Same, same but different? – A comparative discourse-theoretical content analysis of the constructions of football talent in German and Swedish newspapers

Abstract

Although people may make sense of concepts like ‘talent’ and get influenced through discourses reinforced in the media, not much research has investigated the construction of ‘talent’ in the media or in relation to football, yet. By applying Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse-theoretical analysis and aspects of quantitative content analysis to forty-four news articles, this study compares how German and Swedish media construct and reinforce discourses of ‘talent’ in football. The findings suggest that cross-cultural media share common reference points in shaping discourses on ‘football talent’. However, these nodal points are allocated and formed in distinct ways within each country, thus constituting floating signifiers. The study unveils that ‘talent’ constitutes an empty concept within and across specific cultural settings. Nonetheless, the conceptual notions surrounding talent seems more uniform in Swedish media compared to Germany. Moreover, gender disparities in the context of ‘football talent’ discourses predominantly link talent with male football players.