With the group stage of the Qatar 2022 World Cup coming to an end, the outfield player who spent the most time in the professional league was Liverpool’s Dutch national team defender Virgil van Deik, reaching 5160 minutes.
On the 30th (Korea time), the British BBC reported that Pandake played league games last season as well as the English Football League Cup (EFL Cup), FA Cup, and Champions League finals based on a survey by the International Center for Sports Research (CIES) under the International Football Federation (FIFA) It was said that it was investigated that this is the most tiring of spending the mandatory parade. Including the goalkeeper, Milan Borjan (Zvezda) from the Canadian national team had the most with 5430 minutes. Son Heung-min’s teammate Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur played 4,830 minutes, the most of the English national team.
Among the teams, Portuguese players had the most with an average of 3378 minutes, followed by Brazil with 3329 minutes and Mexico with 3258 minutes. The amount of time players played in the league before the start of the World Cup can affect performance as it is directly related to fatigue. Although England has the best league in the world, the performance of the national team in major international competitions such as the World Cup is poor due to the tight schedule. In particular, since this World Cup was held in winter, the league schedule was fuller, and many injured players occurred, including Son Heung-min.
It is noted that if a player goes through a forced march to an international competition in a state of high fatigue, the player’s life may be shortened along with the risk of injury. The International Football Players Association (FIFPro), the players’ union, was concerned that “serious playing time could endanger players’ physical and mental health and shorten their careers.”
Reporter Jeong Cheol-soon
