tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/gareth-bale-6981/articlesGareth Bale – The Conversation2016-07-06T17:41:59Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/621432016-07-06T17:41:59Z2016-07-06T17:41:59ZUnleashing the dragon: how Wales got so good at football<p>The exploits of the Welsh football team in Euro 2016 have exceeded the expectations of <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2016/07/04/wales-jibes-fire-bale-for-euro-2016-semi-final/">football experts</a> (and the dreams of many fans). </p>
<p>While some have questioned the sustainability of the team’s success, a closer inspection of their development in recent years reveals that the foundations of this success were firmly laid. Positive psychology, a strong team dynamic and the emergence of a national identity have all helped the team to reach where they are today. As Wales manager Chris Coleman <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36717142">said</a>: “People think the end of this tournament is the end of this journey, but it’s not. It’s part of the journey … This success is part of the learning process.”</p>
<p>Until this year, Wales had not competed at a major international football championship since their <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-36423550">World Cup quarter-final exit</a> to a solitary Pelé goal in 1958. There was a brief glimmer of hope that their absence from major tournaments had ended during the Euro 2004 qualifying campaign, only to be extinguished by a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/wales/3275199.stm">1-0 defeat to Russia</a> over a two-legged play-off fixture. </p>
<p>The fallout of this near miss resulted in the managerial appointment of John Toshack, and while his five-year tenure did not lead to successful qualification for a tournament, the man himself believes it was the starting point for the <a href="http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/swansea-city-boss-john-toshack-contributed-wales/story-26723974-detail/story.html">emergence of the Welsh team</a>. Specifically, during his time at the helm Toshack handed debuts to a number of players who have starred for Wales during Euro 2016 including: Chris Gunter, Gareth Bale, Joe Ledley, Aaron Ramsey, and Joe Allen. Toshack’s willingness to give young talent a chance, has meant that these players entered Euro 2016 with about 270 caps between them, and a considerable amount of international experience.</p>
<p>Though Wales has had experienced and extremely talented players previously – Ian Rush, Neville Southall, Ryan Giggs, for example – none reached the heights that the current crop have over the last six years as a team. </p>
<p>There are potentially a whole host of explanations for this, but the transformation has largely been attributed to the vision of former manager Gary Speed, who <a href="http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/wales-euro-2016-how-gary-speeds-legacy-lives">revolutionised the team</a> following his appointment in 2010. </p>
<p>Speed’s legacy has certainly continued and arguably improved by Chris Coleman since 2012, and now Wales appear to have broken out of years of transition and perpetual under-achievement to enter a new era in which they are beginning to fulfil their potential.</p>
<h2>Team culture</h2>
<p>Speed was focused on more than just the game: he brought cultural change to the Football Association of Wales, and professionalised the Wales international setup by reducing the differences in player preparation and support between what they would receive at their clubs and when they were on international duty. He used sport science to strive for the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/19174302">achievement of marginal gains</a> that would allow the team to perform and compete more consistently. </p>
<p>Speed changed the way that players, staff and fans thought about the national team, and under the banner of <em>Gorau Chwarae Cyd Chwarae</em> or “Together Stronger” was able to reconnect the players and staff with national values, adding a wider meaning to their roles as international football players. Just watch the Wales players, coaches and staff sing the national anthem before the match – the incredible pride is undeniable.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/mar/23/wales-craig-bellamy-gary-speed">cultural values that were introduced by Speed</a>, and further ingrained by Coleman, have made it clear what is expected of the players both on and off the field, as well as what they must do to contribute to the “team”. From a sport psychology point of view, this clarification of role and identity enhances feelings of ownership and “buy-in”, which in turn strengthens the at times overwhelming spirit of the collective team.</p>
<h2>Micropolitics</h2>
<p>If there was to be one stand out star on the Wales team at Euro 16, it would be, of course, Gareth Bale. The Real Madrid winger is heralded by <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/06/15/england-vs-wales-gareth-bale-will-be-the-best-player-on-the-pitc/">fans and experts alike</a> to be one of the best ever footballers to come out of Wales.</p>
<p>But Bale has remained <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jul/05/gareth-bale-cristiano-ronaldo-euro-2016-wales-portugal">humble throughout the tournament</a>, and Coleman and his support team have consistently played down the <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/wales-euro-team-behind-team-11417762">potential influence of the world’s most expensive player</a>. Instead, Coleman has <a href="http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/sport/14600681.Chris_Coleman__Team_spirit_can_seal_Euro_2016_final_spot_for_Wales/">time and time again</a> been clear that Wales’s strength lies in the “team” mentality. </p>
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<p>Quite often this kind of <a href="http://journals.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/Documents/DocumentItem/17049.pdf">“micropolitics” gets overlooked</a> when analysing the characteristics of successful sports teams, but Coleman has worked extremely hard to ensure that no big personalities get in the way of a good match. Given the ego-laden nature of football and the personal agendas that players, coaches and support staff may have, it is almost easy for a team to become disjointed – but not on Coleman’s watch.</p>
<p>Make no mistake, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/07/05/wales-vs-portugal-chris-coleman-and-his-heroic-underdogs-find-fa/">Wales was an underdog</a> at this tournament – and Coleman used this to galvanise the team, managing expectations and pressure so that whatever was achieved it became an encouraging success. </p>
