A little over 20 years ago, one of the world’s top players admitted that he was burned out from too much football. “I’m not just tired, I’m cooked,” said Patrick Vieira after playing 66 matches the previous season. “I can hardly stand up at times. My back hurts, my legs hurt, I hurt everywhere.” And then something quite bizarre happened: Fifa and Uefa actually listened.
In fact, a fortnight later, Fifa’s medical chief, Jiri Dvorak, even suggested there should be a limit to how many times anyone should play across a season given the amount of non-contact injuries. “There are rules about the maximum number of hours per day you can drive a truck, but there are no rules for footballers,” he told the Observer. “Guidelines on the number of games in a season would benefit them by keeping them as healthy as possible.”
