DC United Versus Real Madrid
By Robert R. Bernstein
The nearly 73,000 soccer aficionados that withstood the broiling sun and the 97 degree heat on an August afternoon were treated to an excellent spectacle at FedEx Field last Sunday.
DC United played an international friendly match against Real Madrid. What made this especially interesting was the fact that the Spanish side was celebrated as well as vilified by the soccer universe for its recent largesse used to obtain new players.
Joining the team this year were two former World Soccer Players of the Year: Christiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Brazil’s Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite – commonly known as Kaka. In soccer, along with salary obligations, there are transfer fees; the huge cash payments made to a player’s former club to motivate a trade. Fees for both players totaled nearly $225 million, and their annual salaries will be about $33 million. Real Madrid also spent lavishly on other players to complete an overhaul of its roster with the hope that it will catapult the team to the top of world soccer.
Transfer fees for the superstars alone caused consternation in the office of Spain’s Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, especially in this time of economic hardship for so many in the world, and Spain has been particularly hard hit with unemployment.
The game was billed by fans as a "David versus Goliath" contest, but at the outset both teams seemed up to the task of giving a strong performance. The first half saw the Galacticos attempt eight shots on goal while United was only able to get two shots near the net. Excellent goalkeeping by United's Josh Wicks highlighted by a series of near impossible, acrobatic saves kept the score at zero when the teams left for the break. The second half promised a possible tie or upset by the locals, but defensive mistakes put Real Madrid in position to score two goals shortly after the half began. Those scores seemed to break United's spirit, and eventually the visitors were able to add one more goal. Although DC United lost 3-to-0, the opportunity to see great teams play the “beautiful game” outweighed the sadness of defeat.
The popular fashion of the day was the soccer jersey. Metro trains from the District were filled with folks wearing a wide variety of team colors. The most popular were of course the black of DC United and the white of Real Madrid, although one could find fans wearing jerseys of some of the most popular European teams like Chelsea and Manchester United of England, AC Milan and Roma of Italy and FC Barcelona of Spain, recently crowned the Champions of Europe.
This summer has seen a major surge in soccer’s popularity in the U.S. Large crowds have filled NFL stadiums all over the country to see these so called friendly games, usually between two major European teams, or a match with a major team and an MLS squad. The summer tours are not only popular with the fans, but also with the teams themselves for the cash they receive from merchandise sales and the opportunities to further cement their brands in this country alongside American teams like the Yankees and the Redskins.
Evidence of fan support continues to grow. Advanced ticket sales for the United-Real Madrid match-up totaled 60,000. If the popularity of soccer in the U.S. is still in question, one just has to look at the mass of futbol fans traversing the East Coast on Amtrak, clad in team regalia, arguing about the best player on an early Sunday morning.
Hopefully, the response to the game will also convince those who have not been able to see the need to keep DC United in the area as well.
Photos courtesy of Flickr
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