Monday, May 25, 2015

Interview for The World through Soccer: Tec de Monterrey


Questions and Answers for Tec de Monterrey interview, Dr. Tamir Bar-On, Department of International Relations and Humanities, Tec de Monterrey, Campus Querétaro

Why did you write this book, The World through Soccer: The Cultural Impact of a Global Sport?

 The World through Soccer is an outgrowth of both my joy and mild dissatisfaction with the literature on soccer. Renowned thinkers from Eduardo Galeano to Jean Baudrillard have written about soccer, while esteemed literary giants from Albert Camus to Vladimir Nabokov were both soccer practitioners (goalkeepers) and commentators. Mexican, Argentinean, Uruguayan, and Brazilian writers have been particularly moved to write about soccer and they combined to pen a special issue of Foreign Affairs En Español (Foreign Affairs in Spanish) in the context of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Increasingly there is a vast body of literature on the sociology of sport, as well as soccer and politics. While the sociology of sport and soccer literature is impressive, it is often too narrowly focused on the politics or culture of sport; what soccer means to a particular country or region; memoirs and autobiographies of players, managers, and even hooligans; the relationships between soccer, capitalism, neo-liberalism, and globalization; sport as a civilizing safety valve of controlled excitement and ritualized aggression; or soccer as a tool of support for or resistance against empire, authoritarianism, or the nation-state. The World through Soccer expands and deepens the focus of writers, sociologists, anthropologists, cultural and political theorists, journalists, players, managers, and fans who have written about soccer. It argues that soccer is not merely about politics, culture, entertainment, or business, but is also a great educational tool for all of humanity and millions of soccer fans worldwide.

What is your goal with this book?

The goal is to use soccer as an educational tool in the classroom for students and professors. Soccer is popular worldwide and fun, thus allowing us to use soccer to learn lessons about politics, religion, ethics, business and marketing, leadership,  childhood dreams, immortality, and the arts. The book is divided into two parts. Chapters 1 through 7 are topics often discussed in the classroom and broadly related to politics, society, and religion, including the relationships between soccer and politics, religion, ethics, and business and marketing. Part 2 includes chapters 8 through 11, which are related to the identity and character of the game. These chapters examine the relationships between soccer and leadership, childhood dreams, the meaning of life (philosophy), and fine arts. As I am a political scientist, the first five chapters of the book are heavily biased toward the relationship between soccer and politics and the hope that soccer could be a vehicle for social transformation:

1.       Soccer and competing discourses of national identity.

2. Soccer as an instrument of authoritarian and totalitarian governments.

       3. Soccer as an arena for ideological hegemony and “class warfare.”

       4. Soccer as a vehicle for social change.
 
       5. Soccer as a secular or pagan religion.

The plan of The World through Soccer is rather straightforward. Each chapter is devoted to a lesson we can learn when we examine the world through soccer. The eleven chapters (lessons) are related to a brilliant player or several great players, who wore the number of the lesson and embody the essence of the lesson in question. Traditionally, English soccer assigns numbers based on a player’s position on the field, with the starting eleven players wearing numbers 1 through 11, and substitutes wearing numbers higher than 11. The goalkeeper will generally wear number 1, while the defenders, midfield players, and forwards follow in ascending order.

The players I use for the 11 chapters or lessons are the following:

Lesson 1. Soccer and nationalism (José Luis Chilavert—Paraguay and  Gianluigi Buffon—Italy).

Lesson 2. Soccer and authoritarian and totalitarian regimes (Elias Figueroa—Chile).

Lesson 3. Soccer, ideological hegemony, and “class warfare” (Paolo Maldini—Italy and Salvador Mariona—El Salvador).

Lesson 4. Soccer and social transformation (José Leandro Andrade— Uruguay, Cesc Fàbregas—Spain, Tom Huddlestone—England, and Patrick Vieira—France).

Lesson 5. Soccer as a secular (pagan) religion (Franz Beckenbauer— West Germany and Zinedine Zidane—France).

Lesson 6. Soccer and ethics (Igor Netto—USSR and John Terry—England).

Lesson 7. Soccer, business, and marketing (Cristiano Ronaldo—Portugal and David Beckham—England)

Lesson 8. Soccer as a leadership opportunity (Xavi—Spain, Steven Gerrard—England, and Clint Dempsey—USA)

Lesson 9. Soccer as a childhood dream (Roger Milla—Cameroon, Hugo Sánchez—Mexico, and Cha Bum-Kun—South Korea)

Lesson 10. Soccer and immortality (Pelé—Brazil and Diego Maradona— Argentina)

Lesson 11. Soccer and fine arts (Brek Shea—USA and Neymar—Brazil)

I have chosen a retired number eleven from the former Yugoslavia, Dragan Džajić, in order to help summarize the eleven chapters.

 What do you want to show the world with this book?

