(Zlatan has to force his eyes open to try and overcome extreme tiredness brought on by playing a game of football)
So Zlatan needs an extended rest because of his exertions in the Euros! UEFA rules state that players appearing in the competition must be given three weeks break at the end of it. This means that Ibrahimovic would be able to go to China with the rest of the team but, as the poor soul doesn’t have the strength to pull his suitcase, he is being given extra hols by his new boss.
As well as displaying a laudable level of compassion and sympathy it also gives us an insight into how well Jose Mourinho looks after the elder citizens of the team.
The United manager, having watched all the games in France, will have noticed that Ibrahimovic was picked to play in all three of Sweden’s games, meaning that he spent a total of 270 minutes actually on a football pitch during a competitive game.
Nowadays, this is considered to be enough time “working” to merit a three weeks break. This is especially relevant to Zlatan with his non-stop, 100 miles per hour way of playing the game. He must be absolutely shattered. So much so that he had to fly to Los Angeles to help his recuperation.
Now can we get back to reality please? Zlatan only broke into a slight sweat on the odd occasion that the sun chose to show itself during the Euros. He strolled around the football pitch as though he was taking a morning constitutional and, after partaking of three games he was out. So, less than halfway through the tournament, Sweden are eliminated and Ibrahimovic gets an extra three weeks off, which is then extended by Jose Mourinho to take into account that a super fit 34 year old cannot handle three games of football in a two week period.
This will be quite interesting if the same theory is applied to the Premier League.
Manchester United, as a punishment for failing to finish in the top four, will be contesting the Europa league next season. This means that there will be times during the season when the team will play on Sunday, then Thursday, then Sunday again. This is the same number of games in eight days which proved too much for Zlatan when with Sweden.
Assuming that Jose is consistent in his treatment of the old men of the squad, this means that Zlatan will play three games, then be given a break of at least three weeks, possibly extended for recovery purposes, resulting in him missing at least the following six matches. It seems a little like false economy to me.
In truth, isn’t it about time that professional football grew up? These are overpaid athletes doing something they love. Is it too much to expect that they should actually be able to do their job, which lasts for ninety minutes per shift, barring any extra time, and there may be two shifts per week?
Are they so pampered that they need to rest having run around a football pitch for an hour and a half? And that’s just the ones who run!
Strangely enough, I have never heard a player complain of tiredness. It is only ever an excuse churned out by the managers. It has even reached the stage where there are complaints if one team gets more rest than another. One of the debates of the Euros was whether the extra days rest that Portugal had compared with France would be a deciding factor in the final. It wasn’t! France not being good enough was the deciding factor.
So can we please have a return to the days when, not only didn’t the players complain of tiredness, but neither did the managers. The days when footballs were as heavy as the mud caked boots which were kicking them and pitches were either muddy or frost covered.
In those days not only was the money a whole lot less than it is now but so were the excuses and the complaints.
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 