Juventus mishap
By Vee Chansa-Ngavej
Aggrieved. Disappointed. Frustrated. Slighted. Deceived.
These were the feelings I had after leaving the Seoul World Cup Stadium on July 26. It was undoubtedly the feeling shared by the majority of 60,000 plus fans who had braved the rain and humidity, not to mention evening rush hour, to see global football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo show off his skills.
Rain was forecast but stopped just in time for the match. Many among the crowd wore Juventus jerseys with you-know-who's name on the back. Anticipation filled the (muggy) air, as the crowd excitedly took selfies with posters of Juventus players. Hotels around the stadium were fully booked, suggesting spectators had come from far and wide. For most, myself included, it will be the only chance to see the legendary footballer in action before he retires. Except we did not see him in action.
Apart from a simple wave when he was projected on the jumbotron, he just watched the match indifferently from the bench. Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri said afterwards that Ronaldo suffered from “muscle fatigue,” which was understandable just two days after playing the full 90 minutes against a strong Inter Milan side in China. Yet the fact that he did not even come out for a warm-up session, or failed to attend an earlier meet and greet session (under the pretext that he wanted to focus on the match, no less) was not only baffling, it was simply inexcusable.
Of course, Ronaldo should not be the only one to take blame for this mishap. Juventus, the K League, and TheFasta, the local agency which coordinated the event, should all be held accountable. Whereas Juventus played Ronaldo in Singapore and China, it seems that the club did not take its visit to Korea as seriously. They arrived in the afternoon of match day, and were stuck in traffic, even causing the game to be delayed by an hour.
The bottom line is that the club failed to recognize the importance of the match to Korean fans. Due to the Ronaldo effect, tickets for the match, despite being set with the highest prices in the history of Korean sporting events, sold out within three hours after sales opened.
Football wise, Juventus has long been considered one of the top clubs in Europe. However, marketing wise it still lags behind Europe's true super clubs (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and the top English Premier League sides). Ronaldo's move from Madrid last year was meant to change that. Yet by failing to utilize him, even for warm-up sessions or have him play for 5-10 minutes, Juventus missed a golden opportunity to endear themselves to Korean fans. They will have to pay more attention to minimize such bad publicity if they aim to propel themselves to the coveted status of a truly global club.
Vee Chansa-Ngavej (veechansa@hotmail.com
) is an independent writer from Thailand.