In light of Arjen Robben's hamstring injury picked up in the friendly with Hungary (a 6-1 win by the Netherlands) I have listed below the total number of games that several world-class players have played in the 2009-2010 season.
Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan, Netherlands): 46
Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool, Netherlands): 57
Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich, Netherlands): 43 (would be significantly higher if not for another injury earlier in the season)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United, England): 55
Frank Lampard (Chelsea, England): 64
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, England): 52
Jermain Defoe (Tottenham, England): 50
Peter Crouch (Tottenham, England): 53
Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea, France): 60
Patrice Evra (Manchester United, France): 62
Are there too many games for the top class players? The players listed above often play in 3 tournaments for their club team (the league, the league cup, and the champions league or Europa League) meaning that they play on the weekend for their club team and in midweek for one of the other tournaments. Over the course of games from September through May this takes a toll on players bodies and their ability to heal from injuries. As an avid England supporter, I worry about the likes of Rooney (who never wants to sit on the bench even if he is injured), Lampard, and Gerrard staying fit for the group stages. Rooney has struggled with injuries, likely because of overuse with Manchester United, in recent months (groin, ankle, thigh) and appears to just be getting back to 100%. only 6 days before England's crucial first match with the USA. England are a completely different team with Rooney at 100% and as a long suffering England fan it would be great to see the whole team (with the exception of Ferdinand and possibly Barry) at full strength.
The question I'm really getting at is should there be a cap on the number of games that players can play for their club teams? This could be regulated monthly, yearly, per competition or otherwise. Another piece of the puzzle is the amount of travel that can be required for these tournaments (not to mention the ridiculous and suicidal pre-season tours many top teams partake in during July and August). A cap seems to be in the best interest of both club teams and national teams, assuring the best players are fit for the most important games. I do realize that for many club teams not playing their best player or two means losing money (ticket sales, TV rights, winning smaller tournaments, etc) and has other negative affects such as not attracting top class talent to that team; however, my visceral, England-centric, reaction is that there should be a cap on games to protect players (and fans!) and help prevent them from long term injuries (and depression, in the case of the fans).
What are your thoughts/opinions/concerns/questions/smack talk?
Matt
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Matt, would you really want to see Berbatov play more because of some type of cap on the number of games to which Rooney is limited? As a Liverpool fan, if no Gerrard because of a cap on the number of games he was allowed meant more Lucas, I'd consider doing something else on Saturday mornings...
ReplyDeleteBut, point taken on the prevention of long-term injuries, something does need to be done, but i'm not sure capping the number of games is quite the answer.
If Dummy Berba played 5 more games and Rooney didn't play in those games but didn't miss any games due to injury I think it
ReplyDeletewould be worth it. Honestly I would think it would be in the best interest of managers to better regulate the minutes of their players. The results would be better, a better team chemistry would develop, and players like Torres wouldn't be lost for months due to nagging injuries. This isn't a crazy concept- it's an issue in all the major American sports, particularly in basketball with the playoffs being so long.
I'm not sure a cap is the right solution but something's gotta give.