SPANISH HEARTS: Tragedy Strikes Again

With the recent tragic cardiac arrest on the pitch, by Salamanca's Miguel García during the game at Real Betis' stadium, there appears to be some disturbing medical patterns emerging in the Spanish game. Thankfully, Miguel García was revived by the Betis and Salamanca doctors, but his heart stopped for 25 seconds and the player has now knows that his career is over.

Why are young Spanish players encountering heart problems? Is it the rigorous training? diet? performance enhancing drugs? medical services? not enough monitoring or tests? It just does not make sense.

The list keeps growing:

1) Sevilla's Antonio Puerta had a heart attack on the pitch during the opening game of the 2007-8 season against Getafe. He was revived, but passed away three days later.

2) Espanyol's Daniel Jarque, heart stopped, while he was on the phone to his girlfriend in a Florence hotel during the 2009-10 pre-season.

3) Real Madrid's Ruben De La Red collapsed during a Copa del Rey game against Real Union at the start of the 2008-9 season. He has been told by the medical staff that he can no longer play.

4) In January 2010, Sevilla's Sergio Sanchez was diagnosed by the medical staff, after complaining of pains, with a serious heart condition. He was been seeing specialists and appears to have recovered and is now training with the club.

The press domestically and abroad are questioning the Spanish league's sporting and medical policies and practices. As a result, the Spanish medical societies and specialists are conducting a study on sudden deaths in athletes. The purpose is to analyze all deaths of sport players under 35 to determine the cause and address prevention efforts. According to the Spanish Sports Council, about 20 athletes die from heart related problems every year. Something has got to change.

Financial Problems in Spain's Second Division

Running a Football club is extremely expensive. Most clubs in La Liga, are run at a loss. Some clubs still choose to expense their debt over future periods, rather than as they are incurred. This is extremely misleading and doesn't show the clear financial picture of a club. In addition, La Liga continues to allow clubs to negotiate their own Television rights locally and globally. This means the big clubs get the lion's share of the local and foreign revenues, whereas the smaller clubs are fortunate to get their games on the air.

The Spanish second division is even more precarious. Prior to the start of each season, the Spanish RFEF reviews the clubs to ensure that they have met all their financial obligations, including payments to players. This year the deadline is July 31st. If they cannot meet these obligations, they will be relegated. How do clubs avoid this punishment? Well, they file for protection from creditors under the Spanish "Ley Concursal", similar to the U.S. equivalent of Chapter 11. Currently, both Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad are far behind in their payments. But unlike in other countries, in Spain, they can avoid any sporting penalty, if these two club file for protection under Ley Concursal. Las Palmas and Alaves both filed under this law, avoided relegation and the court sided that they could not pay their players while under administration. Sound fair? What about the players? Levante could follow suit. Salamanca, Elche and Albacete, among others have been reported to the player's association (AFE) for non payment of wages and salaries. How many other clubs will fall and file for protection? No wonder the players are threatening with a strike.

The big clubs and star players are fine, but what about the career of the workman players, the regular joes trying to make end's meat. And what about the future stars? . How can they pay their bills and support their family? The disparity is appalling. What can the Spanish RFEF and Player's Association do to improve this situation? What about TV revenue sharing similar to the Premiership and soon Serie A? Will this help at all? What about stronger financial oversight, accountabily, and assistance? What about a sporting penalty IE relegation or deducting points for any club that files for protection, similar to Serie A? Isn't the strength of the top league and youth system, depend largely on the strength of the Second division? Or is it survival of the fittest in a global economy? What do you think?