International Football
FITNESS, FOCUS, FRUSTRATION: LIFE IN LOCKDOWN FOR EUROPE’S FOOTBALLERS
Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira is learning to play the piano, La Liga clubs are facing off on playstation and Atalanta’s Robin Gosens has been revising for exams in psychology.
Yet as thousands of footballers, from the highest levels to the lower leagues, remain on lockdown while coronavirus spreads across Europe, all of them are tasked with keeping themselves fit, as well as entertained.
“Everyone needs to be ready so that when the health advice says resume, we can resume straight away,” Emmanuel Orhant, medical director of the French Football Federation (FFF) said.
Nobody knows when that will be and with the global death toll from coronavirus passing 13,000 on Saturday, there is little appetite yet even to address the question.
But within football, the absence of a deadline only enhances the sense of urgency. In theory, the season could restart in a matter of weeks and clubs are determined to be ready.
“Players may even need to get their summer break in now,” Brighton striker Glenn Murray told AFP.
“We might finish the 2019/20 season and then roll into 2020/21 without any break at all.” Asked if the players would accept that scenario, Murray said:
“We don’t have any choice.” It means fitness coaches and club doctors are creating week-to-week conditioning programmes, personalised for individual players, explained through Whatsapp and Skype, and dependent on both technology and trust.
“Every one of our players has been given the guidance they need from our coaches, nutritionists and doctors,” Real Betis head of medical Jose Manuel Alvarez told AFP.
“It is up to them to take it.” Betis, who sit 12th in La Liga, have divided their squad into groups depending on physical characteristics, with one coach assigned to each.
Devices then send data on fatigue, sleep, pain and even moods while players submit reports to the doctors on their weight and temperature, and to the fitness department regarding targets achieved.
“Players know if they don’t do their job they will be at a clear disadvantage against their teammates when normal training resumes,” Alvarez says.
In that sense, they are given no excuses. Many players already have gyms at home but club owners have paid thousands to ensure those without have all the equipment they need.
“A football player’s mechanics are precise, complex and sophisticated,” Marseille president Jacques-Henri Eyraud told AFP.
“And they require almost daily maintenance.”
Yet many clubs believe there is more to it than bikes and treadmills.
– SELF DISCIPLINE –
In Germany, Bayern Munich held their first ‘cyber-training’ session on Wednesday, when the players worked out through video-conference and then stayed online for an almost an hour to catch up.
In France, Lyon have told their players to rest until March 24, while in Spain, Atletico Madrid have done tactical work, with video meetings held between players and coaches to reinforce key messages.
Atletico are also particularly stringent on diets. Like most clubs, they deliver meals devised by their nutritionists but players also choose between options for lunch and dinner, which they then eat at the same time as their teammates.
Self-discipline will not come easy to some.
“Of course some players are better than others at handling this sitation,” Jonathan Barnett, agent of Gareth Bale and Stella Group, told AFP.
“Players are human beings too and at the moment they’re very frustrated.”
Much will depend on personal circumstances. Lockdown can either offer the chance to spend more time with family or leaves family far away and unusually difficult to reach.
Inter Milan’s Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku is unable to see his mother, who has high-risk diabetes, while Real Madrid’s Luka Jovic broke self-isolation rules when attempting to visit his girlfriend in Serbia.
“Some of our foreign guys have missed the opportunity to go home,” Brighton’s Murray said.
“It’s extremely difficult for them.”
Older players like Murray, who is 36, also feel the frustration of time being wasted.
“It’s made me more determined to play as long as I can,” Murray said.
And for those where football has forever been a way of life, boredom can quickly take hold.
“It’s so strange not being able to train,” AC Milan goalkeeper Asmir Begovic said last week.
“You try to do other things but there’s only so much Netflix you can watch.”
More generally, there seems to be an acceptance that no matter how thorough the programmes, players will return considerably less fit and far more prone to injury.
Philippe Piat, president of FIFPro, which represents professional players worldwide, told AFP: “The doctors say 15 days off needs 15 days of training so what will it take if there are three weeks off? They were clear: don’t be surprised if there are injuries.”
“The risk of injury is something we really do expect,” said Betis doctor Alvarez.
“They will never reach the level of a normal training session, that’s obvious. It’s a strange and completely new situation for everyone.”
-AFP
International Football
Players’ union, FIFPRO, wants 20-minute halftimes, more cooling breaks amid extreme heat
Global players’ union FIFPRO is exploring whether extending halftime to 20 minutes and introducing more frequent cooling breaks could better protect players from extreme heat.
Nine of the 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup face conditions considered “extreme risk” for heat-related illness.
Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Monterrey and Philadelphia are expected to face dangerous levels of heat and humidity, posing player safety concerns and fuelling calls for mandatory cooling aids or schedule changes.
FIFPRO’s heat risk assessments are based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measure combining temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed to estimate how environmental conditions affect the body’s ability to cool itself.
Under FIFPRO guidelines, a WBGT reading above 28 degrees Celsius indicates conditions in which matches should be postponed or rescheduled to protect players’ health.
By comparison, world soccer governing body FIFA’s own guidelines set the extreme risk threshold higher, at 32 degrees Celsius WBGT – but even by that standard, six of the nine cities are still projected to exceed safe limits.
Major League Soccer in the U.S. has a threshold of 29 degrees Celsius WBGT.
“Cooling breaks at the 30th minute and 75th minutes are quite traditional, but from a physiological point of view it does not make sense,” said Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO’s Medical Director.
“Even if you ingest more than 200 millilitres of fluid, you already cannot take it all. So I would definitely like to see some project where we look at the efficacy of perhaps more frequent but shorter cooling breaks – every 15 minutes, rather than only one during each half.”
