MARTIN SAMUEL: Football has rarely mattered more since sport was suspended
Pep Guardiola, of all people, understands the cultural significance of football.
He knows why Catalans at the Nou Camp wear yellow ribbons, he has experienced Bayern Munich‘s position as standard bearers for Germany in Europe, and the last three months will have revealed to him football’s place in English society.
He has perspective, too. He lost his mother, Dolors Sala Carrio, to coronavirus at the age of 82 and he has friends and colleagues who have suffered similar bereavements.
Yet on a day when a 22-year-old striker from Manchester United took on the Government over child poverty and won, it would be disingenuous to say the sport is without importance or influence.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola, of all people, understands the cultural significance of football
At times, the national response to Covid-19 almost appeared to be fought with football as its battleground, whether the struggles were over Liverpool’s furloughed staff or politicians rounding on irresponsible, wealthy players to distract from their own failings.
Marcus Rashford’s triumph over free school meals for the poorest, and the ultimate acknowledgement that many clubs and individuals have more than risen to the occasion, leaves the sport in a surprising position of strength as it plans to restart.
It is central to modern politics, to modern society and to the Black Lives Matter movement. It could be argued that football has rarely mattered more than in 2020.
There may be financial turmoil in plain sight — although name an industry that feels secure — and the games we see from today may be an echo of a vibrant past, but nobody can consider the passage of time since the sport was officially suspended on March 19 and conclude its narrative trivial.
Marcus Rashford’s triumph against the Government leaves football in a position of strength
Of course, football managers give addresses in front of garish boards containing the names of sponsors of varying credibility — as Guardiola did on Tuesday — rather than from lecterns carrying messages of national import.
Even so, the smart ones can, in a simple sentence, achieve reach and affinity that many in Westminster ache to possess.
Take Guardiola’s description of the challenge his team will face playing to empty stadiums, as Manchester City will do on Wednesday against Arsenal.
‘When they were little kids, they played in the school, in the square without spectators and they play good in that situation,’ he said.
‘So that is what they will have to do now. We didn’t change much in these three weeks of training. That is our idea: just play football. All the people with their businesses and shops have to adapt, and now so do we.’
And in one moment, Guardiola transported the country to its youth, to a time and place instantly recognisable: the school playground, the square, the recreation ground, the playing field. Those games, the cliche of jumpers for goalposts, when everyone ran their hearts out and it didn’t matter that no one was watching: replicating that is his aim.
It is central to modern politics, to modern society and to the Black Lives Matter movement
City’s players may be used to a big gallery and it may feel very strange to them this evening. Indeed, the question-and-answer guide for players published by the Premier League rather patronisingly lists the absence of noise and crowds as one of the changes to be noticed. Yet Guardiola will ask that his players become 12-year-old boys again, when all that mattered was the game, and it did not require 40,000 voices to inspire.
For City, there should be pride, too. A desire to make Liverpool wait as long as possible for their trophy, even if the final outcome is inevitable. Win, and Liverpool cannot confirm the title until next Wednesday at the earliest, and maybe longer if Everton or Crystal Palace are resilient. Lose, and the main event of the domestic season could be concluded at Goodison Park on Sunday, with three points for Jurgen Klopp’s team.
All but assured of a top-four finish, it is presumed that City have little to play for, but what proud man would wish to surrender his title in record time?
Guardiola has told his stars to become youngsters again, when all that mattered was the game
If Liverpool are the country’s fastest champions — in terms of games played, obviously — it will go down as a weak defence by City. Guardiola will hope to stretch Liverpool’s wait until at least July 2, when the teams meet. It may be out of his hands — but stage one isn’t.
So, just as in the playground, there are always little victories to be attained. German football has been an ultimately unsatisfying surrogate this summer with Bayern Munich again in charge and few truly caring for relegation skirmishes in foreign leagues. Once back home, it is different.
Aside from a small rump of middle-ranking clubs — Everton, Crystal Palace and Burnley — everyone has something to play for. Arsenal have included a Champions League bonus in their wage deferral agreements, despite trailing Chelsea by eight points.
Newcastle, stuck in limbo as the Premier League consider their Saudi Arabian-backed takeover, are looking at the same distance between themselves and the bottom three and wondering.
City should have plenty of pride to play for, and a desire to make Liverpool wait for the title
It will take another two victories for Steve Bruce’s side before Tyneside can relax.
Meaning, there are 17 clubs still in play when Project Restart begins, even if at City the biggest prize on offer remains the Champions League, due to recommence in August. Will City even be allowed to defend their trophy if they win it, with a two-year UEFA suspension threatening them? And would Guardiola remain if they were locked out?
He deftly avoided the question and the speculation on Tuesday. ‘We will see, we have time,’ he said. So that is another reason to stay tuned: to watch a Guardiola side in English football, while you can. Who knows how long he is with us?
Everyone is trying to read the runes around Guardiola. A defeat for City at the Court of Arbitration for Sport would unleash a raft of speculation that this was his final season. Equally, the appointment of his mentor, Juanma Lillo, as assistant manager provoked optimism that he was committing for longer. The significance in football terms cannot be overstated.
Liverpool are 25 points ahead of City in the Premier League table ahead of return of the season
David Silva is leaving, and if that is not felt as keenly as it should be, it is only because Kevin De Bruyne has emerged as the Premier League’s finest midfield player. De Bruyne, however, has also intimated that he will depart if Champions League exile is confirmed. No club could lose Guardiola, Silva and De Bruyne at once — not to mention two seasons of UEFA money — and not be utterly transformed.
For those seeking silver linings, however, what also came across in Tuesday’s conversation was Guardiola’s attachment to his adopted country. When he began speaking about football’s measure, he swiftly changed the subject to include another national institution.
‘Yes, football here is an important part of society, but please do not forget those who are really important,’ he said. ‘They deserve more than just one applause a week, because the people in the NHS went to work every single day, risking being contaminated by Covid-19, to help everyone else.
‘They deserve huge, incredible compliments. Not just the doctors and nurses, but the cleaners and the people who made masks and the people there every day to make our lives easier. They put their lives at risk to save ours.
Guardiola has been keen to remember the silver linings of the pandemic as football returns
‘So, yes, at the end, it is nice to come back. And it is going well, but the real heroes in society are these people. It is difficult to imagine waking up in the morning with your family, going to the hospital and the virus is there.
‘To put your life at risk, it is incredible. I will not forget for the rest of my life what these people around the world have done. Another thing I would like to say is how pleased I am for all the clubs in the Premier League that they didn’t ask the Government for money. In Spain, that didn’t happen.’
It didn’t actually happen in England, either, because Tottenham went to the Bank of England, but these are exceptional times.
And football’s return will not change that. There is still a virus, and an economic crisis, and significant loss, and some deeply unconvincing individuals in high places. Guardiola, however, is not among them. His return, and that of his sport, is therefore one small reason to feel cheered.
