Exploring the burnout myth

Another day and another World Cup star has had to pull out of the tournament through injury. Nani is the latest to join Rio Ferdinand on the sidelines, with Michael Ballack, Jon Obi-Mikel, Michael Essien and possibly Didier Drogba also missing. What do these six players have in common? Of course, they all play in the Premier League – all of which brings about the question, do we play too much football in this country?

At first glance it would appear so. England is the only top European nation where elite level clubs are obliged to enter two domestic cup competitions. If Manchester United had got to the final of the Champions League, the League Cup and the FA Cup, they would have played a minimum of 63 matches. This figure doesn’t take into account a potential appearance Community Shield or FA Cup replays, nor international appearances.

If you look a bit deeper however, the reality is a little different. In these heady days of clubs having twenty-plus international stars in their squad, it is very rare for a top level player to play that many matches in a season. Many sit out the League Cup, are afforded a place on the bench for the visit of Burnley, Hull and Pompey in the league, won’t be needed in the early rounds of the FA Cup at the Sixfields Stadium or Vale Park. Then, consider the early exits suffered by the big boys in the Champions League and FA Cup (Chelsea excepted in the latter case) this season and the myth slowly unravels.

Let us then consider the number of matches played by the Champions of the clubs in Germany, Spain, Italy and England this season. Perhaps surprisingly, considering they won their domestic double and contested the Champions League Final, Bayern Munich played the least matches this term (53), two less than Inter Milan. Chelsea played 56 and Barcelona 57. So Chelsea, with four leading players either missing the tournament or doubtful, cannot claim to have either played the most matches in Europe this season, nor have they played significantly more games than their contemporaries.

Taking each player in isolation, it’s interesting to note the two that played the most games this season (Drogba and Ballack) have both suffered impact injuries – a broken arm and ankle damage sustained in a bad tackle. Michael Essien has missed the best part of 2010 anyway, Rio Ferdinand has suffered all sorts of fitness issues and having only played 21 matches this season, can hardly blame wear and tear or burn out for his knee injury, neither can Nani or Mikel who both made less than 35 appearances for their clubs.

It seems clear to me that burnout is not an issue here, and I wish people would stop suggesting it is. Long gone are the days of a club winning a title using just fourteen players in a season (take a bow Ron Saunders and Aston Villa), long gone are the winter pitches without a blade of grass on them. Players are looked after, prepared and conditioned better than ever before, the demands on them are no greater than they were of the chain-smoking pint-quaffing legends of yesteryear, all of which leads one to the conclusion that injuries can and will strike at any time. That’s what happens in Sport. We went through the same thing four years ago with Wayne Rooney’s metatarsal, four years before that with Beckham’s metatarsal, and you can bet your bottom dollar we’ll be talking about injuries on the eve of the 2014 tournament when perhaps all the afflicted will be playing in Italy or Spain.

It’s a shame that Ballack will be missing from Germany’s engine room, I love watching him play for them – he’s their heartbeat. It’s a tragedy that we won’t be seeing Michael Essien dominating the Ghana midfield. I think England are going to miss Rio’s quality at the back more than people imagine. I want Drogba to be fit – despite being a massive flap he’s one of the best target-men around, if not the best at the moment. It was going to be really interesting to see if Nani could translate his improved club form for Manchester United to the international stage. Mikel I can take or leave. It’s not going to detract from the tournament overall though. If anything it’s going to add to the intrigue - to see players we know nothing about possibly step up to the plate and make a name for themselves.

In conclusion - shit happens. It’s not English Football’s fault.

John Rogers