Rodri and Ancelotti rang the first bells
After the end of the international break for the qualifiers of the Nations League, Real Madrid’s manager Carlo Ancelotti expressed his concern mostly about the health of the footballers due to the overload from playing too many matches in a season. He also voiced the problems with the preparation period before tournaments. The warning was quite clear:
«If the governing bodies don’t start thinking that players get injured because they play too much, we have a problem. I ask that the number of matches be reduced in order to have more attractive competitions.”
It’s no secret that the players themselves have been complaining about the number of matches for years. However, instead of listening to them, FIFA and UEFA have actually increased that number. Manchester City’s Rodri addressed the issue of a possible strike at the press conference before the match with Inter:
“If you ask any player, he will say the same; it is not the opinion of Rodri or whatever. It’s the general opinion of the players. And if it keeps this way, there will be a moment where we have no other option. It’s something that worries us because we are the guys that suffer.”
The intentions of the governing bodies
According to the announcements made when the new tournaments were made public, the purpose was to increase the interest in the competitions with more meaningful encounters. Meaning, with confrontations that were both adversaries would have to gain something. Furthermore, the aim was to improve the balance of the tournaments. And the plan was to do so with the cooperation of the national associations, the league organizers and the clubs themselves.
Perhaps it was an oversight, but in these announcements, there is no mention of those that make things actually happen. The players themselves. Conceivably, the idea would also include the production of new young talents that would have the chance to compete and improve themselves.
The controversy is rather evident
Since the intention is to increase the interest by raising the stakes, the governing bodies seem to have underestimated that the clubs would not actually conform and always use the best lineups. Therefore, footballers like Rodri would have to play 60 or even 70 matches per season.
That number, according to the players, does not allow for maintaining a top performance for prolonged periods of time. Nor does it allow for keeping up the physical conditioning that has become necessary, in order to endure the hardships of the modern playing style. For them, there should be no more than 50 matches in the calendar per season.
For the coaches, it has more to do with the proper preparation of their teams before a tournament and the injuries that they have to face during a season. Before the number increase, they had 4-5 weeks to work with. Now, they have only a few weeks with a full roster, to tune their teams to what they want them to be.
Quality vs quantity
Supposedly, the common denominator for both sides of the argument, is to enjoy a better quality of football. What seems to differ is the approach to the objective. For the betting industry, more matches means more opportunities to place wagers when people decide to open an online betting account. However, an integral part of the world is the improvement of the sport. So, the question becomes, are more matches better in that regard?
