Overcrowded hospital syndrome does not only occur in certain areas Naples and surrounding. All of Europe is in shambles. The number of people injured in major continental championships shows the same thing. Of course, he ruled Serie A with almost 90 players in the pit at this historic moment. Facts that when viewed holistically – that is, extended to the last few months – make us understand that there is more than one thing wrong. Or rather, it doesn’t work anymore. This figure is worrying because as we know, five player substitutions have been made since 2020 which actually makes each player’s match less tiring.
Yes, but up to a point. Because on the one hand, player turnover is increasing, on the other hand, the number of matches is increasing. Initially the championship was played on Sundays and the cup on Wednesdays with deadlines that were certainly not weekly. Now things have changed dramatically. Just imagine the commitment Champions League which until the 2024 revolution consists of six matches in the group stage. Now there are eight “mandatory” matches for each club participating in the single group stage. And not only that. If you finish in the top eight, you save yourself from the playoffs, which means two more games will add to an increasingly messy calendar. If that’s not enough, there is a Super Cup commitment: previously only one match was played, to lift the trophy you had to go through one more match (semi-final). And then there is the journey – often long and tiring – of national cups (the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final is played) and midweek rounds.
We practically never stop, because even if we stop, most footballers are busy traveling around the world with their national teams. In short, the calendar doesn’t help. And it’s certainly no coincidence that Serie A, the Premier League, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 are completely decimated by injuries. In Spain it seems we can do a little better, considering that according to Transfermarkt data, La Liga only has 40 injured players at the moment compared to 88 in Serie A, 84 in the Premier League, 68 in the Bundes and 51 in Ligue 1.
The data
Napoli is one of the teams most affected by this physical problem. There are currently 6 players in the pit: Meret, Lukaku, Gilmour, DeBruyneSpinazzola and the latest Anguissa. The list is much longer considering those who quit before them and who later made progress again. It’s hard to pinpoint a specific problem, because as mentioned, this is a continent-wide phenomenon that really doesn’t give anyone a discount. The many commitments certainly don’t help, nor do the long journeys most footballers have to travel to reach remote locations around the world to play matches (often not even official qualifiers) with their national teams.
But that’s not all. Napoli are an extreme case, but Inter and Juventus, as well as all the other teams involved in the Club World Cup, are still paying the price of that long and grueling summer of competition. And the impression is that from now on things will not get better considering that the season which ends in spring will lead to the World Cup in the United States where most of the players from big European clubs will be busy with their respective national teams. In short, one competition ends and another begins. Few stops, practically very few days off. And footballers’ muscles are increasingly stressed. Too many commitments quickly result in too much loss. Cups, super cups, world cups, European championships, you name it. Of course the roses are getting longer, but the hospitals are also getting busier. And actually most injuries are muscular. This is certainly not a coincidence. The reason is that the wear and tear of the “machine” quickly turns into physical problems.
