The Guardian

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The Silicon Valley of Turf, how the UK's pursuit of the perfect pitch changed football. They used to look

like quagmires, ice rinks or dust bowls, depending on the time of year, but as big money

entered football, pristine pitches became crucial to the sports image, and groundskeepers

became stars.

By William Ralston, read by Ben Norris and produced by Esther Apocou Jenny.

It was a big moment for English football talent when Rayar Madrid poached Paul Burgess from Arsenal in 2009.

After starting his career at Blackpool FC, Burgess had arrived at the North London Club in 1999, rising to prominence at the age of just 21. He excelled on the European stage during

Arsenal's Champions League campaigns in the early 2000s and shone at Euro 2004 in Portugal.

Four years later, he put in another commanding performance at the European Championships.

Not long after that, Real Madrid, the most prestigious club in world football, made their

sensational transfer swoop.

If you don't remember any of this, it's not because Burgess was a flop at Madrid, it's because

he was Arsenal's head groundsman. Burgess's transfer was the beginning of a Europe-wide

spending spree on British turf talent. Rayal's rivals, Athletico, snapped up Dan Gonzalez,

who had impressed with his work for AFC Bournemouth.

Tony Stones, who got his start looking after bowling greens in Barnsley,

before eventually becoming head groundsmen at Wembley,

was signed to oversee the French National Stadium, the Stad de France.

FIFA, meanwhile, signed Alan Ferguson, a Scot who had won seven Groundsman of the Year awards during 12 seasons at Ipswich Town as their first in-house senior pitch manager.

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