Lessons must be learned to avoid a repeat of Bird’s Nest soccer farce
Thousands of Chinese fans went home very disappointed on Monday evening, following the cancellation of the muchanticipated Manchester derby, after rain last week left the pitch at the Bird’s Nest stadium in an unplayable state.
The expected resumption of hostilities between Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho – the new coaches of City and United respectively – had shone an unusually bright spotlight on this preseason friendly, which, unfortunately, only served to highlight the inadequacies of the event’s preparation.
When the dust has settled on the Match That Never Was, it can only be hoped that the post- event internal report – assuming one is actually written – does not place the blame solely on a freak weather occurrence that could never have been foreseen.
Yes, Beijing experienced some heavy rainfall in the run- up to the match, but the worst of it came nearly a week beforehand and the city’s drains – not known as among the world’s best – had long since cleared standing water from the streets.
In fact, Manchester City’s groundsman had been dispatched to Beijing 10 days before the game, by which point it would have been abundantly clear that the pitch was in no fit state to host some of the best players on the planet.
The fact that the turf was originally designed to accommodate javelins at a track and field event means that a proper drainage system would have been only a secondary concern. Additionally, the stadium rarely hosts soccer matches, meaning that the staff there has little, if any, experience in preparing a pitch.
Neither of these factors should have been a surprise, but the decision was still made to stage the match there.
Money has been pouring into Chinese soccer in recent months, but lessons need to be learned that the sport is about far, far more than simply assembling an expensive squad.
Off- field matters – everything from event management, the match- day expe- rience and, yes, pitch preparation – can be equally important. Three years ago, the Barclays Asia Trophy was blighted by a Hong Kong Stadium pitch that was so bad several players fell victim to injury. Both Manchester teams were present, and cannot be blamed for wanting to avoid a repeat in Beijing. No one wins from this latest debacle. Not the disappointed fans, not the players – who will have been wondering why they came in the first place – and not the organizers, who will have taken a massive hit due to lost revenue.
That it was fully avoidable only adds to the farce.