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Football is a passionate sport, the spirit and love for the game is clearly seen in it’s set of enthusiastic fans. But of late, the term ‘Glory hunter’, has been used quite often to fans who support teams that win silverware. Chelsea saw a rise in it’s fan base since it’s surprising take over by Roman Abramovich. The Russian billionaire injected a lot of cash ever since and saw Chelsea turn into serious title contenders. Soon after that, The Glazer family bought Manchester United in bizarre circumstances, which eventually didn’t go down too well, as the club now faces prolonged periods in debt. The Manchester City takeover by the Abu Dhabi United group in 2008 led to serious questions being raised about the game. Football, a game of talent or money? In Khaldoon al-Mubarak’s own words:”Investment is only way to break monopoly of Europe’s elite clubs”.
And now the recent take over of Paris Saint Germain by the Qatar Investment Authority has turned the French club into a European giant.
With the signings of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Thiago Silva and Gregory van der Wiel, PSG have shown Europe that they’re up for the challenge.
But what follows with the takeover is disturbing, Fans from all around the world deem the supporters of the cash injected club as ‘Glory hunters’. What has given them the authority to do so?
Football is indeed an emotional game and the emotions are running high every time two fierce rivals meet, but does calling the other a ‘Glory Hunter’ make you any better?
One thing is for certain. We don’t simply ‘LIKE’ a team because of the truckloads of cash they have. If we choose to follow a football club, it’s because their style of play is what our eyes wish to see. Probably their motto is what gets you attached to the team, or maybe it’s the team that has your favourite set of players.
If supporting Manchester United, Barcelona or Real Madrid meant you’re a glory hunter, why don’t we all start supporting the likes of Derby County? They aren’t financially backed, nor are they in contention for any title, but would you support them?
Many people see the Manchester City takeover as a blot in the beautiful game of football, but I can assure you, if anything, it has provided with some memorable matches, which a neutral would definitely savour.
So let’s all leave the ‘Glory hunter’ tag behind and enjoy the high level of football being exhibited by the teams out there.
What defines a champion? Someone who despite the odds stacked against him, emerges as the eternal winner. So if the team you support beats the cash-rich team, it gives you more elation and joy than you’ve ever had before.
Enjoy football, and stop the rant of ‘Glory Hunters’.
