Too many stars...

For the 3rd straight year, legendary Spanish football (soccer) club Real Madrid will not be taking home any major championship trophy, after their early exit in the UEFA Champions League. I woke up at 3 this morning just to watch them draw the 2nd leg of their last-16 match against English team Arsenal 0-0. Real Madrid lost on a 1-0 aggregate score since Arsenal won the 1st leg played at Madrid two weeks ago 1-0 on a brilliant goal by captain Thierry Henry. Although it was a goal-less game, it was nonetheless exciting till the end. I was of course rooting for Real, and they had lots of chances, including two near-misses by captain Raul. I also thought Ronaldo should have been awarded a penalty in the first half after being tackled from behind by Roberto.

This only proves one thing. The better team would always emerge victors. Sure, on paper Real Madrid would seem much better, with the likes of superstars Ronaldo, Zidane, Beckham, and Raul in their squad. The club, led by president Florentino Pérez, who had recently resigned, has made a habit of buying at least one galáctico (superstar) every year. (A Galáctico is a term used to describe a world-famous soccer player who transfers to Real Madrid). To show you how much star-power its lineup has, over the past 6 years under Pérez's helm, these are some of the players acquired by the club:

2000 - Luis Figo (2001 World Player of the Year)
2001 - Zinedine Zidane (1998, 2000, 2003 World Player of the Year)
2002 - Ronaldo (1996, 1997, 2002 World Player of the Year)
2003 - David Beckham(2-time runner-up, World Player of the Year)
2004 - Michael Owen (2001 European Player of the Year)
2005 - Robinho (heralded as the next Pelé), Julio Baptista

Although this policy has certainly helped cement Real's status as perhaps the world's most prestigious and most popular club, it has so far had limited success on the pitch. If it's based on star quality, Real would certainly be the best team in the world. However, in the world of team sports, that's not always the case.

Recall a couple of years ago when the underdogs Detroit Pistons dominated the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals. The Lakers were a team of superstars - Shaquille O'neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton. They were also guided by a "superstar" coach in the name of Phil Jackson, a man with 9 NBA championship rings. One more would have made it a ring for every finger.

On the other hand, the Pistons did not even have one who could be considered a superstar. Sure, they had good players like the Wallaces (Ben and Rasheed) as well as Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton, but none of them were big-names. What they had though was dedication to play as a team on both ends of the floor. They did not care who scored the most points or who got the biggest attention. They were clearly the better team on the court. And they surprised the Lakers and everyone else except me (I knew they were gonna win it all even before the playoffs) by winning the title in a modern day David versus Goliath story.

Another example would be the United States' basketball Dream Team, a team composed of NBA superstars. Of course, it was not like the original Dream Team that ran away with the Olympic gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona games. The players on that team, led by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, were all superstars but they also knew how to play as a team. Perhaps, that would remain the greatest team ever assembled in the history of sports.

The most recent USA team, however, placed a very disappointing 6th in the 2002 World Championship and 3rd in the 2004 Olympics. How can a team led by Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and a whole bunch of other superstars lose? You may say that the rest of the world is catching up with the United States, but the bigger reason is that you can't simply toss in the best players and assume that they'd become the best team too. You have to consider the chemistry and balance, and how they play as a unit.

Team USA has began its preparation for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. All players, regardless of their star status will have to do something new to most NBA stars: tryout for the team. Team USA director Jerry Colangelo announced the list of 23 players who will try out for the team in July. Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski will pick a 15-man roster (with 12 active players). Interestingly, 2004 USA co-captain Allen Iverson was not invited.

Unlike the previous Dream Teams, the roster will not be composed of the biggest names available. They would have more role players like Bruce Bowen, Luke Ridnour, and Shane Battier, who were all invited to the tryouts.

The bottom line is that these are team sports. The better team should win. It's not the name at the back of the jersey that matters, but it's the one at the front that's important.