<p>Coleman’s leadership has allowed a complete and unquestioning focus to be placed on the team and their strategy – but it could not have been done without the work of Speed and Toshack before him. Great teams cannot be cobbled together overnight, and this one has been years in the making. The team have maintained their principles in the face of set-backs and poor performances. They have not continued to chop and change their approach in attempts to force success or to copy others. </p>
<p>Instead the team have developed their own “Welsh way” and demonstrated an unshakeable belief in that what they are doing is the right way for them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62143/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Cropley works as a consultant for the FAW/Welsh Football Trust . </span></em></p>The beautiful game has been dominated by the best team with the worst historic record.Brendan Cropley, Principal Lecturer, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/620312016-07-05T16:50:19Z2016-07-05T16:50:19ZMoney ball: the often overlooked object at the heart of Euro 2016<p>As we enter the closing stages of the UEFA Euro 2016 finals, here’s a curiosity about major football tournaments. The thing at the very centre of the action gets the least attention – the ball itself.</p>
<p>Not that this stops Adidas from <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/fifa-world-cup-2014/world-cup-news-2014/adidas-set-to-sell-more-than-14-million-brazuca-balls-as-sales-spike-20140625-zskne.html">selling millions</a> of them. Where one commemorative football is normally enough per tournament, this time the German sports giant went one better. <a href="https://theconversation.com/football-aerodynamics-of-the-perfect-free-kick-61700">Having unveiled</a> the “Beau Jeu” (“Beautiful Game”) for the opening rounds, it <a href="http://www.footyheadlines.com/2016/05/adidas-fracas-euro-2016-final-ball.html">introduced</a> a new ball called the Fracas for the knockout stages. <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/new-adidas-euro-2016-fracas-8244320">According to</a> the marketing blurb, it has a “more disruptive” red and black design and “represents the noise of the crowd and the excitement around a winner-takes-all mentality on the pitch”. </p>
<p>You have to read carefully to appreciate that only the labelling is different. The Fracas has the same six-panel design as the Beau Jeu and also the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/10493715/World-Cup-2014-Brazils-football-unveiled.html">Brazuca 2014</a> ball from the World Cup. They are all designed for “true flight, accuracy and control” (and certainly not bursting, though a <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/new-adidas-euro-2016-fracas-8244320">Beau Jeu did</a> during the France v Switzerland game a couple of weeks ago). </p>
<p>The launch and rhetoric reminds us just how much the modern football is central to the business strategies of mega sports corporations like Nike and Adidas that mass-produce them. Adidas expects to sell €2.5 billion (£2.1bn) of balls, boots and other products on the back of the tournament. </p>
<p>These manufacturers benefit from the fact that footballs are also intensely scrutinised by sport scientists looking to optimise player performance. It helps them present the football as a larger than life, endlessly moving commodity that empowers players with extra skills, perception and talent. </p>
<h2>Mud and pigskin</h2>
<p>In truth, the size and weight of a football has changed little since 1872 when regulations began – even production in poor countries <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/%7Eev2124/research/ACCKRV-WBER_2016.pdf">goes back</a> to the 19th century. Yet manufacturers often claim the original was an elliptical, water-hogging, eight-panelled creation made out of the skins, skulls and bladders of various animals. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘I say, they forgot to remove the snout.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain_Olympic_football_team#/media/File:1912_Stockholm_Football_Final.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The changes in the intervening decades, they claim, have been nothing short of “revolutionary”. They tell a <a href="http://www.designfax.net/cms/dfx/opens/article-view-dfx.php?nid=4&bid=149&et=featurearticle&pn=01">story of</a> the triumph of capital investment and intellectual labour in developing 21st-century bonded/six-panelled balls made from polyurethane layers and gas-filled Impranil foam. They present a perpetual quest to achieve optimum roundness, drag coefficient, energy transfer, flight accuracy, side and lift force and all-weather performance. </p>
<p>On top of all this “science bit”, the marketers treat the ball as an independent spectacle in itself. They <a href="http://quality.fifa.com/en/Footballs/Football-facts/The-footballs-during-the-FIFA-World-Cup/">have used</a> the past three World Cup events to launch the latest instalment of “the story of football so far”. When the Adidas +Teamgeist match balls <a href="http://www.soccerballworld.com/Teamgeist.htm">were unveiled</a> for the 2006 German World Cup, they were inscribed with the details of the teams, date and time of the game in question. This culminated in a special gold ball for the final. </p>
<p>The official match ball for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was <a href="http://www.soccerballworld.com/Jabulani_2010.htm">the Jabulani</a>. Billed as the perfect ball for the perfect players, created with team spirit to enhance team spirit, and it was ceremoniously unveiled on the occasion of the final draw. Its 11 colours were meant to symbolise the 11 languages and communities hosting the event. </p>
<p>As for the Brazuca, it remains the high point in the perpetual quest for football perfection – the <a href="http://www.helmholtz.de/en/science_and_society/on-the-physics-of-the-world-cup-ball-2720/">object of</a> two years of intensive scientific wind testing that used wind tunnels, “kick robots” and trajectory analysis. </p>
<p>Each new ball is marketed to represent the stereotypical traits of the host nation. The +Teamgeist symbolised German efficiency, team spirit and organisation. The Jabulani was about colour, exuberance, energy and quirkiness. The Brazuca <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/10493715/World-Cup-2014-Brazils-football-unveiled.html">represented</a> the role of soccer in brandishing Brazil’s global and national identity. </p>
<h2>Marx out of ten</h2>