I want to show that soccer is a sport, but not merely a sport. I see linkages between soccer and many other disciplines from politics and marketing to religion and the arts. I want to also show that we cannot see soccer from one perspective (for example, the opiate of the masses), but from a plurality of perspectives and meanings. The Mexican philosopher Mauricio Beuchot (UNAM) coined the term “analogic hermeneutics”. This is a type of hermeneutics based upon interpretation, taking into account the plurality of aspects of meaning. The World through Soccer uses analogic hermeneutics to see soccer through different disciplines, interpretations, and meanings.

Why do you think the soccer reveals the sport’s profound cultural impact?

Soccer is the world’s most popular sport. There is no passion worldwide for a sport like you have for soccer. The soccer stadiums are like “temples” and soccer stars are akin to modern “gods”. Soccer provides us with a platform to study tensions between nationalism and globalization; the way “soft power” can be used through national teams; or to show how soccer is ubiquitous in politics, music, literature, childhood dreams, and marketing. It is almost ritualistic to see heads of state at important national team matches. There are thousands of Brazilians playing in professional leagues around the world. These Brazilian soccer players promote Brazil’s economy, but also its soft power influence around the globe. 

Was it difficult to examine soccer in relation to religion, philosophy, and politics in the same book?

No it was not. I am a political scientist, but I do not believe that soccer can only be viewed through a political lens. Soccer can be viewed as a sport or game with important functions for humans such as the need for belonging. Yet, soccer can also be used to examine politics, immortality, the arts, marketing, religion, and ethics. So, for example, we might question FIFA’s choice of authoritarian regimes such as Russia and Qatar to host World Cups. Or, we might use soccer to see how commercial imperatives might undermine fair play on and off the field.

Do you have plans to write other books about soccer?

I do. I want to look at soccer players that have made a difference in the world. That is, soccer players that played a role in promoting social change.

 How do you use Zidane, Maradona, Hugo Sanchez, and other soccer legends in your book?

I use Zidane in Chapter 5 to see soccer as a secular (pagan) religion. I also use Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany) in this chapter. I consider these two players soccer “gods”. They played in soccer “temples” and their fans engaged in ritual communion. We are less religious today than in the past and soccer is akin to a pagan religion.

In Chapter 10, which is about soccer and immortality, I use Pelé (Brazil) and Diego Maradona (Argentina) in order to demonstrate how soccer players are sometimes immortalized in our culture through songs, films, paintings, stadiums, or sculptures. Players die, but some like Maradona are immortalized and remembered by future generations. The flip side of soccer immortals is soccer goats like Moacyr Barbosa, the goalie who let in the game-winning goal scored by Alcides Ghiggia (Uruguay) in Brazil in the 1950 World Cup finals. Barbosa died crucified; without a peso to his name; refused commentator roles on Brazilian television or even denied entrance into national team training grounds.

 Do you have plans to translate this book into Spanish in the future?

 I do. I am looking for a Spanish-language translator and publisher. If you have any clues, please let me know!

Who is your soccer idol?

My soccer idol as a boy was undoubtedly the Brazilian legend Pelé, a three-time World Cup winner and perhaps the greatest footballer of all-time. He reigned supreme as a world-class player from 1956 to 1977. Yet, my other soccer idols were the Mexican striker and Real Madrid star Hugo Sánchez, the Cameroon international Roger Milla, the French midfield general Michel Platini, and the Brazilian midfield stars Paulo Roberto Falcão and Sócrates. These were all stars in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Your favorite soccer team?

My favourite national teams: Mexico, Israel, Canada, and Morocco.

My favourite club teams: Liverpool FC was my team since I was a child and remains my favourite club. I love their song and motto: “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. My other favourite clubs: Querétaro FC, Toronto FC, Hapoel Tel-Aviv (Israel), Hapoel Beersheba (Israel), FK Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina), and Red Star Belgrade (Serbia and the former Yugoslavia).

Did you play soccer when you were a child?

Yes. Soccer is the national sport in Israel and I played there when I was a boy. When I moved to Toronto at age 7, I also played for several clubs, including Armourdale and Maccabi Toronto. This is what I wrote in the Preface of my book The World through Soccer: The Cultural Impact of a Global Sport:

“There is nothing like soccer. Nothing beats playing a soccer game on a hot summer afternoon. It feels really liberating. There is no rush like going to the soccer stadium. The forest of flags, the exalted songs, and the crowd feel like a combination of freedom and ritual communion. When the World Cup comes around, real fans don’t want to miss even one game. The cafés, bars, and restaurants showing the games feel electric. The human bonding is intoxicating— minus the alcohol and drugs. After the World Cup, you follow your favorite clubs, as well as various regional and international tournaments. It seems that you can never get enough of the game: the billions of fans worldwide who form one transnational soccer tribe. You get the soccer virus early in life and it never leaves you. I got injected by the soccer virus. Dad injected me and mom let me play with reckless abandon.”

 
TAMIR BAR-ON