Modern Slavery

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has never known to be someone who is afraid of speaking his mind. And his outspokenness has landed him on the headlines once again.

It all happened when one of his key players, French international Claude Makelele, who has announced his retirement from international soccer after the World Cup, was named in the latest international squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Georgia and Italy, by coach Raymond Domenech.

Feeling a sense of injustice which he couldn't keep to himself, Mourinho blasted the French coach, or you may say international soccer on the whole, when he said that Makelele is treated like "a slave" by Domenech, for refusing to accept Makekele's international retirement. "He is not a football player. He's a slave," he said.

Mourinho's comment raised some eyebrows, as some consider that his words were simply too strong, as Makelele himself has since stated that he would like to resume his international career. Some even pointed out that Makelele is of African descent and Domenech, incidentally, is white.

For those who are wondering whether Makelele's refusal to play for France has anything to do with Chelsea, FIFA has recently announced recently that players refusing international call-ups may face a ban from playing for their clubs.

And Makelele started and did play well in France's 3-0 victory at Georgia. And he looked like a happy camper, and has no complaint about resuming his international career.

Despite his outlandish claim, Mourinho did have a point.

With the gluttony of matches throughout the season at both the club and international levels, it's up to the club managers to select his best possible squad without compromising the well-being (physical and monetary) of his players. There have been many instances where managers are forced to rest their key players in equally important club matches, just because they have been called upon for international duty.

Worse still, it is the club who suffers the most when their player is injured in international duty, and is forced to miss games for the club. Belgian club SC Charleroi has recently filed a lawsuit against FIFA, when its start player, Moroccan international Abdelmajid Oulmers, suffered a serious ankle injury in a friendly match against Burkina Faso in November 2004, costing him eight months of action. If the claim is upheld, there are bound to be serious ramifications regarding the relationship between club and international soccer. The likely consequences would be FIFA investing in insurance policies on the clubs' and players' behalf, and FIFA making monetary rewards to the clubs for releasing their players.

But doesn't it sound very much like slavery, all over again?

A Stunning Coup

Among the deadline (August 31) deals made by the English Premiership clubs, one stands way above the rest.

West Ham, an unfashionable club based in London, has signed not one, but TWO Argentinean internationals, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, from Brazilian club Corinthians.

For those of you who don't follow soccer regularly, Tevez and Mascherano are not just two so-and-so players. Both of them played a key role in Argentina's run to the final eight in the World Cup this summer. The 22-year-old Tevez was the Argentine football writers' Footballer of the Year in 2003 and 2004. And after helping Argentinean giant Boca Juniors to win the domestic championship and the Copa Libertadores, he was also named the Sportsman of the Year in 2004, and was amongst the scorers in their 6-0 drubbing of Serbia and Montenegro in the World Cup.

As for Mascherano, also 22, he has won 20 caps for Argentina so far, and was one of the best defensive midfielders in the World Cup. He was also instrumental in helping Argentina to win the gold medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and become runners-up at the 2004 Copa America.

These two players have been long-term targets of many major clubs in Europe, including the Hammers' rivals Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United in the Premiership. And their price tags are simply out of this world. Take Tevez as an example. It has been suggested that for him to leave the club, the buying team has to pay the contract's release clause, which is between 69 million to 83 million pounds.

How did West Ham outsmart everyone, and how on earth can they afford these two highly promising players?

Well, no one outside the clubs involved can say for sure, as the details and the fees involved in the deal have not been made official. In fact, apart from stating that the deals are permanent (instead of a loan deal as many have thought), West Ham has said that "all other aspects of the transfers will remain confidential and undisclosed."

One of the reasons, as suggested by some, is the link between the Hammers and Media Sports Investment (MSI), an investment group which owns the rights of the two players.

Last season, West Ham was linked to a takeover by MSI, but the deal fell through in the last minute. Some suggested that MSI would like to increase the exposure of the two players by playing them in arguably the best league in the world, with a view to increasing their value when selling them in future.

However, the signing of a permanent deal by these two players seems to have crushed that speculation. But it also suggests that the takeover bid is once again back in the picture.