<p>So what to make of all this? From the vantage point of pundits and fans the football is hardly ever the subject of discussion. They only talk about the ball in relation to players winning it, kicking it, saving it or whatever. During the game the ball is merely what it is – a useful object for playing football. As long as the it does not go flat or missing, it is for practical purposes almost invisible. </p>
<p>Few will spare a moment’s thought for its “pristine aerodynamic qualities” as it ping-pongs around the field of play. As the Wales and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale <a href="http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/news/newsid=2301400.html">would have it</a>: “I tested Beau Jeu in training with long shots, passes and running at pace. It performed brilliantly.”</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129389/original/image-20160705-820-1q88d48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129389/original/image-20160705-820-1q88d48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129389/original/image-20160705-820-1q88d48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129389/original/image-20160705-820-1q88d48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129389/original/image-20160705-820-1q88d48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129389/original/image-20160705-820-1q88d48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129389/original/image-20160705-820-1q88d48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129389/original/image-20160705-820-1q88d48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">‘It’s all marketing balls.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Karl_Marx.jpg#/media/File:Karl_Marx.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The marketing speak is an example of what <a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/">Karl Marx called</a> “commodity fetishism”. We often hear about people fetishising inanimate objects by treating them as larger than life and we usually take this to mean they are obsessing about them. But Marx meant something more than just obsession. </p>
<p>He was talking about how people express their social relations indirectly through the objects they produce and exchange. To sell us these objects – to turn them into a consumer fetish – manufacturers have to imbue them with a status way beyond their basic value. They make them symbolise the things we are told to value, such as national identity, technological power and physical capacity. By doing this they transform it from a simple object to subject in itself. </p>
<p>Marx didn’t take much interest in watching football as far as we know, but he explained how we are sold the modern ball and all the rest of the kit and equipment more than a century before the event. Few are likely to care when they sit down to watch the Euro 2016 final on July 10. But for those who can’t resist the fetish of the “disruptive” design and “winner-takes-all mentality on the pitch”, be warned that it comes at a price. Adidas is retailing this subject of wonder at £99.95.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62031/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Kennedy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The marketing wizardry used by sports multinationals to sell these little round things by the truckload.Peter Kennedy, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/617002016-06-28T10:16:26Z2016-06-28T10:16:26ZFootball: aerodynamics of the perfect free kick<p>Football has seen many innovations during its <a href="http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/the-game/">150-year history</a>. But few have affected the game as profoundly as technological changes to the aerodynamic properties of the ball. For nearly 40 years the ball’s panel pattern followed the classic hexagon-pentagon format with 32 panels, but in 2006 the design changed radically. </p>
<p>In the World Cup in Germany that year, the Teamgeist ball had only 14 panels. Then in South Africa 2010 the Jabulani ball featured only eight, and in Brazil 2014 there were just six on the Brazuca. The ball being used at Euro 2016 in France, the Beau Jeu, is essentially a derivative of the Brazuca with identical panel design, so for the moment six appears to be the ideal number of panels.</p>
<p>The panel configuration of a ball <a href="https://plus.maths.org/content/fly-walks-round-football">influences its speed and flight through the air</a>. Problems with the German Teamgeist ball, such as its erratic behaviour in flight, have now largely been eliminated in its successors. But what the subsequent technology has produced is a ball with much reduced aerodynamic drag, which means it flies faster, and stays in the air longer. Enhanced speed is highly desirable in penalty kicks, but not for that other important football set piece: the direct free kick. Here the objective is to <a href="https://plus.maths.org/content/free-kick-football-blink-and-youll-miss-it">beat the defensive wall</a>, to get the ball “up and down” to use the jargon of football’s television pundits.</p>
<p>Getting the ball over the wall is not especially a problem, but bringing the modern ball down sufficiently quickly to commit the goal keeper into making a save is another matter, unless a special kicking technique is used. And this is when the kicker needs to produce the right kind of spin.</p>
<p>A ball in flight experiences three important forces: gravity (the ball’s weight); aerodynamic drag caused by air flowing across its surface; and a special force experienced only when the ball spins. This is called the <a href="http://www.britannica.com/science/Magnus-effect">Magnus force</a> after its discoverer, the German physicist HG Magnus. It has the special property that it is always perpendicular to the <a href="https://plus.maths.org/content/if-you-cant-bend-it-model-it">spin axis of the ball and its forward direction</a>. </p>
<p>The graphic below shows the different kinds of spin a player might impart on the ball, depending on the kicking action adopted.</p>
