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| Young footballers of Iceland pose for a photo at an indoor football stadium in Kopavogur, Iceland, in this March 2019 file photo. Due to the extremely cold weather, the Northern European country built an indoor stadium to help footballers train. Players who were raised playing football on indoor pitches are called "indoor kids." / Courtesy of Kim Deog-young |
'Small but Strong' delves into cultural traits encoded in the meteoric rise of Belgium, Iceland in int'l football scene
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Football madness is not always a good thing for the players. In Korea, it takes the form of a witch hunt if the national football team produces a disappointing performance in a crucial game. The players are painted as villains. Their existence, however, abruptly turns into a blessing for the nation if they win the next game. The once-villains receive a heroes' welcome and their teamwork is lauded.
Unlike in Korea, in Belgium, football fandom is not two-faced. Fans are consistent. Belgians celebrate if their team wins ―- but party even when their team is defeated.
Kim Deog-young, a documentary filmmaker and author of four books, observes Belgians' unwavering support for their national football team as one of the key drivers behind the small European country's meteoric rise as a football powerhouse through the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
"A culture of self-derision explains how Belgians were able to support their football team no matter how they perform," he said during a recent interview with The Korea Times. "Historically, the mentality is associated with the unique status of Belgium in Europe. It is a small country with an 11 million population surrounded by powerful countries, such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom, which were once imperial powers having colonies all across the world. Compared to its mighty neighbors, Belgium was weak in the past and therefore it was difficult to make its voice heard. Belgians' self-deprecating humor has been developed against such a relatively unfortunate historical backdrop."
Based on extensive interviews with football fans in Belgium, Kim realized that this self-derision and black humor were an extended version of self-love.
"One fan I met at a stadium in which Belgium played against Russia in a friendly match said Belgians are encouraged to just enjoy themselves no matter how things turn out. You don't need to be depressed even when you find disappointing aspects about yourself," he said. "According to another fan, self-derision is a reflection of self-satisfaction. Suppose that you like a certain girl and approach her to ask her out. Even though she turns you down, you don't blame yourself or try to find fault with yourself because of her rejection. You just think that's the way it is and feel comfortable about being yourself."
Kim, 55, embarked on a two-month trip to Belgium and Iceland in February and March last year to film "Small but Strong," a two-part documentary that delves into the secrets of the two emerging European football powers ― one in each episode. He met football stars, players, coaches, youth players, football fans and sociologists to hear their side of stories about their national football teams and untangles their success. The film summarizes football miracles created by the two small but strong European countries and analyzes how they were possible. He found cultural characteristics were encoded in their full backing of their football teams.
Kim plans to show "Small but Strong" at an overseas film festival and is working with several festival organizers. In the meantime, he also has been in contact with TV stations in Belgium and Iceland to check on their interest in his documentary. Talks are ongoing, he said.
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| Belgian football fans celebrate after the last game of the 2018 football league season at the stadium in Sint-Truiden, Belgium in this March 2019 file photo. / Courtesy of Kim Deog-young |
Belgium: self-deprecating humor
Like other football watchers, Kim was awed by the rise of Belgium in the 2018 Russian World Cup. Unlike other football powers such as Germany, England, Italy and France, Belgium's professional football league is not internationally renowned.
"To me, Belgian players were no different from other European players in terms of physical fitness and strength. I didn't see any distinctive strategic features that made them stand out from other European teams, either," he said. "I was curious about how they made it."
Belgium finished third at the 2018 World Cup, clinching a bronze medal. The so-called Golden Generation drew a media frenzy. Real Madrid midfielder Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, a striker in Serie A club Inter Milan in Italy, and Kevin De Bruyne, a Manchester City midfielder, are some of the players who received the media spotlight during the World Cup. The outpouring of international media coverage regarding Belgium's strength in youth football programs followed after the World Cup. According to media reports, Belgium's ambitious project to lift its football to be on a par with that of world-class teams such as Germany was launched in 2000 when the former was in shock after failing to advance to the round of 16 in the EUFA championship on their home soil.
In Belgium, children play a simplified version of the game, better known as "five-a-side" football until they turn 14. The training allows the young players to play in a fast-paced, high-scoring game on small pitches. As players compete for the ball in a small space, each of them gets more touches of the ball and is driven to score goals.
In the documentary, Belgian youth football coach Michael said "We try to make sure they move every single time." "If you play in a small group you have to play off each other. If you play with many players, you don't move."
The reporter was given an exclusive preview of the documentary.
Kim said it makes sense that the Golden Generation players are the results of Belgium's shifting training strategy that placed priorities on young players to make them more competitive and skillful. But the filmmaker said training and technical advancement alone don't fully explain the Belgian football miracle. There must be a socio-cultural factor that enabled the small European country to become a football powerhouse, he said.
Kim points his finger at Belgians' self-deprecating humor as part of their cultural traits encoded in the local foot fanaticism which united the people to unquestioningly back their team under any circumstances.
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| This combined photo shows the posters for Kim's film "Small but Strong." It is a two-part documentary that delves into the secrets of the two emerging European football powers ― one in each episode. / Photos from Kim Deog-young |
Iceland: extended kinship
"Indoor kids" are Iceland's equivalent of the Golden Generation.
To help footballers train during the extremely cold weather, the Northern European country built indoor stadiums. There are seven indoor pitches all across Iceland. Players who were raised playing football on an indoor pitch are called "indoor kids." They are the key forces behind Iceland's meteoric rise in the international football scene. Before that footballers played on gravel pitches for training and were exposed to injuries.
Runar Kristinsson, head coach and manager of the Icelandic football club Reykjavik KR, said together with harsh weather conditions, the tough training environment helped the players become stronger.
Kim said there is also a unique socio-cultural element that helped Icelanic football team become stronger. Icelanders are humble and genuine and most importantly, they are not hierarchical. "You can find these traits in everyday life in Iceland," he said. "If you want to know their way of life, the quickest way to learn is to go to swimming pool. Most of the pools are operated with state subsidies, so admission is very cheap. There, you can meet celebrities, sports heroes, politicians and business moguls. They are accessible and ordinary people speak to them freely."
Kim said these traits seemed to have helped Icelandic football fans build a strong bond with their stars. "All players are approachable. They are famous but they are someone else's uncles or cousins. So, the fans feel a sort of extended kinship toward the players and think that they are part of their national football team," said the filmmaker.
Iceland stunned the world during the 2016 UEFA championship game against England. The former defeated the latter 2-1. Iceland's sensational win became one of the football miracles of the year.
Although Iceland failed to advance to the round of 16 at the 2018 Russian World Cup in the face of two formidable football powers_ Argentina and Croatia, the country wrote history. It is the smallest nation that qualified for the 2018 World Cup. Iceland was depicted by the media as the ultimate underdog for its previous saga in the European championships.
"Iceland has a population of a mere 350,000 which is as small as that of Dobong-gu District in Seoul. Such a tiny country became the eye of the storm in 2016 and 2018," said Kim.
While a culture of black humor in Belgium and a less bureaucratic society in Iceland helped foster bonds among their people and ultimately helped their national football teams, such a positive synergy seems to be missing in football fandom in Korea.
The analogy of a holy grail is oftentimes used whenever talent searches for national football team coaches are underway. The leadership in national football teams is compared to those who are facing a holy grail mainly because of Koreans' rollercoaster reactions to the team depending on the game results. Some Koreans use the self-deprecating term of "the boiling pot" mentality to refer to whimsical fans because just like pots on induction cooktops, they become heatedly excited in victory but quickly show a cold shoulder to the players in the wake of a loss.
