Slate's Daniel Gross comments on the fact that soccer clubs, most notably in "socialist Europe," operate on much more capitalist business model than "traditional" American sports like baseball and football.
In European soccer, there are no minimum salaries, no salary caps, no revenue sharing and no evil unions. Club ownership is not a cartel restricted by other owners purely on the basis of who can pay the centralized league a huge entry fee.
The best part about soccer in most countries in the world is its meritocratic nature. If you are in your country's top division and have a terrible season, you will be relegated to the second division. Now it does have its downside if you're a fan of a side that gets relegated. Like yours truly.
But you have to stay sharp, as complacency and recklessness is generally punished. In 2001, the English club Leeds United was in the semifinals of the European Champions League. However, they spent too much money and couldn't pay their bills so they had to sell top players. This spring, only a few years after being one of the best clubs in Europe, they were relegated to England's second-highest division.
None of this nonesense where teams like the LA Clippers and Arizona Cardinals can be crap for decades on end and still be able to call themselves "Major League."
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