<p>When backspin is applied, the ball rises quickly. This is the technique used by goalkeepers in kicking for distance, say 60–70 metres, but it’s absolutely useless in free kicks, which are typically taken 20–30 metres from the goal.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/128352/original/image-20160627-28358-161tbl1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/128352/original/image-20160627-28358-161tbl1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=180&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128352/original/image-20160627-28358-161tbl1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=180&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128352/original/image-20160627-28358-161tbl1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=180&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128352/original/image-20160627-28358-161tbl1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128352/original/image-20160627-28358-161tbl1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128352/original/image-20160627-28358-161tbl1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Types of spin.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">K.Bray</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sidespin is the overwhelming preference for the game’s elite kickers, but this is where problems can be encountered. The sideways Magnus force that is produced when perfect sidespin is applied can take the ball beyond a goalkeeper’s diving reach. But crucially, it must descend quickly enough after clearing the defensive wall to force a save. Sidespin does nothing to bring the ball down, which is why so many free kicks of this type are simply ballooned over the crossbar.</p>
<p>Topspin requires a special kicking technique and few players in the modern game can strike a ball, from the ground, in this manner. Even moderate topspin produces a downward-pointing Magnus force, which is very effective in bringing the ball down quickly. There is the further advantage that the ball can be hit harder and with increased initial elevation to ensure that it clears the defensive wall, even though the defenders jump in attempting to block the shot.</p>
<h2>Spin ball wizard</h2>
<p>Now look at the effect that the various types of spin can have on the flight of a free kick. This diagram shows sidespin and topspin free kicks using published aerodynamic data for the Euro 2016 ball. Both shots are hit at 28 metres/sec (63mph) at an elevation that just clears the defensive wall. This is a conservative kicking speed and shots of over 70mph are not uncommon.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/128353/original/image-20160627-28373-1rmhfx3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/128353/original/image-20160627-28373-1rmhfx3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=170&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128353/original/image-20160627-28373-1rmhfx3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=170&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128353/original/image-20160627-28373-1rmhfx3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=170&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128353/original/image-20160627-28373-1rmhfx3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128353/original/image-20160627-28373-1rmhfx3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128353/original/image-20160627-28373-1rmhfx3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ball flight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">K.Bray</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As the graphic above shows a sidespin free kick is no threat for distances closer than 25 metres, whereas topspin is effective from as close as 20 metres - and perhaps a little closer - to the goal.</p>
<p>So what are the lessons here for footballers? Well, sidespin can be still be used if the shot is under-hit to keep the speed down, to ensure the ball arrives on target. But this is not easy to do when the adrenaline is flowing. Or the limitations of this technique can be accepted, and if a full-blooded delivery is intended, it can be restricted to longer range efforts, say beyond 25 metres.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TSv1GL3lwm8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Alternatively strikers can do their best to emulate the superb technique of Wales’ Gareth Bale who has mastered the skill necessary to hit a ball with pace and topspin from the ground. Anyone who doubts this should look carefully at the ball’s rotation in the many slow motion replays of his wonderful free kick against England at Euro 2016. It is pure topspin beyond question. And whether he knows the maths behind it or not, there can be little doubt that he has discovered a winning formula.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61700/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ken Bray does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The science behind a successful set piece.Ken Bray, Senior Visiting Fellow, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/216672013-12-20T11:12:24Z2013-12-20T11:12:24ZFootballers bid to shake up outdated transfer system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/38298/original/4w5xgj9v-1387465790.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Falling prices? £85m Gareth Bale could move clubs for nothing.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adam Davy/PA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Footballers, it turns out, want the same rights as everyone else. If you or I want to move jobs, our new employer doesn’t have to pay anything. Should football players be any different?</p>
<p>To gain this freedom of movement, FIFPro, the international federation of football players, recently declared its intention to challenge the football’s transfer system by “<a href="http://www.fifpro.org/news/news_details/2455">all necessary means, including legal action</a>”. </p>
<p>Let’s briefly remind ourselves of why the transfer system actually exists. All players need to be registered to a particular team in order to be able to participate in competitions, and the football transfer system is the method by which the registration of players can be changed when they move employers. </p>
<p>For many players, particularly elite performers, when a transfer takes place during a contractual term their former employer will demand the payment of a “transfer fee” from the proposed new employer before they agree to release their registration. These fees peaked at the reported £85m paid by Real Madrid to Tottenham Hotspur for Gareth Bale in the 2013 summer transfer window.</p>
<p>The problem is, these transfer fees potentially infringe European Union (EU) law. All workers within the EU have the right to freedom of movement; an Italian is free to work in Manchester or Berlin, just as a Welshman can move to Madrid. However in football, especially at the top level, this clearly isn’t the case. </p>
<p>For an elite player, transfer fees narrow down the options. If Christiano Ronaldo wished to leave Real Madrid he should technically be able to work anywhere in the EU but only a handful of clubs in just a few countries have the have tens (or hundreds) of millions it would take to buy him before his contract runs out. His chances of moving back to Portugal, for instance, would be remote and even if he were to forgo most of his wage demands Real would still want their £100m fee.</p>
