Sheffield United aren’t really a popular club in Spain, and today, newspaper La Vanguardia makes sure that none of its readers will become a fan either.
On Tuesday, La Vanguardia has a story relating Brexit to British football, and takes the Blades as a perfect example, as their current squad doesn’t have any foreign players.
The writer is clearly anti-Brexit, and there’s obviously nothing wrong with that, but it all ends up being quite harsh on the Yorkshire club.
He claims ‘total football’ was claimed by several teams, including Santos, Ajax and the Hungarian national team, but due to Sheffield United’s current squad, they can be now called the ‘total Brexit’.
Without making their source clear, La Vanguardia takes a few quotes from Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder: “Having only British players should not be interpreted as a political position on my part.
“The players of these islands are more focused than the Spaniards or Brazilians to travel on a Tuesday night to Bolton and fight not only against the rival but against the wind, rain and cold. That in the dressing room we speak a single language fosters integration and a climate of friendship.”
After publishing the quotes, which may well have been taken from elsewhere and twisted, they claim Wilder hasn’t said what his referendum vote was, but his speech is clearly of someone who went for the ‘total Brexit’.
Then, the article complains about how the foreigners are blamed for everything that goes wrong in the UK: “In this country, foreigners are not only responsible for unemployment, freezing salaries, classes full of students, waiting lists in hospitals, lack of social housing and deterioration of the welfare state in general. Also for the English national team not having won anything since the 66′ World Cup, by shutting the steps of the native players.”
And to finish the story, the journalist has a go at a Sheffield United investor, and we quote: “Saudi Sheikh Abdullah bin Musa’ad owns half the club’s shares, and it’s well known that in Riyadh there’s little democracy and respect for women, but plenty of oil and a lot of money, part of which is used to finance terrorism. Total terrorism. Although that is another story.”
Sheffield United: Club Brexit. Or maybe just a manager wanting to try things a little differently, perhaps like Athletic Club Bilbao, or how some Catalans would prefer Barcelona lined up.
