Are there really too many games for a player today

I looked at France players as an example, and they each have played, on average, 65 games (50 for club + 12 for NT) for those who play at big clubs.  Here's the breakdown:

-  38 league games
-  10 European cup games (reach QF)
-  5 domestic cup games (reach QF)
-  12 NT games

If you divide 65 games into a 300-day calendar (typically get 2 months off)..  that's an official game every 4-5 days roughly.  You need 72 hours (3 days) minimum to fully recover physically from a football match (different for each sport).

Theoretically, they can add games until you get to 3 full days between each match... equates to 100 games per season.

So is the crying justified?

yea totally, it's overkill, but of course the associations only care about their money

someone told me Wenger suggested a club calendar that runs from Aug to Mar, and then international calendar that runs from April to July (i guess it'll end earlier in non-WC/Euros/Copa years)

this will at least cut down on the complicated travelling and jet lag that internationals cause during the club season

and Carabao Cup needs to fuck off in England, i've been saying it since i started watching football

I find the 12 games for NT low. If you count qualifying games plus friendlies and Nation Cups plus the competition (Euros or WC), that sounds to me more like closer to 20. Plus there are the so called supercups and world club championship and also pre season games. Also the 2 months off is not accurate as training camps begin in July. I think players are lucky if they can get a month off!

No matter how you factor it, there are more games than the human body can take. Just think of injuries now compared to years ago!

dani Carvajal said last week that the players would take lower salaries if the number of games was reduced!

But gunner is right, those that could make the needed change, but their interest is exact opposite to what should be the correct direction.

International break and domestic cups could be scrapped for extra rest, i'm probably biased because i barely care for those games anymore. Not gonna happen for obvious financial reasons, the goal is to be omnipresent in medias.

So the best/only solution is to rotate the squad.

It could be worse: basketball and hockey play 82 regular season games + playoffs. Baseball players have 162 regular season games on schedule, each year they even added an extra game to NFL season which seems like pushing to the limits of what the body can take

Yes of course.

One game of football itself is taxing on the body unless you're a GK. 90 mins of consistent movement has you at times gassed near the end.

Then you have coaches like Wenger to even Arteta himself who will use a player like a contintual cog and it results in serious mileage for the player and propensity for future injuries.

And I disagree with Warrior. Baseball isn't even relevant to the discussion given it barely has physical needs and NFL is full of pauses along with most of the players casually trotting beyond when someone has the ball.

NHL is a good shout given its very very demanding even if players are consistently taken off.

In Football it's the only sport in which one player can be on for 90 straight minutes for a very large field.

One single tackle by Ray Lewis will fuck you up more and for longer than a 90 min football match.

For O-liners and D-liners it's even worse

Warrior fra, your reasoning is better than that.

Topic at hand is the amount of games equating to the endurance needed for so many. Not a singular tackle unless we are counting the statistical number of tackles endured in one season.

Well yes those tackles add up, the reasoning is hardly debatable

Football is mostly cardio and endurance, bruises take longer to heal. In fact my point was: every sport have too busy schedules

I find it debatable due to the context as the frequent debate/complaint is players play too much which involves all the running they do.

How often they are tackled in ratio to how many games they play is another.

Pedantic yes but still.
NFL is brutal because helmets and padding ironically add to injuries and not due to the material but the psychology of putting yourself at risk whilst putting those on or a physical attack onto someone else.

No doubt it's brutal given so many injuries end careers or fledgling ones all together.

Seems like in every sport the players only get the minimum amount of rest, there is also training, you're good to play next match but eventually accumulation of fatigue and/or minor injuries will catch up to you.

I know a former NHL player Georges Laraque he says every single player is physically finished at the end of the season and it takes the full summer vacations to be back 100%

What about tennis they play tournaments each week i think. NBA has rules against rest. So for the sake of visibility on TV and to satisfy sponsors the health and durablity of athletes is jeopardized. That's wrong.

