HOW does a brand new football club get a soul? Obviously, it's not something that money can buy - even with a player named James Brown in your squad!
With the passage of time and the accumulation of trophies, not to mention other incidents, football clubs gradually develop a certain reputation, almost a personality. Call it a soul if you will, either blemished or unblemished, depending on your perspective. It inspires the undying devotion of some, yet it can totally repel others.
Origins can be inauspicious. FC Barcelona was founded in 1899 by a wealthy Swiss man, Joan Gamper, who stopped off to visit an uncle on his way to Africa. Around the same time, some British railway workers founded a club called Newton Heath L&YR FC, better known nowadays as Manchester United. A few years later, a handful of Londoners met at The Rising Sun pub and founded a club they called Chelsea - it took them 50 years to achieve success.
For Gold Coast United fans, Chelsea are a particularly interesting case. Ken Bates bought the club for one pound in 1982, when the Blues barely avoided relegation to Division Three. The fanatical support that Chelsea FC had enjoyed during the 50s and 60s was by then just a relic of cult-like nostalgia. And yet the fire was still alive in the belly of older fans, and the club soon burst back into life.
Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the same old Chelsea any more, as a new wave of hooligans soon confirmed. Many former devotees had already given up on the club before a Russian billionaire took over in 1983.
Chelsea were widely accused of "buying success", poaching players, and generally placing their own results ahead of the good of the game.
So it was interesting to hear Guus Hiddink this week claiming Chelsea's popularity was now being restored.
"From my time here and abroad, where Chelsea weren't that popular, now people are changing their minds and liking them. The way the team presented itself is easy to recognise - the good play, the results and doing well in the Champions League."
Hmmmn. They say everyone loves a winner, but is victory on the pitch really enough to buy your club fans, let alone a soul? Chelsea have indeed played some fine football in recent years, particularly under Huddink, but does that compensate for their recent negative tactics, not to mention petulant displays of anger following a big loss?
"There's nothing wrong with being a bad loser," insisted Huddink. "You can be sad but you must have your dignity. The image of the club is very important worldwide."
Yes indeed, Gus. Especially when multi-million-dollar sponsorships and contracts are at stake. But is "image" the same thing as "soul"? I think not.
By now you might have guessed that I am not a Chelsea fan (sorry). In fact, just to make things quite clear, I am a long-time fan of Liverpool (aside from Bozza's stint at Villa) and Barcelona, both clubs where the passion of ordinary fans has regularly trumped boardroom priorities. So, as you can imagine, I have been greatly enjoying the latest European season.
As Barcelona conclusively proved this week, a champion team will always beat a team of champions. So how does a champion football club keep producing champion teams? How do you become 'more than a club'.
How does a football club grow a soul?
If you haven't seen Craig Foster's inside look at FC Barcelona on TWG, go take a look. The Catalan giants are not just about football, they are about community. Superstars like Ronaldinho have been released because they could not accept that the club was bigger than their own egos. It was a team of home-bred kids like Xavi, Piqué and Puyol who this week lifted the Champions League crown from the mighty Manchester United. Bravo!
FC Barcelona encompasses not just a football team, but the hopes and dreams of an entire region, including those who enjoy other sports like basketball and even roller-skating. The club transcends sports, politics and economics. Love them or hate them, there's no denying that FC Barcelona have soul.
So can a brand new club like Gold Coast United possibly aspire to such heights? As a totally untested team, should we even imagine possessing such a magnificent soul? Is it not the very definition of arrogance to even aspire to such vaunted company?
I think not.
To date, the Gold Coast club has been defined by the larger-than-life personalities of those who have set the wheels in motion. Primarily our coach Miron Bleiberg, whose outspoken character and personal history with the Roar have set up an epic local derby confrontation, and our billionaire owner Clive Palmer, whose knowledge of the beautiful game will hopefully be magnified a hundred-fold by this time next year.
But it's not all about those two guys. Our players have only just begun to take the pitch! And our fans have barely even begun to purchase their memberships, secure their seats at Skilled Park, and form into supporters groups.
In fact, our Home Bay still does not even have an official title. At least three rival groups have expressed interest, but none to date has even chosen a name for itself, let alone established close connections with the club.
The leading nominations to date are "The White Shoes Brigade" (harking back to the casual elite Gold Coast real estate moguls of the 1970's, including Clive Palmer, who linked up with Joh Bjelke Peterson's government) and "The Strip" (my personal favourite, as suggested by au.FourFourTwo.com forum's own Glenn A-League Mad, invoking the golden beaches and neon nightlights of Surfers Paradise).
I suspect that Clive and Miron's influence over the character of our club will begin to diminish as results come through next season. Led by Jason Culina, Shane Smeltz and Joel Porter, the players will begin to make their own statements on the pitch. And eventually, our fans will begin to find their own voices.
But it's early days yet. Potential supporters should remember that the club does not belong to Miron or Clive, or even Jason Culina. Of course Clive Palmer's mining millions might have purchased the A-League rights, but like Roman Abramovich, he could easily sell up and move elsewhere one day. And then what happens?
Ultimately, this club belongs to you and me. As everywhere in the football world, it will be us, the fans, who ultimately provide this club with its soul.
Who's with me?
