World Cup in Qatar will be one of the best ever
World Cup in Qatar raised and still raises many questions. From bribery affairs in organizing the event to the civil rights of (dead) workers who built stadiums. Some cultural limitations didn’t help either. However, one thing bothered me the most. Timing. But not in the wrong way. In a way, nobody saw that as an opportunity of experiencing one of the best tournaments ever.
However we put it, stadiums are architectural masterpieces. The luxury and conditions they promised to offer are beyond imagining.
Distances between them are pretty short, so fans will easily travel between them. Broadcasters also promised that games can be watched live from more than just one camera view simultaneously.
So, there are quite a lot of improvements which will definitely lift the world cup to another level. Yet, there is still one that isn’t getting enough credit. In contrast, the timing of the event is getting battered by practically everybody. Unjustifiably.
Up to this point, all football fans got used to experiencing a major event after a season had already finished. Nothing wrong with that. Old habits die hard.
Footballers, on the other hand, can’t wait for a season to finish. For a long time, I thought I was one of the few to feel that but after listening to other professional footballers that are still on the stage, I realized that most of us think alike. There’s nothing better than a fine vacation after a ferocious season.
Now, imagine going to a major event and postponing your vacation. Ok, nothing wrong with that. After all, qualifying for it was deserved on a pitch, these events are not that often, and a football player’s career is not that long either.
However, what about fitness level? Footballers start training in July and there are whole 11 months until the major tournament.
Months that are filled with the domestic league and cup competitions, European competitions and international qualification matches.
I was fortunate enough to have a 1-month off-season in winter in my career, but most of the top leagues do not have such luxury. Most of the leagues that footballers in the world cup represent play constantly for 11 whole months.
So, attending a world cup after that has a huge potential for injuries. Not attending it before the end of the season. Moreover, an event can also radically affect players. I will always remember the case of David de Gea in 2018.
Before the world cup in Russia, he was voted Premier League’s best goalkeeper of the year. He was that for a mile.
But in the world cup, he had an awful first game against Portugal and everything went really bad for him from that point on. Not just in the tournament but in the long-term club career as well. He needed a lot of time to bounce back.
Anyway, when you start a new season, the first matches are always a mystery. As time goes by, you get dragged more and more into it.
By the time you reach the fourth month of the journey, you feel the most powerful, the most creative, the most influential and the fittest. Simply put, you enjoy your game the most at that time.
Aha! Let us do the math. The top leagues started in August. So there’s August, September, October, November … well well well, wouldn’t you know.
On the fourth month of a season’s journey, there’s a world cup taking place. Do I need to say more?
Keep the above-mention thinking in your mind when you watch I am sure one of the most qualitative world cups of all time.
If not the best one ever, because the winter tournament is not likely to be placed in that period of time anymore.
Sorry African teams. Looks like you will be the only ones leaving in the middle of the season for the Africa Cup of Nations. You have an upper hand this time though. Use it well.