Players are a sum of what they represent in earning money for a club and their chances to help them succeed its just part of the business. Therefore peaks are concentrated more than spread out to add effect beyond spreading their longevity, thin.

NHL I will always agree as Skating and Ice hockey is very taxing on the body. I agree with the overall premise.

@Bill.   i looked at the number of NT games Mbappe played per season as a gauge since France is a very busy NT.  France has played the most NT games in Europe the past 3 seasons.  How many?

14 in 2021-22
13 in 2022-23
9 so far in 2023-24

This includes friendlies

In 2018, when France won the world cup in the summer BUT we also had the normal 2-3 prep games before the tournament, the total was 18.

I don't think it's too much yet.  With 2 full months off, you should be able to play a game every 4 days.  If not, change your lifestyle and get in better shape.  Basketball players in the US play 100 games a season roughly including exhibitions if they play the finals.  82 regular season games, potentially 18 playoff games, and several preseason games.  And they have to travel all across the US, all the time, which is huge.

sportsczy wrote:@Bill.   i looked at the number of NT games Mbappe played per season as a gauge since France.  France has played the most NT games in Europe the past 3 seasons.  How many?

14 in 2021-22
13 in 2022-23
9 so far in 2023-24

This includes friendlies

In 2018, when France won the world cup in the summer BUT we also had the normal 2-3 prep games before the tournament, the total was 18.

I don't think it's too much yet.  With 2 full months off, you should be able to play a game every 4 days.  If not, change your lifestyle and get in better shape.  Basketball players in the US play 100 games a season roughly including exhibitions if they play the finals.  82 regular season games, potentially 18 playoff games, and several preseason games. And they have to travel all across the US, all the time, which is huge.

I don’t want to debate how many NT games there are, but I did mention several other games that are on the yearly agenda. Based simply on the increase in injuries, I say definitely there are too many games. You comparing to basketball is a joke. Basketball players are subbed in and out throughout the games, the last 2 minutes at half and end of game takes about 20 minutes to complete. Entire game is 48 minutes. Whereas the soccer play has two 45 minute halves without relief. The hockey reference above is a better comparison although they only play 1to 2 minute shifts and games are just 60 minutes.

I truly don’t think there is any sport that is comparable in total minutes of play over the year.

basketball is far, far, far more intense than football.  You attack and defend every second.  Very high twitch sport with constant contact.  

To me (and I've played both), basketball was a far more taxing sport overall.

I'm not talking cardio here... lower impact cardio isn't that hard.  Unless you run over 15 miles, 72 hours of recovery is enough for a full recovery.  But when you combine cardio with constant high twitch = high impact cardio.  You need to be at 100% every second you're playing.

I do admit it's very different by position and player style. For example, playing fullback is the toughest because of the real estate and activity required. CM is next. Playing striker, 10 and CB are the easiest (along with keeping of course).

I don't think asking players to have 2 matches per week for 10 out of 12 months is outrageous at all.

oh yea, basketball is definitely more taxing than football (soccer) because of the nature of the game... more body contact throughout, up and down, high twitch... my whole body would always be hella sore the following day, especially more so if i wasn't in tip-top shape of course... i developed tendinitis 1 year into playing, and then i had to start wearing knee pads and switch up my play-style from Jordan Poole to James Harden

the playing surface is smaller, so there really isn't room to hide because of the up and down nature of the game... in football you can hide and conserve energy throughout matches... pick your spots here and there, depending on position...

wings and fullback is just a cardio nightmare, that's why i forced my way into the midfield by grade 7 during my school playing years... it gave me more time to rest during games when the ball isn't in the centre of the pitch, and it suited my best qualities... ball control, passing and reading the game

even 5-a-side is more taxing than regular football... but this was my favourite sport ever... my body, height, low centre of gravity and entire skillset was built for 5-a-side football... i enjoyed it so much coz i could have more impact on the game, it's literally impossible for the game to pass you by, like it can in regular football... and dudes can't get away with being selfish and not sharing the ball to your area of the field