Football is faster than ever
But why do the players of 2020 need to be at their best at all parameters? Because football is becoming faster and faster, according to many people - including Carsten Effertz;
“The game overall has become significantly faster and more athletic. When we compare the World Cups in the 1990’s to the last World Cup in 2018, we can see a big change in the running statistics.” says Carsten.
“The change in the total distance covered is actually less than before - or it hasn’t increased that much. But the distance that the players run at high speed has increased a lot. And this is clearly indicating that sprinting skills are becoming more and more important in modern football. Additionally, the top speed is much higher than back in 1995.”
A tip for the young players out there
As you probably know by now, football is not only about how great you can kick the ball. Physics is more important than ever, and speed is an ability that is essential to young players. Carsten Effertz tells us why;
“Speed is the first ability where a young player can compete with the more experienced players. The young players can’t pass a ball better than an experienced player. They can’t read the game better than an experienced player. But they can run faster! This can be their first competitive advantage.”
Besides speed is coordination and cognitive speed - to think fast and act them out - a very important ability to work on. To get an idea of why it's important to think and act fast, here is what Thiago (Liverpool) is quoted for, when asked about how much time you have when receiving the ball:
“This may be difficult to understand for outsiders, but the truth is: You have minus one second. So - none at all. Even before you receive the ball, you have to have an idea and always think faster than your opponent. Orientation is the key. You have to know where you are, have control of the ball and know where your teammates and opponents are."
This was it for now. We hope you enjoyed learning about the differences between the professional players from 1995 and the players of 2020. We thought that there were some differences - but we didn’t know that sleeping was the key to Toni Kroos’ success or that you have minus one second to create an idea, according to Thiago.
A big thanks to Carsten Effertz for talking to us and to give us some insights about the modern day footballer.