LONGER HALFTIMES
Gouttebarge also questioned whether the traditional 15-minute halftime interval is sufficient when matches are played in extreme heat.
“You can imagine that halftime of 15 minutes might not be enough in order to decrease the core temperature,” he said.
“It could be a halftime of 20 minutes which would be significant. That has been shown in the laboratory and FIFPRO, together with the national union in Portugal in August, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy.”
The urgency of stronger heat protocols became clear at this month’s Club World Cup where two matches — Benfica-Bayern Munich in Charlotte and Chelsea-Esperance in Philadelphia exceeded the WBGT threshold FIFPRO considers unsafe.
“According to our position, those games should have been postponed later that day or rescheduled,” Gouttebarge said.
FIFPRO officials acknowledged that FIFA has responded constructively during the tournament by lowering thresholds for mandatory cooling breaks and improving pitch-side hydration, but stressed that proactive planning is critical.
“FIFA have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,” said Alex Phillips, FIFPRO General Secretary.
“They have actually modified how they’ve been dealing with heat during the matches based on FIFPRO’s input, which is credit to the work of the team. Obviously, it would have been better if that happened in advance, but it’s better that they have adapted.”
FIFPRO warned that the risks highlighted at the Club World Cup are a preview of what players could face at the expanded 2026 World Cup.
“This is not just affecting the Club World Cup, but also future tournaments either in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world,” said Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO Director of Policy & Strategic Relations.
“We need a better balance between commercial interests and the health and safety of players,” he added, referring to earlier kick-off times to accommodate European television audiences.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Ince has been charged with drink-driving, police said on Monday.
Ince, who earned 53 caps for England and won two Premier League titles during his six years at United, has been released on bail and will appear in court on July 18.
“The incident involved a black Range Rover which had collided with the central reservation barrier. Officers attended the scene and arrested a 57-year-old man,” the Cheshire police said in a statement.
“Paul Ince, of Quarry Road, Neston, has since been charged with drink-driving.”
Reuters has contacted Ince’s representative for comment.
After retiring as a player, Ince led Milton Keynes Dons to a League Two title in 2007-08. He most recently managed Reading during 2022-23.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
International Football
From garbage collector to Starman of Ancelotti’s Brazil team: the story of Ribeiro
“I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me.!” Alex Ribeiro
Alexsandro Victor de Souza Ribeiro (Rio de Janeiro, 1999) was, until a few days ago, a semi-unknown to the general public in Brazil.
However, Carlo Ancelotti, impressed by his strong performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League, insisted on calling up the Lille centre-back… and giving him his debut.
Not only that. He started alongside Marquinhos against Ecuador (0-0) and Paraguay (1-0) and helped the Seleçao keep two consecutive clean sheets for the first time in the qualifying rounds.
Alex, as he likes to be called, impressed with his 1.92 meters (6′ 1″) frame and confidence. According to ‘R10Score’, he was the Brazilian player who completed the most actions with the ball (186) and the second with the most cuts (11).
He completed 154 of the 166 passes he made (92% accuracy) and won 12 of the 16 duels he was involved in: 5 of 7 at ground level and 7 of 9 in the air. “A gentleman defender,” boasted the official Ligue 1 Portuguese account.
His path to the elite wasn’t easy. “I don’t think you know this, but this is my first game as a professional in Brazil. Strange, isn’t it? There’s nothing better. To debut in Brazil like this, with a win and qualification,” he boasted after defeating Paraguay.
These first few days with Ancelotti have been unique; I’ll remember them for the rest of my life. I’ve responded well not only to myself, but also to the coach and the Brazilian people. I was able to demonstrate my ability to those who had doubts. Few people give me the opportunity that the manager has given me,” he insists
The Lille centre-back took his first steps in Flamengo’s youth system, where he even met Vinicius.
“When we played against Real Madrid, Vini came up to me and hugged me. He said, ‘I’m glad to see you here, brother.’ That inspired and motivated me even more,” he told ‘Globo Esporte’.
‘Fla’ cut him off. He had to make a living as a street vendor. He also collected trash, especially cans. “I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me, so I went to Europe to play in Portugal’s Third Division.”
Praiense (2018-20), Amora (2020-21), and Chaves (2021-22)—the latter already in the Second Division—were his springboard to Lille. The Bulldogs signed him in 2022-23 for €2 million. He has become a more than worthy successor to his compatriot Gabriel Magalhaes.
“Little by little, my name is spreading. My football is reaching everywhere. This includes Brazil,” he said before making his debut with the Seleçao. Now that he’s made it, he has another challenge: “I want to continue it.”
-Marca
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- OBITUARY2 days ago
BREAKING: Nigerian Goalkeeping Legend Peter Rufai is dead
- Nigerian Football2 days ago
Football Agent John Shittu Demands Retraction and ₦250 Million Damages from Samson Siasia Over Bribery Allegation
- WAFCON1 week ago
Super Falcons Land in Morocco, Eye Historic ‘La Decima’ Women’s AFCON Title
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Kwara United Clinch Historic First Title as President Federation Cup Final Goes to Penalties for the 18th time
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Rivers Angels Crowned 2025 Female Federation Cup Champions After Penalty Shootout Thriller
- OBITUARY2 days ago
Peter Rufai looked lean when I last saw him, says mourning NFF President, Gusau
- OBITUARY2 days ago
Family issues statement on Peter Rufai
- IMMEMORIAL1 day ago
Peter Rufai’s Death Adds to Long List of July Tragedies in Nigerian Football