You have to respect a great champion. You might not like the conditions that allow the same champion to win it again and again, but sometimes you have to concede that the champion is responsible for those conditions.
The condition is restraint, which isn't usually characteristic among the top professional clubs in European soccer. Imagine the challenges for pro soccer clubs that aspire to win the Champions League, the top European club tournament.
First, from a star player's standpoint, it's always a seller's market, because the marketplace is huge. It's not 30 teams, or some other puny number. The teams populating the top leagues in England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy and Spain total 116.
Second, international soccer clubs operate with a transfer market, which involves clubs courting certain players and making agreements with the player and his present club. Many transactions involving top players run into huge amounts of money in addition to salary.
To no surprise, a lot of European soccer clubs are in terrible financial shape. Attempting a bid for greatness during the 1990s, Leeds United plunged itself the equivalent of nearly $130 million in debt. The wolf has come to the door in the past couple years, forcing Leeds to cut weight as it fought against relegation.
The most famous and stylish team in Europe is Real Madrid, which counts Pope John Paul II among its season ticket holders. Real Madrid in fine form is a sight beyond sports, especially when Zinedine Zidane is dealing out his exquisitely timed flicks along the ground where defenders magically don't appear. However, as outgoing Manchester United Chairman Martin Edwards put it, Real Madrid "aren't living in the real world."
Real Madrid paid $72 million in 2001 for Zidane's transfer fee alone and is also on the hook for more than $100 million in transfers between Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Guti, Raul, Luis Figo and others. Real Madrid appears to orient itself more to the Champions League than the Spanish Primera Liga, which might be why Real is in the Champions League semifinals and gunning for its fourth European Cup in six years while La Liga's title is in doubt to competition from Real Sociedad and Deportivo La Coruna.
Just for an idea of how Real Madrid is playing it, the club's top four players -- Zidane, Ronaldo, Raul and Figo -- are earning $50 million between them in salaries and outside compensation such as endorsements. It's not quite the money being made by the top performers in Major League Baseball and the NBA, but it's pretty close to the Reds' entire payroll.
Real Madrid still has a couple dozen more players to pay and, remember, the salaries don't include transfer fees that often exceed annual salaries. Furthermore, lots of rumors are circulating to the effect that Real Madrid has its eyes on Manchester United's David Beckham, the world's richest soccer player at $17 million per year.
Someday, it's supposed, the bubble will burst and Real will fall. Waiting in the wings is Manchester United, which is resurgent after a difficult 2000-2001 season in which it failed to win the Premiership while the manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, eyed retirement. United has dominated English soccer, rebounding to win the Premiership this season for the eighth time in the past 11 years. In all that time, though, the Red Devils have won only a single European Cup (1999).
United fans haven't been especially pleased at all times with Edwards, who has preferred even balance sheets to universal adoration. The beginning of this season didn't improve spirits at the club's legendary stadium, Old Trafford. United managed only two wins and two ties in its first six Premiership matches.
Last Nov. 9, United lost 3-1 at crosstown rival Manchester City. About a week later, United tied 1-1 with bottom-dwelling West Ham. At that point, United had won only six of its 14 Premiership matches, with five ties, falling nine standings points behind the defending champions, Arsenal.
Some have pointed to an Arsenal collapse since the New Year, though the Gunners have won 10 times and tied five times in 17 league games following the turn. The reality is that Manchester United has put on a flawless charge, scoring standings points in every game since Jan. 1 with 14 wins and three ties. United came on so strong that it actually clinched the title on the first weekend of May and accepted the trophy as it finished the season at Everton May 11.
The final weekend of the Premiership still passed dramatically. In a showdown between the two teams fighting for fourth place, Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1. Fourth place isn't generally to be celebrated, except in the Premiership, which places four teams in next year's Champions League. The victory is worth $32 million in Champions League revenues next year for Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Blackburn survived for sixth place, which assures a spot in next year's UEFA Cup. With only a 1-1 tie against relegation-bound West Bromwich Albion, Blackburn still stayed ahead of Everton, which lost 2-1 to United.
West Ham, which sat in last place on Christmas, put up a strong bid to become the first club under those circumstances to beat relegation. But a Bolton victory May 10 basically cinched the drop for West Ham, which managed only a 2-2 tie in its finale against Birmingham City and now is relegated with 42 points, the highest relegation total in history. After cashing only six standings points in its first 14 games, the Hammers put up 36 points in their final 24 games.
With three of the remaining four teams in the Champions League, Italy's Serie A is dominant in Europe, where the British teams were also-rans. Though United survived the group stages, it found itself in an untenable position after losing at Real Madrid 3-1 in the first stage of the Champions League quarterfinals on April 8. Even with a 4-3 win in the return match at Old Trafford April 23, United bowed out of the competition on total goals. Arsenal didn't even survive the second group phase.
The possibility of an all-Italian Champions League Final began to take shape on May 6, when Juventus, which already has clinched Serie A, escaped with only a 2-1 loss at Real Madrid in the first leg of the semifinals. Real Madrid remains in favored position entering the return match Wednesday, but the road goal for Juventus means it advances with a 1-0 victory or any win of two goals or more.
The other Champions League semifinal pits two Milan clubs, AC Milan and Inter Milan, which fought to a 0-0 draw in a home game for AC Milan on May 6. The winner May 13 was to advance to the championship.
Perhaps in time the likes of Real Madrid and Inter Milan will be crushed by financial burden. Manchester United is charting the steadier financial course. That's good for the long run, whatever that means.
Manchester United probably has the operation that best balances money with victory among the European clubs. But for that reason, among others, Real Madrid looks again like the best club.
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