<p>The nature of these transfer fees also means that smaller clubs are less able to compete for the best players. This in turn is a possible breach of EU competition law as the system limits the access of smaller clubs to the market for elite players and, as a result, their ability to challenge for the top honours in the sport.</p>
<p>According to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), such infringements of EU law can be justified for two reasons: when there is a legitimate aim being pursued, and when the means being used to achieve it are appropriate. </p>
<p>FIFA and UEFA have long argued that the system rewards those clubs that develop young players and the fees provide a financial lifeline for the smaller clubs. They argue that this in turn redistributes wealth from the bigger clubs and means that the smaller ones are more able to compete in competitions against them. </p>
<p>Bale, for instance, began his career at Southampton, then in the English second tier. When Tottenham bought him in 2007 <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/6693839.stm">for an initial £5m</a>, it provided Southampton with much-needed cash.</p>
<p>The CJEU has accepted the legitimacy of these aims in a number of sports cases, not least the Bosman case of 1995 (which outlawed the payment of transfer fees for players whose contracts had expired). So breaching EU law can be justified, so long as the transfer system fosters competition and rewards smaller clubs for developing young players. </p>
<p>After a legal challenge by the European Commission, a reformed transfer system was introduced in 2001 which allowed players to breach their contract as long as they paid compensation to their previous club. However the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered a series of very high compensation awards that essentially reintroduced transfer fees under the post-Bosman system. </p>
<p>In one example the Brazilian midfielder Matuzalem unilaterally breached his contract with Shaktar Donetsk to join Spanish club Zaragoza. CAS took into account the “market value” of the player when determining compensation payable and made Matuzalem and his new employer liable for <a href="http://www.probst-law.ch/bilder/The-International-Sports-Law-Journal-2012.pdf">almost €12m in compensation</a>. As a result of this and other cases, FIFPro became increasingly frustrated with its failures to improve free movement of its members.</p>
<p>It seems that a <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/sport/library/documents/f-studies/study-transfers-final-rpt.pdf">European Commission report</a> into the workings of the transfer system which was published in January 2013 was the final straw for FIFPro. The report revealed serious – although not unexpected – shortcomings in the system’s ability to achieve its “legitimate aims” of encouraging investment in youth player development and increasing competitive balance between clubs. </p>
<p>The report suggested that the amount of money that was actually redistributed to the lower league clubs who were developing the elite players was tiny, in comparison with the large amounts being paid to mid-level and top clubs. And rather than making football more competitive, the system was actually reinforcing the dominance of the top clubs.</p>
<p>For football players wanting freedom of movement, the EC report may prove to be crucial. It means that a legal challenge to the existing system under either free movement or competition law would be likely to succeed. </p>
<p>A formal complaint to the Commission may lead to the system being declared incompatible with EU law, although since 2001 the EC has been reluctant to challenge player regulation. A second route would be for FIFPro to find and support a “new Bosman”; a player willing to challenge the transfer system for impeding his freedom of movement. If such a case made it all the way to the CJEU, it could dwarf Bosman’s impact on the football industry. </p>
<p>The most likely outcome is a negotiated compromise between FIFPro and the governing bodies which would grant more rights for players to unilaterally breach their contracts and would also ensure that more of the money filters down to clubs producing the elite players.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/21667/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoff Pearson received a European Commission grant to investigate the legality of the Home Grown Player rule.</span></em></p>Footballers, it turns out, want the same rights as everyone else. If you or I want to move jobs, our new employer doesn’t have to pay anything. Should football players be any different? To gain this freedom…Geoff Pearson, Senior Lecturer in Sports Management and Law, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/177552013-09-02T15:03:13Z2013-09-02T15:03:13ZReal Madrid’s Bale money is a commercial investment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/30561/original/n9w6tpfs-1378135279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Gareth Bale, shirt salesman.</span> </figcaption></figure><p>One of the most tedious but enduring stories of a summer packed with sporting incident has finally reached its climax: <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/gareth-bale-finally-departs-tottenham-for-real-madrid-in-record-86m-transfer-8793600.html">Gareth Bale has been bought by Real Madrid</a>. This morning he had a medical at the club and was presented to the sponsors, media and some 20,000 fans at the Santiago Bernabeu at around 12 noon. </p>
<p>For Real, this represents another shattering of the world record sum paid for a footballer: In 2001 they paid £45.6m for Zinedine Zidane, in 2006 they paid £56m for Brazilian midfielder Kaka, and in 2009 they bought Christiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for £80m. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23538218">Bale has cost them around £86m</a>. Or €100m, if you prefer. He will earn, we are told, £300,000 a week. In further unrelated news from Spain, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/aug/30/spain-youth-unemployment-record-high">youth unemployment has reached 56.1%</a>.</p>
