Much has already been said about how players and teams should approach this sports season in which the World Cup is being played for the first time in winter, breaking the national championships into two parts. I think players should think with the idea that the most important game is the next one, without stopping to consider that it is a league one, a European cup one or will be the first one in the World Cup. In fact, when you lead a particularly demanding life, playing important matches every week with the knowledge that this kind of commitment will last until almost the summer of 2023, you have to reason in giving your best during the week. This allows one not to stress unnecessarily with negative thoughts regarding how to maintain physical and mental fitness for such a long period, the fear of injury, or too many games to play at a high level. In these moments, one must think about what one can control in the immediate future, the next game, work to get more responsibility out of one’s mind, and, then, work to recover. Precisely recovery from the game you just played is, in my opinion, a central aspect of soccer players’ training, from injury prevention to relaxation and being with the people you love. The greater the commitment to the game, the greater the importance of this recovery phase. The commitment is to not accumulate unnecessary mental and physical stress now, which adding up to future stresses can facilitate injuries and otherwise a state of mental fatigue that would take time to clear.
My thought, therefore, is to stay focused on the present, which are the match itself and the days leading up to this event. The second step, is to devote some time to recovering, so that after a few days we can re-engage in the best condition to play another match. Footballers, and especially those who assume they will reach the final stage of the World Cup, should minimize their worldly and social commitments, since their problems of psycho-physical fitness are not only about how to get well to this competition but later will be about how to continue the season until the conclusion of the league and cups for the teams that will also have this commitment. I am convinced that the worst months for the players will be the post-World Cup months, because they will be justifiably tired while, on the other hand, the teams’ expectations of them will continue to be high. Even more, in this third phase of the sports season, the work on recovery that will have to be done by the players with the full support of the club, the coach and the team will be important. Team cohesion will play a primary role in eliminating the complaints and aggression of those who did not go to the World Cup versus the attention paid to those who did, and vice versa in not allowing a reduction in commitment and cooperation on the field in those who played the World Cup.
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