The Beautiful Game continues to refine itself as its demands are increasing the weight on the clubs and players’ shoulders. One aspect in the sport of football that is becoming essential is science. Clubs at the elite level are striving to excel in this department as it enables them to become more ‘educated’ about the health of their own players. Gianluca Lia spoke to Andrew Massey, Head of Medical Services at Liverpool about the transformation of his role not only in football, but also in the world of sports…

Speed of thought, speed of direction, quick transitions and athleticism. These are all elements that have transformed the game of football into a highly dynamic performance. Nowadays, footballers are becoming the prototype of future athletes as the game continues to become very fast and orientated towards technique rather than physicality.

This transformation in the game is only possible thanks to the emergence of science education in sports, in this case in football.

The pace of the game has increased so much and modern football is becoming more and more associated with high intensity and speed.

In the process, such transformation has made the game more entertaining for the people, hence why the English Premier League is the most watched competition at club level, alongside with the Champions League, because the participating teams reflect the modern game.

Traditionally, the English game has always been associated with Route One Football and the physicality imposed by the teams on the field. With the introduction of foreign coaches, different cultures and methodologies have started to surface and this has helped in completing the transformation on English soil.

From the arrival of Arsene Wenger way back in 1995 to the latest new entries in the form of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, the Premier League is attracting highly skilful players who can combine finesse and velocity. No wonder why Klopp’s Liverpool and Manchester City, coached by Guardiola took the league title race to the wire last season.

With Liverpool having six competitions, it is not easy to handle the players’ health...

Such situation could be described as overperforming as both teams pushed each other to the limit. Throughout the season, the intensity of their gameplays had an affect on the health of their players, but they are situations that could happen to any players executing any type of playing style. The concern is on how long players can sustain this type of tempo, when the calendar is becoming more congesting especially at the highest levels.

“The fact that the Premier League has imposed a Christmas break is a relief for the clubs,” Massey told The Sunday Times of Malta.

“It’s not the golden bullet, but it is a start for us – nonetheless, at Liverpool there are still players who arrive from the Africa Cup of Nations and the Copa America, who after having two or three weeks of break they jump straight into the Premier League intensity.

“With the club having six competitions, it is not easy to handle the players’ health and therefore it is important to look at the football calendar to see if we can amend that for the coming future.”

Massey, who was in Malta for the fifth edition of the Sports and Science Medicine Summer Course, wanted to share his knowledge and experience in working in such a demanding job with other persons from across the world as he feels that in his industry it is crucial to be open-minded and pick different brains as much as possible to evolve your education.

The Head of Medical Services at Liverpool explained that he combines his job with that of being doctor of the first-team so he has the hands-on experience when it comes to recovery process of players.

“Our job is to try and keep the players in the best possible shape for matchdays,” Massey explained.

“However, this job continues to be under more scrutiny in particular when injury situations are highlighted by coaches or players – recently, there were comments from a Premier League manager about how the numbers injuries is not decreasing and that looked as a bad point for us.

“Yet, we have to take into account that the game is becoming quicker, players are doing more repeated sprints and the status quo of the injuries reflects that.”

Another injury situation which is getting criticised in the footballing world are the head injuries. The image of a concussed Jan Vertonghen attempting to play for Tottenham Hotspur against Ajax in a Champions League semi-final last season triggered a lot of criticism.

Asked about how can the football governing bodies deal with these concerns, Massey pointed out that he feels sorry for the doctors who have to act in those situations.

“It is not easy for them to work under those circumstances,” the former Ireland national team doctor said.

“FIFA and UEFA have to set norms and guidelines of how to deal with players in these situations because it is important to relief doctors from the pressure of having millions watching you at that particular moment.

“One solution could be concussion substitutes which could spare time for the doctors to evaluate the injured players conditions with more lucidity and concentration, without any time restriction – it is important to safeguard our role and expand our knowledge in this industry for the future of the game.”