We often hear people say, „Football was better in the old days.“<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In media-covered team sports like football, we see fewer and fewer „creative“ players, fewer players truly free on the pitch.<\/strong> The result: less dribbling, less improvisation, less of that „beauty of the game“ that we used to associate with creativity and a certain kind of freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed, nowadays, matches place much more emphasis on tactics. A huge amount of time is spent on studying the game plan, optimizing positioning and optimizing physical preparation thanks to advanced data analytics. Statistics, figures, and mathematics are the key factors of decision-making at most levels.<\/strong> Teams are surrounded by doctors, physiotherapists, analysts, and specialized coaches in order to be as efficient as possible and to optimize every detail. Players are pushed to their limits, and their physical abilities are developed like never before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nowadays, matches place much more emphasis on tactics. A huge amount of time is spent on studying the game plan, optimizing positioning and optimizing physical preparation thanks to advanced data analytics.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n More importance is given to players athleticism \u2014 although technique is still present \u2014 but much less to individual expression, to pure creativity and freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why nowadays many fans say that „football was better before“.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And what’s interesting is that football remains the most watched sport in the world. Consequently, it’s also the one with the most money in circulation, and therefore inevitably follows similar patterns to other major capitalist industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n