<p>So why are Real Madrid willing to pay these sums and sign a Bale on a six year contract? Why are they willing to risk this amount of money on a 24 year old who, with only one truly stellar season behind him, is largely unproved as a “world class” talent? The answer is because this isn’t a financial risk at all. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2013/04/17/soccers-most-valuable-teams-real-madrid-dethrones-manchester-united-from-top-spot-at-3-3-billion/">According to Forbes magazine</a>, Carlos Ancelotti’s team are bigger and more profitable than Manchester United. Moreover, they are the richest and most profitable of all global sports teams. Forbes state that Madrid, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>who posted revenue of $650m during the 2011-12 season, is worth $3.3 billion, more than any team in the world. Los Merengues generated operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and player trading) of $134m, more than any soccer team and second only to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys ($227m) among all sports teams.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is good business for arguably the world’s most famous club. They can afford to do this and what Bale can earn for himself and Real in the next few years through advertising, sponsorship, shirt sales and image rights will dwarf the sum originally paid. Real Madrid know this, of course. They have form in this area.</p>
<p>When David Beckham signed for the club in 2003, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/2999310.stm">the BBC reported</a> that as part of the deal he agreed to hand over 50% of all future sponsorship contracts for products he might agree to endorse. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/jun/11/cristiano-ronaldo-transfer-real-madrid">In 2009 Florentino Perez, the club’s billionaire president, said,</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>when Beckham came we went from earning €7m a year to €45m a year through our deals with our sponsors. There are certain players who are very profitable because they have spectacular commercial repercussions that earn the club money.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If Bale continues his electric recent form then the sky’s the limit, as the pundits may say. <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/the-market-value-of-gold-2051266">I’ve written elsewhere about why sport generates huge capital</a> and about the marketing phenomenon that is David Beckham. Adidas officials reckon that <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2276177/David-Beckham-shirt-sales-1billion.html">10 million Beckham replica shirts have been sold in his career</a>, and he really is the trailblazer in the exploitation of image and personal endorsements. In 2012, in the twilight of his footballing career, <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/4494786/David-Beckhams-sponsorship-deals-net-him-13M-in-one-year-alone.html">he earned more money for brand Beckham than he had ever done before</a>. <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2012/11/30/david-beckham-departs-mls-after-earning-255-million/">When he joined LA Galaxy in 2007 he had deals with</a> Adidas, Gillette, Motorola, PepsiCo and Walt Disney. Since then he has partnered Giorgio Armani, Sharpie, Yahoo, Electronic Arts, Samsung Electronics, Burger King, Sainsbury and Breitling.</p>
<p>Bale, while clearly not yet on Beckham’s phenomenal level as an endorser, is no slouch in the sponsorship stakes. Earlier this year <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2299279/Gareth-Bale-signs-year-deal-BT-pundit-advert-star.html">he signed a three year deal with BT to become their sports ambassador</a> and he currently enjoys a lucrative partnership with Adidas, who conveniently enough are a major sponsor of Real. Earlier this year he revealed how media savvy he was by <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2343017/Gareth-Bale-trademarks-hearts-goal-celebration.html">trademarking his goal celebration</a>, the “eleven of hearts”. According to brand analyst Nigel Currie, <a href="http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/8780458/">this alone could make him up to £3 million a year</a>. </p>
<p>Now Bale can apply his personal signifier on headgear, footwear, jewellery and clothing as well as various leather goods including travelling bags and umbrellas. Added to this, on top of the €7m Euro a year he will earn, he gets to retain 60% of his image rights. <a href="http://www.realmadridnews.com/madrid-press-gareth-bale-deal-done/">According to realmadridnews.com</a> he becomes the first player to own more than 50% in that respect. This in itself is staggering and an indicator of how Real Madrid see the player’s future.</p>
<p>The purchase of Bale is a sporting and commercial investment, and not financial mismanagement. What Real Madrid have done is nothing new – they are continuing to communicate their financial strength and global brand standing. They paid this amount of money for Bale not only because they could, but also because of the message of strength and ambition it sends out the rest of the sporting world. In many ways it suits Real Madrid to pay over the odds, to intimidate the market it seeks to dominate.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in unrelated news, <a href="http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/09/01/321594/spain-recession-causes-child-poverty/">UNICEF have reported the high unemployment rate and economic slump in Spain have increased the number of children living below the poverty line</a>.</p>
<p>This article also appears on <a href="http://www.jomec.co.uk/blog/why-have-real-madrid-paid-so-much-for-gareth-bale-its-a-commercial-investment/">JOMEC @ Cardiff University</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/17755/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Jewell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One of the most tedious but enduring stories of a summer packed with sporting incident has finally reached its climax: Gareth Bale has been bought by Real Madrid. This morning he had a medical at the club…John Jewell, Director of Undergraduate Studies, School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/171742013-08-16T15:34:27Z2013-08-16T15:34:27ZWhy £100m is not too much for the men with the golden boots<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29433/original/n3n9hzhm-1376663105.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Will he stay or will he go?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">PA Archive</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Dependent upon which team you support there is only one question on your mind as we prepare for the start of the new season tomorrow. If you’re a Spurs supporter its, “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/15/gareth-bale-tottenham-crystal-palace">will Gareth Bale go?</a>”; if you support Liverpool, its “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/16/luis-suarez-liverpool-apology-training">will Luis Suarez go?</a>”; Manchester United supporters are wondering not if but when, where and for how much <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/10246084/Wayne-Rooney-just-needs-to-be-loved-...-and-Manchester-City-will-win-the-Premier-League.html">will Rooney go</a> for. </p>
