8differences between the

European and the American sport cultures

1The Recruitment of Talent

Europe America

Youth Academies(kids)

Draft lottery(college athletes)

Transfer market(money-based, sometimes also players exchanged)

Loan Market

Transfer market(money not involved, only players and pick options)

D-Leagues

How many teams in the world can afford to sign Leo Messi?

2The Competitions

Europe America

Many competitions:(no playoffs)

A single competition: (regular season + playoffs)

Parallel competitions

American ecosystem of sports, season distribution

Competitions played by FC Barcelona in 2015:

Format Duration1. Spanish League 38 games September to

June2. Spanish King’s Cup Two-leg competition September to

May3. Spanish Supercup One-day competition August

4. European Champions League

Group stages + Two-legs+final

September to May

5. European Supercup One-day competition August

6. FIFA Club World Cup One-week competition

December

3The Competitive Balance

Year La Liga NFL MLB NBA NHL

2015 FC Barcelona New England Kansas City Golden State Chicago

2014 Atlético Madrid Seattle San Francisco San Antonio Los Angeles

2013 FC Barcelona Baltimore Boston Miami Chicago

2012 Real Madrid NY Giants San Francisco Miami Los Angeles

2011 FC Barcelona Green Bay St Louis Dallas Boston

2010 FC Barcelona New Orleans San Francisco LA Lakers Chicago

2009 FC Barcelona Pittsburgh NY Yankees LA Lakers Pittsburgh

2008 Real Madrid NY Giants Philadelphia Boston Detroit

2007 Real Madrid Indianapolis Boston San AntonioAnaheim

2006 FC Barcelona Pittsburgh St Louis Miami Carolina

Total Winners 3 8 6 6 7

Competitive Balance in Spanish and American pro leagues

Brookly

n Nets

New Yo

rk Knick

s

Indiana P

acers

Denve

r Nugge

ts

Los Ange

les Clip

pers

Golden St

ate W

arriors

Boston Celti

cs

Memphis G

rizzlie

s

Toronto Rap

tors

Washingto

n Wiza

rds

Oklahoma C

ity Th

unders

Minnesota

Timberw

olves

Clevela

nd Cavalie

rs

Miami H

eat

Sacram

ento Kings

Portland Tr

ail Blaz

ers

San Antonio Sp

urs

New Orle

ans P

elican

s

Houston Rocke

ts

Dallas M

averi

cks

Los Ange

les La

kers

Chicago

Bulls

Charlotte H

ornets

Atlanta

Hawks

Utah Ja

zz

Detroit P

istons

Milwau

kee Bucks

Orlando M

agic

Phoenix

Suns

Philadelp

hia 76ers

97 94 9483 82 82 80 78 77 77 76 76 75 73 73 72 72 71 70 69 67 66 63 60 60 59 57 57

4538

NBA Team Salary Totals 2014-2015 (Million USD)

347328

10578 73

49 44 38 32 27 22 18 18 17 15 15 14 12 12 11

Salary Cap for 2014-2015 Spanish Soccer League teams (Million EURO)

4College Sport

LSU: 31,527 students UAB: 37,166 students

We don’t do college sports

We don’t award scholarships to athletes

We don’t pay college coaches, nor high-school coaches

We don’t broadcast college sport

We don’t recruit talent from colleges for pro teams

5Game day Experience

Tailgating vs Bars

Alcohol Consumption

Violence

Death of deportivo de la coruña fan

Opinion in The Guardian

Ultra sur despidiéndose de Mourinho

Map of hatred in Spanish football

Thierry Henry’s incident

Alves banana incident – Alves banana incident (version 2)

Eto’o being abused

Tasting Menu A few things you probably didn’t know about sport in Spain

6The Media

Spain America

Headline journalism(no elaboration)

Longer articles

Quote Culture(a quote, no matter how irrelevant, is always news)

Gossip-oriented journalism

Sport-focused public debate

Journalism with no inferiority complex: source attribution, respectability

Marca El País As El Mundo La Vanguardia El Mundo Deportivo

La Voz de Galicia

El Periódico de Catalunya

Sport Abc

2.6

1.68

1.34

1.03

0.690.6 0.59 0.56 0.55 0.51

Audience of Spanish Newspapers May 2014 (daily readers in millions, in red sports media outlets)

7Tradition vs Evolution

In European soccer: We don’t do instant replay

We barely use technology

We don’t introduce major changes in the rules of the game

We don’t have much respect for the referees job

The ‘Hand of God’ in minute 51. Maradona

“I scored the goal "un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios" (a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God)”.

In minute 55, Maradona scored again what is considered the beast goal ever to be scored by any footballer.

Messi has replicated those two goals in his career making his case to be

considered Maradona’s rightful successor.

8More than sport

The Catalan Way 2013

V for Vote 2014

Xavi Hernández and Piqué in “La Diada” 2014