“The footballers play above or often at their performance limit,” says Professor Wilhelm Bloch from the German Sport University in Cologne in an interview with DW. Bloch warns that it is questionable whether players at a high level of performance can endure such exertion in the long term without suffering any damage. The sports doctor is reacting to the current discussion about the increasing physical strain in professional football. Because the football calendar is currently getting fuller and the games are getting more and more intense.
Argentinian professional Julián Álvarez is one of the players who played the most games last season. According to a report by the players’ union FIFPro, the attacker has played a total of 75 games for his Spanish club Atletico Madrid and Argentina’s national team.
No regeneration, no performance
Former German international Ilkay Gündogan also has two intensive years behind him. According to FIFPro, between July 2022 and July 2024 he appeared on the pitch 129 times for his club and the DFB team and played an average of 82 minutes per game.
After the home European Championships in 2024, DFB captain Ilkay Gündogan announced his resignation from the national teamImage: Moritz Müller/IMAGO
In addition, Gündogan spent more than 150 hours traveling abroad. There wasn’t much time for recovery phases – which can quickly become a problem. “The regeneration times after the games are too short. With this condensed calendar, there are hardly any phases where you can do advanced training or a somewhat more complex regeneration phase,” explains Bloch. “A body needs a targeted structure.” In the end, this is what determines performance, says the scientist.
Wilhelm Bloch: “Unsustainable in the long run”
National leagues, international competitions, international matches – the top stars hardly have any rest breaks between the individual games. The result: more and more stress, more and more injured players. “This is not sustainable in the long term,” says Bloch. “The systems will be exhausted and then you will have a lot of failures and significantly more injuries.”
National coach Julian Nagelsmann also recently felt the effects. Deniz Undav, match winner of the previous game in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also had to miss the Nations League game between the German national football team and the Netherlands, which ended with a 1-0 win for the DFB team, due to an injury.
The attacker was already the eighth loss that Nagelsmann had to replace in this phase of international play. RB Leipzig’s David Raum and Benjamin Henrichs, Jamal Musiala from FC Bayern Munich, Kai Havertz, who plays for Arsenal London, and Eintracht Frankfurt’s captain Robin Koch had previously had to cancel.
In addition, regular goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen and Niclas Füllkrug, who had been missing for months, could not even be nominated. The injured Aleksandar Pavlovic was also unable to take part in the game against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen tore the patellar tendon in his right knee and will be out for monthsImage: Revierfoto/dpa/picture alliance
The signs of overload are clear, and the criticism from players is becoming louder. “It’s so hard with the crazy schedules. It’s hard on the body,” said England international Jude Bellingham, who is under contract with Real Madrid. “Mentally and physically you are exhausted.”
Robert Lewandowski, FC Barcelona’s star striker, also criticized the busy schedule. “At the end of the day, we are only human,” said the Polish record national player and two-time world footballer of the year. “Of course we try to be the machine on the pitch, but we must not forget that we are human too. We need time to rest properly.”
FIFA and UEFA are expanding competitions
Some players – like Spanish European champion Rodri, who suffered a serious knee injury – are even threatening to go on strike if the situation doesn’t change. The footballers are supported by the players’ union FIFPro.
The players’ union FIFPro is calling for more health protection for the playersImage: Virginia Mayo/AP/dpa/picture alliance
But the criticism falls on deaf ears among the associations. There is no improvement in sight – on the contrary. European football’s governing body UEFA has expanded both the Champions League and the Europa League this season. The world association FIFA is allowing the Club World Cup to be played next year for the first time with 32 teams instead of the previous eight teams. And at the next World Cup in 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico, the number of games will increase from 64 to 104.
Higher risk of injury, shorter careers
“After a 90-minute soccer game, the muscles usually need four to five days to fully recover,” explains sports doctor Bloch. “With high levels of stress, micro-damage to the muscles occurs. This damage is not serious. But if I don’t have the time to recover from it, it becomes a problem. The risk of injury increases.”
A weekly game rhythm makes sense, English weeks should be the exception, according to the scientist. In addition, every player needs a game-free block of around six weeks per year to regenerate. “But that’s not the case when the game is tight. The players are on vacation for two or three weeks and then it starts again.”
Bloch fears that player careers will be significantly shorter in the future: “We will no longer have players who play football until the age of 34 or 35, but who are completely finished by the age of 29.”
At 20, Aleksandar Pavlovic (r.) is one of the youngest players at FC Bayern – can his body withstand the strain?Image: Sven Hoppe/picture alliance/dpa
The higher physical strain particularly affects young players, who are now faced with much greater demands than was previously the case. According to the FIFPro report, Florian Wirtz from champions Bayer Leverkusen had already played around 11,500 minutes of professional football at the age of 21. For comparison: Former DFB captain Michael Ballack, who ended his playing career in 2012, only played just under 4,200 minutes at the same age. Given the constant strain, it is hardly surprising that Wirtz suffered a capsular injury in his right ankle during the international match against the Netherlands.
“The medical departments are just busy repairing things,” says Wilhelm Bloch. “This doesn’t help the players or the clubs.”
