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14 sats \ 4 replies \ @oliverweiss 1 Jun \ on: How the Russian government ruined its own football econ
Have Russian football clubs, or Russian sport in general, ever functioned differently? Definitely not before 1991. Krasnodar seems like an exception.
i think they have always mostly been state-sponsored. One of the theories of why soviet athletes were so effective is that they had state support and were able to focus on being full-time athletes etc
Meanwhile, the US athletes had to balance their sports with full-time jobs.
This was also a theory John Dupont had - he thought elite American wrestlers didn’t get the support, resources, or recognition they deserved from the government or sports institutions.
So he personally started funding housing, training, and stipends for athletes who might otherwise struggle financially.
and then he went bat-shit crazy, killed one of them and developed a man crush on one of the Bulgarian wrestlers
good movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PypvNBTdxnY
and a few good docs on it (https://www.netflix.com/title/80044093)
course, in this case, it was just interesting that a private football team rose above the state ones, but as you say, historically Russia and, before that, the Soviet bloc did subsadize everything, all the way
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the Soviet bloc did subsadize everything, all the way
This, including doping, which played a huge role in achieving that “effectiveness” that you mentioned.
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yeah of course, but let's be honest, there wasn't a country not doping, the Russian state probably just took it to a different level.
did you see the doc about this? also very interesting. the guy in charge of the doping program became a whistleblower and is now in witness protection
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I did, yes. I also come from a country that has nothing to be ashamed of in this regard 🤣
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