Soccer World Cup MLS Euro Champions League etc Message Board

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Soccer World Cup MLS Euro Champions League etc

Public Reply Prvt Reply Mark as Last Read File

Previous 10 Next 10 Previous Next

To: X Y Zebra who wrote (1405)	6/14/2002 8:26:42 PM
From: Dayuhan	Read Replies (1) of 5130

I really don't think that players were rolling into the WC consciously thinking that they were too tired and beat up to play and that they didn't really want to be there. I think most of them wanted desperately to be there and had every intention of giving everything they had. The problem is that in many cases there wasn't much left to give. It's a problem that's been coming on for a while, pushed onto center stage by two things. First, the club season was unusually rugged: all of the major league races went right down to the wire, and several were decided on the last day of the season. That meant more pressure and less rest for the top players. Second, as was already pointed out, the WC started earlier than usual this year, forcing players to jump from club to country without a significant break. I don't know who made that decision or why, but there have certainly been consequences, and those consequences were really quite predictable. On one hand, the result has been a very open competition that could be won by an underdog. On the other hand, we will see very little of many of the world's top players, and what we will see will in many cases be sub-par. It's all very well to say that with the amount of money top players earn they should be prepared to give their best at all times, but you can't increase the endurance of a human body by paying it more. It is also true that if you consider the amount of playing time, football players probably earn less per actual playing minute than practically any other professional athletes (excluding baseball, since an entire season of baseball is less strenuous than a single foolball match). I don't have any solutions. I'll be curious to see if FIFA comes up with anything.

Report TOU Violation

Share This Post

Public Reply Prvt Reply Mark as Last Read File

Previous 10 Next 10 Previous Next