<p>For the average non-football supporter, however, there is another perpetual question: “How can any footballer be worth that much money?” The answer to that final question is a simple market-driven supply and demand answer. Yes, footballers can be worth that amount to their clubs.</p>
<p>When Cristiano Ronaldo <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/5505073/Cristiano-Ronaldo-transfer-Real-Madrid-agree-80-million-fee-with-Manchester-United.html">went to Real Madrid</a> for £80m just four years ago the amount was considered “obscene”. In that <a href="http://www.cristianoronaldo.com/stats.php">four years at Madrid</a> he has played 159 games (he is hardly ever injured) and scored an incredible 175 goals. But Ronaldo has not only performed brilliantly on the pitch he has also driven commercial sales of Ronaldo memorabilia. Shirt sales of the RONALDO 9 have already surpassed the £80m purchase fee. </p>
<p>Although all of this money does not go straight to the club (some goes to Ronaldo and his associated companies), the income for Madrid has more than compensated for the transfer fee and wages as it also did with the previous Galacticos, Zidane, Figo, Beckham and co. </p>
<h2>Big signings pay off</h2>
<p>Indeed, every club that has employed David Beckham has financially benefitted from his presence. This was especially true with the LA Galaxy where percentages of his $6.5m salary were paid by sponsors. The remainder of what is estimated as his $250m earnings were made up of outside commercial revenue. In addition to winning competitions with the club Beckham was also instrumental in bringing <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mls/2013/07/29/david-beckham-mls-expansion-commissioner/2597471/">much needed attention</a> to the MLS which during his time in the league was able to expand by seven new franchises.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29436/original/y8nhhjgp-1376664322.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29436/original/y8nhhjgp-1376664322.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29436/original/y8nhhjgp-1376664322.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29436/original/y8nhhjgp-1376664322.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29436/original/y8nhhjgp-1376664322.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29436/original/y8nhhjgp-1376664322.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29436/original/y8nhhjgp-1376664322.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29436/original/y8nhhjgp-1376664322.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hands up if you’re loaded.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">PA Archive</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is clear then, that from a financial perspective marquee signings can prove shrewd investments. The key is in the decision making that leads to those signings. When Madrid are weighing up the value of Gareth Bale they are clearly estimating that, at £100m, he will add at least as much value as has Ronaldo. </p>
<p>In making that decision his footballing value will almost be seen as a given although it is difficult to imagine he will add as much single-handedly as Ronaldo done. His commercial value must be considered to be limited in comparison to Ronaldo who has the looks, the personality and the charisma of a true star. That star quality is what adds the numbers to the equation additional to the pure footballing rationale. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29434/original/56ywwycj-1376664144.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29434/original/56ywwycj-1376664144.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29434/original/56ywwycj-1376664144.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=698&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29434/original/56ywwycj-1376664144.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=698&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29434/original/56ywwycj-1376664144.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=698&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29434/original/56ywwycj-1376664144.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=878&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29434/original/56ywwycj-1376664144.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=878&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/29434/original/56ywwycj-1376664144.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=878&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shirt salesman extraordinaire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">PA Wire</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ronaldo already had a huge global fan base from his Manchester United days when he arrived in Madrid. More than 80,000 fans turned up at the Bernabeau just to see him introduced to the city. Bale is British and from a smaller club. His value is almost entirely football-related. Of course, if his arrival drives Madrid to that 10th Champions League victory then that too will, in its turn, drive considerable additional revenue. Even the Mourinho/Ronaldo axis couldn’t deliver that Holy Grail.</p>
<p>In short, the decision to invest huge sums in marquee signings is never purely a football decision. Football is, of course, a crucial factor and selling to rivals is never easy but business is business and when Luis Figo went from Barcelona to Real Madrid it turned out not to be the end of the world – Barca survived. The clubs need to carefully balance the return on their investment over the period of the player’s contract and even the potential sell-on value of the player and then, taking everything into consideration – take a punt.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/17174/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Brady does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Dependent upon which team you support there is only one question on your mind as we prepare for the start of the new season tomorrow. If you’re a Spurs supporter its, “will Gareth Bale go?”; if you support…Chris Brady, Co-Director, Centre for Sports Business, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/168652013-08-09T12:34:41Z2013-08-09T12:34:41ZClever bargaining strategy may lead to record transfer for Bale<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/28978/original/n7w3zxnv-1376048732.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Gareth Bale: keeping bargaining theorists busy.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chris Radburn/PA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Gareth Bale transfer saga drags on, as Real Madrid consider <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/08/gareth-bale-real-madrid-tottenham">buying Tottenham Hotspur’s star player</a> for a world record transfer fee of around £100m. </p>
