a match on July 1, which will be more than a month before the August 3 match again Chelsea at Ohio Stadium. Without those players, that meant that ManCity would field only three normal starters on the U.S. tour—Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, and goalie Ederson. Maybe that explains all of those empty seats below.
Now, had City sold tickets to the U.S. matches for $25.00 or announced what they surely knew before sales started that most of the starting XI wouldn’t be coming on the tour (they’ve largely known who from the team was playing in EURO2024 and COPA2024 for some time), than I wouldn’t be complaining. The issue, however, is tickets for matches in the U.S. went for full price as if the starting XI would be playing. And it wasn’t just City that pulled this fast one on U.S. fans. Chelsea also left its best players behind. My family spent nearly $2,500 on eight tickets so we could be behind the bench and close to the field. Now, we will only see the three starters plus subs Oscar Bobb, Rico Lewis, Kalvin Phillips, Josko Gvardiol, and Mateo Kovacic. No Bernardo, Rodri, KDB, Doku, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake, Phil Foden, Ruben Dias, or Manuel Akanji.
This bait-and-switch isn’t the first time I (and many others) got burned by European soccer clubs. Eight years ago, as a birthday gift to my daughter who played soccer, I got us tickets to see Bayern Munich versus Real Madrid in New York City. She was so excited to be able to see Ronaldo, Thomas Mueller, Manuel Neuer, Robert Lewandowski, Toni Kroos, and many other top players. After spending thousands on tickets, airfare, and a hotel room, we learned just a few days before the match that none of the normal players would be actually playing. Instead, we spent all of that money to watch bench and academy players from both clubs play each other. It was maddening.
Who wants to spend their hard-earned money to watch mostly bench and academy players? Can you imagine the rightful outrage if NFL football teams that play in London benched their starters and played mostly bench and practice squad players?
It is hard not the see this pattern of announcing big tours in America only to pull the top players as hugely disrespectful of U.S. fans. It appears European clubs see America as a cash cow to milk to the greatest extent possible with as little effort as they can get away with. For some fans, seeing the hottest player in the world right now in Haaland is enough, but, for true fans like me and my family, seeing Rodri, KDB, and Bernardo do their magic on the pitch is far more appealing. If City, Chelsea, and other clubs that pull the bait-and-switch want to do right by American fans, they should issue refunds and an apology for bringing a mediocre product to our stadiums. Just because we don’t produce top players and likely won’t ever reach the semi-finals of the Men’s World Cup doesn’t mean we deserve to be treated as afterthoughts by European clubs.
If European clubs can’t bring their top product to America due to the continued overscheduling of matches across so many leagues and tournaments, than they shouldn’t come at all or only charge minimal prices to watch a mediocre product. Americans deserve better.
P.S. The Ohio Supreme Court last week made Ohio the laughing stock of America when it held that boneless doesn’t actually mean boneless. So, if you feed your kids boneless chicken nuggets, fingers, or wings, be warned that you should have no expectation that the food is actually boneless. You can make this stuff up.