The men who raised the alarm were the first to fall, an extra cruelty to it all. But at least this way, they were heard.
“If this carries on we will have no option but to go on strike: we’re worried it’s too much,” said the Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez; at the end of September; six days later, he tore an anterior cruciate knee ligament. The European champion, Ballon d’Or candidate and arguably the best player in the world will not play for a year.
A week or so after that, Dani Carvajal was stretchered off at the Santiago Bernabeu, hiding his head in his shirt and sobbing, the screams heard in the silence of the stadium. He had torn two ligaments and a tendon in his right knee. A season that had started with the Real Madrid and Spain defender insisting “it’s not chance that there are so many injuries” and telling anyone who would listen that “we can’t play 72 games … the authorities have to analyse this,” was over already. Another Ballon d’Or candidate who won’t be seen again for many months.
This was not the first time Spain’s captains had warned that football risked destroying footballers, and with them, the game itself.
Carvajal was asked during the Euros whether he feared for Lamine Yamal, a 16-year-old who had already played 58 professional games since the previous August and was preparing for the semifinals at the time. Could Lamine be another prodigious Barcelona kid exposed early like Ansu Fati, Pedri and Gavi, all of whom had suffered serious injuries that cut them down young? Carvajal replied that yes, but no … he feared for every player.
De la Torre is keen not to oversimplify complex questions of cause and effect. But, he added: “There is very recent scientific evidence to show that tissues — in this case in the hamstring, which is the most commonly occurring injury — are not fully recovered, ready to compete again every three days, and that shows how those players with international commitments, especially at the end of the season, experience a drop in their output compared to the 10 weeks prior to international competition.”
Said Edu Alvarez, a physio who worked at Manchester City and Real Sociedad: “It’s not so much that the difference in the number of games is so significant for most players. If you take the GPS figures from 20 years ago, the total distance is similar. Where does it change? In the intensity. We have never run 36 km/h before. Never done so many high intensity repetitions. The duels are not what they were. Football is more physical now. There are many factors, but one of them is that we haven’t adapted the calendar, the rest and games to the intensity demanded by modern football.”
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“There’s another thing I think is important,” Alvarez added. “Look at NBA, NFL. They have a lot of games but in the summer, the break is bigger. In football, you get guys who can’t clear out their system, rest properly and have a good preseason. The rests we are seeing are short.”
Brian Moore called it the “perfect storm.” A bio-analyst quoted in Marca, Moore said “we have a calendar that is always expanding with more international competitions and preseasons held around the world that bring us ever closer to a season that never ends. In football there have never been so many injuries, and this is going to be another brutal year.”
Something must shift, everyone seems to agree. But what? There is a kind of simplistic consensus that the number of games should be reduced. That some of them have to be taken off the calendar. But which ones?
The short answer is: someone else’s, and that’s the problem.
Getting rid of national teams will fix this. Ditching the cups will fix this. Reducing the leagues will fix this.
A Super league will fix this.
Choose the one that suits you. Everyone else does.
Maheta Molango, the head of the English Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), has suggested three basic measures: (1) to fix a max number of games per season, probably somewhere between 50 and 60; (2) to agree on a maximum of six matches back to back, such as every three days, in any one stretch; and (3) to protect a summer break of at least three to four weeks.
His opposite number at the Spanish players’ union, David Aganzo, said, “The footballing authorities need to protect football more, but they look more at the economic side of it than the footballing side.” And that’s the thing. Follow the money. It’s the economy, stupid. “We’re the protagonists of this sport or this business, whatever you want to call it,” Rodri said.
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“We have to adapt the structure, fixtures, rest and games to the actual demands made on players these days,” Alvarez said…
– Truncated for brevity –
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Conclusion:
With the increasing demands and physical toll on football players becoming increasingly evident, it is crucial for all stakeholders in the sport to come together and address the issues at hand. From the players themselves to the governing bodies and clubs, everyone must engage in dialogue and find solutions that prioritize the well-being of the athletes. While the economic considerations are undeniable, the long-term health and performance of the players should take precedence. By working together and implementing measures to reduce the strain on players, football can not only protect its biggest assets but also ensure a higher quality of play for fans. The time for action is now, before the game becomes synonymous with burnout and preventable injuries.
