Just days before the World Cup starts and Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United and England captain, has been ruled out of the competition after sustaining a knee ligament injury during training.
A number of people are superstitious about the reasons for the injury, chalking it up to bad luck. Some say that after Ferdinand’s injuries all season mean that this kind of thing was bound to happen to the United champion, while others feel that this situation is the result of an injury jinx as old as the game itself, that dictates that players get injured close to major finals games.
I believe that the luck theory is less than accurate and that the reason that top players get injured before donning the England soccer jersey is most likely due to the repetitive strain of the sheer number of matches that the team faces in a single season.
Participating in at least four competitions every season is a reality for many players playing on the top side of the league. Among these are The Premier League, The FA Cup, The Champions League or Europa Cup, The Carling Cup and The FA Cup. That doesn’t include the plethora of pre-season friendlies or the 6-10 international games that occur before, during and after the season.
Then there is the speed and intensity of the game in England. Whereas on the continent the game is often played in a more stop/start fashion, in England it is often full blood from the first whistle and played at a speed and pace which makes injuries inevitable. A number of top players are known to engage in between forty and fifty difficult games in a single season, plus training.
Players suffer under the weight of constant physical stress. There reaches a point where injury isn’t just likely, but inevitable.
Look at England’s current squad. Rio Ferdinand, Bobby Zamora, Owen Hargreaves, and Michael Owen all suffered injuries this year, leaving the squad, which originally had 30 men insanely short staffed. Capello eliminated Theo Wolcott After his game performance suffered due to an injured shoulder that he sustained in 2008 match against Stroke.
It is a miracle that several players on the team are fit. Ledley King needs specialist training to keep his knees in prime condition. Aaron Lennon, Steven Gerrard, Joe Cole, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, David James, and Wayne Rooney have all succumbed to injury this season and are in recovery. Gareth Barry is continuing to do so and will miss the first game of the finals against the U.S.A. Soccer hero David Beckham finally had to call it quits after an Achilles injury pushed him out of the playing squad for the finals.
If England wants to win another World Cup, we may have to tone down our enthusiasm for fast-paced, highly intense games.
Tags: england soccer, england world cup, soccer, World Cup