<p>For those of us who have <a href="http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/academic/muthoo/bargaining/">studied the process of bargaining</a> and negotiation to figure out exactly which strategies work and which do not, this represents a fascinating case study.</p>
<p>Real, the super-rich Spanish giants, are lined up against Tottenham and their Chairman, Daniel Levy, a notoriously tough negotiator who has no immediate need to sell Bale unless the price is right. To assess who is likely to get the best of the deal, we need to understand some of the strategies the two clubs might use.</p>
<p>What factors determine the outcome of these negotiations? What are the sources of bargaining power? What strategies can help improve one’s bargaining power? What variables determine whether parties to a dispute will reach a negotiated settlement, or engage in war? These are the sort of questions that are addressed by the <a href="http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/academic/muthoo/bargaining/simpbarg.pdf">art and science of bargaining</a>.</p>
<h2>Trading places</h2>
<p>Consider the following situation. Spurs have a player (Gareth Bale), whom they would be willing to transfer at a minimum price of, say, £60m; that is, they value Bale at £60m. Another football club, Real Madrid, is willing to pay up to, say, £120m in transfer fee for Bale; that is, they value him at £120 million. </p>
<p>If trade occurs - that is, if Spurs allows Bale to leave and join Real - at a transfer fee that lies between £60 million and £120 million, then both Spurs (the “seller”) and Real (the “buyer”) would become better off. This means that in this situation these two clubs have a common interest to trade. At the same time, however, they have conflicting interests over the transfer fee at which to trade: Spurs, the seller, would like to trade at a high fee, while Real, the buyer, would like to trade at a low fee.</p>
<p>This is the “bargaining situation” that Spurs and Real have found themselves in recent weeks. They would like to strike a deal, and indeed, they have been in tough negotiations, making offers and counteroffers. </p>
<h2>Patience is power</h2>
<p>One factor that provides the parties with appropriate incentives to compromise, and reach a deal, is that bargaining (or haggling) is time consuming and time is valuable. The transfer window deadline at the end of August can lead to impatience on either side, and is one of the key factors behind both sides compromising and agreeing a fee.</p>
<p>A key principle is that a party’s bargaining power is higher the less impatient he or she is relative to the other negotiator. Thus, the transfer fee at which Spurs’ Chairman Daniel Levy releases Bale will be higher the less impatient he is relative to Real’s President, Florentino Perez. Indeed, patience confers bargaining power.</p>
<h2>Who dares wins</h2>
<p>The biggest risk takers are the most powerful negotiators, and their bargaining power is higher the more comfortable they are with risk relative to the other negotiator. These transfers are inherently risky, and talks might breakdown for all sorts of unforeseen reasons. What if a medical inspection suddenly reveals Bale has a long-term injury?</p>
<p>Perhaps Levy is pretty relaxed and risk-loving, while Perez is pretty risk-averse. In the past, Perez has tended to wrap up his summer transfers as early as possible, whereas Levy has been happy to leave signings until the last minute. This usually works - Dutch forward Rafael Van der Vaart was famously signed just <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/8958654.stm">minutes before the window closed</a> in 2010 - but there is always a risk. Spurs missed out on Portuguese midfielder Joao Moutinho last summer after the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/tottenham-hotspur/9515146/Tottenham-Hotspur-missed-out-on-Portos-Joao-Moutinho-by-minutes.html">paperwork wasn’t completed in time</a>.</p>
<h2>Weakness becomes strength</h2>
<p>The commitment tactic involves a negotiator taking action prior to and/or during the negotiations that partially commit her to some favourable bargaining position. Bargaining power is higher the larger the cost of revoking commitment; it is as though “weakness” (the high cost of backtracking) becomes a source of bargaining strength.</p>
<p>Levy was adamant earlier in the summer that Bale was not for sale, and Real will be aware that he would be seen as backtracking if the transfer goes ahead. His deployment of this same tactic with Croatian midfielder Luka Modric may have helped push up the price of his transfer between the same clubs last summer. </p>
<p>However, the most obvious use of the commitment strategy has been in this year’s other big transfer story, with Liverpool owner John W Henry declaring boldy this week that Luis Suarez would not be sold “<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23627573">at any cost</a>”. While Henry might look silly if he does decide to sell Suarez, this stance is sure to improve his bargaining position and thus the selling price.</p>
<p>So these are just some of the ideas and factors that could be used to help interpret and understand the negotiations between Levy and Perez over Bale. If transfer does go ahead, and a world record is set, Levy’s patience and the fact he is willing to take risks and make big commitments will have been a large factor. And if it doesn’t? Well, then Levy and Perez are likely to begin positioning themselves for 2014’s negotiations.</p>
<p>The issue left unanswered of course is why in the world would Gareth Bale’s value to Real Madrid be £120 million. But that is another story.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/16865/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Abhinay Muthoo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Gareth Bale transfer saga drags on, as Real Madrid consider buying Tottenham Hotspur’s star player for a world record transfer fee of around £100m. For those of us who have studied the process of bargaining…Abhinay Muthoo, Professor of Economics, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.