Argentine football battles through crisis

Like the rest of Argentina's middle-class inhabitants, footballers have been hit hard by the brutal economic recession in the South American nation.

Many have seen their earnings drop by more than 300 percent in dollar terms following the devaluation of the peso. Some have had their life savings frozen in bank accounts as part of government measures to stop the collapse of the financial system.

A few have even been robbed or kidnapped as crime rates soar.

"There are players who had come from Mexico and other countries and put their savings in the bank and then the famous "Corralito" (bank freeze) came along," said Luis Garisto, coach of modest first division club Banfield.

"A lot of Banfield players suffered with this, four or five at least. The money which they earned in other countries went down the drain."

The decision of midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme to finally leave Boca Juniors and join Spain's Barcelona after more than a year of protracted transfer talks came shortly after his brother was kidnapped for 24 hours.

He was released unharmed but Riquelme later said he was still receiving threats and wanted to leave country.

Shortly afterwards, River Plate midfielder Eduardo Coudet went to his club president and asked to be sold abroad, saying he no longer felt safe in Argentina. Then the father of footballing brothers Gabriel Milito -- who plays for Independiente -- and Diego Milito -- who plays for Racing Club -- was also kidnapped, before eventually being released.

"I believe that the whole country is worried. We have a total collapse. We are all afraid," said Jorge Dominguez, general secretary of the Argentine Players' Union (FAA). "In some cases it was a coincidence, in others because they were known to be footballers."

KEENLY-CONTESTED CHAMPIONSHIP

Yet Argentine football has proved more resilient than many expected, somehow managing to battle through the crisis.

The expected avalanche of club bankruptcies which was expected to follow the economy's collapse at the end of last year has not materialised and the current championship has been one of the most keenly contested in years.

Independiente, who finished bottom of the Clausura championship held in the first half of this year, are now one point from winning the Apertura championship, thanks largely to a cash injection from a local businessman.

San Lorenzo are another team to have survived after appearing to be near the precipice earlier this year, when they put their entire squad up for sale.

Dominguez, of the players' union, points out that clubs have in some ways benefited from the collapse of the local currency.

Many of their previous debts were in pesos while they still continue to receive dollars for the sale of players abroad -- which continues to be the principal source of income for Argentine clubs.

"The Argentine institutions sell in dollars and pay in pesos," he said. "They sell for $5 million dollars and that's $20 million pesos and you can do a lot with $20 million pesos.

PLAYERS' STRIKE

Dominguez added that the clubs were largely respecting an agreement to pay a huge backlog in unpaid players' wages, which caused players to strike twice last year.

The situation of the clubs still varies dramatically, however.

Independiente are one of the teams who have been accused of finding a short-term solution to a long-term problem.

Garisto warned that Independiente would have to undo their team at the end of the year and could ultimately pay a heavy price for depending on the enthusiasm of a businessman rather than investing in their youth divisions.

"Some of the bigger teams have just bought and loaned players, nothing more," he said.

Garisto added that smaller teams such as Velez Sarsfield, as well as his own club Banfield, had a brighter future as they both had strong youth policies.

"There are teams with a present and teams with a future," he said.

Observers are keenly watching the experience of Racing Club which is now in the hands of a private company after going bankrupt three years ago and being saved from extinction by a government decree.

Blanquiceleste S.A. (White and Blue Ltd) took over three years ago and was given 10 years to pay off the club's debts of around $60 million.

"All the clubs in Argentina follow the Spanish or Brazilian example and the members decide who the president is," said coach Osvaldo Ardiles.

RACING EXPERIMENT

"Racing is different, we have the English style -- a private company who took over because the club collapsed. They decide everything, they are paying the debt so they are working like an English club.

"It has a lot of opposition from the other clubs -- but our company are doing very well in very difficult circumstances. Time will tell."

Ardiles, who played in Argentina's 1978 World Cup-winning team, said that whatever the results of the Racing experiment, Argentine clubs would have to continue selling players abroad to survive.

"Nowadays, players leave the country very, very young indeed -- before it was only the top ones, the very, very best, a very select few. Now, it is everybody. If you have a passport and you can kick a ball, you just go. Because of that, football inside the country is suffering."

"But the only way for the clubs to survive here is to sell players. If you don't sell players here, you don't survive."

Argentines add that only a change in the country's economic fortunes is likely to help the game flourish.

"The situation of the country has played a big role," said Garisto.

"Nobody is exempt from the damage and the harm caused by this situation. We just try to do our best."

One thing which will not die, Argentines say, is the extraordinary rate at which the country turns out talented youngsters.

"The crisis has nothing to do with the production of players. Argentina is an inexhaustible source of talented young players. There were always be good players. This will never run out," Garisto said.

And the country -- where crowds still provide an atmosphere that has perhaps been lost in the all-seater stadiums of Europe -- will never lose its passion for the sport.

"Our people have not lost their style," said Dominguez.

"Football is passion, multitude, the joy of living. A lot of Argentine citizens eat less so they can watch their football. It won't change."