How has it adapted the European football to the coronavirus?

The coronavirus has given a dump to the traditional football. When the pandemia struck Europe, the big leagues took drastic decisions. On the one hand, in France and Low Countries, the leagues decided to put an end to the season, awarding the trophy to the teams that went first in this moment. This raised a big controversial between the teams affected, since no all had the opportunity to play the same quantity of parties.

On the other hand, Germany, Italy, Spain and England decided to continue, converting the football in a nightmare, or a more interesting sport to see, as it saw . To be able to understand better all the appearances that have played an important paper in these leagues, have interviewed to Guillermo Zafra (Stat Perform), analyst of data of the European football, that has cleared us all those points that have affected to the big leagues.

New formats of party

The parties have changed. No only the stadiums seem these empty fields where play the leagues of Sunday, but the format also has changed. Although the players have been training home, "are not smart for the physical requirement that these competitions require", ensures Samuel García Friar, Technical Secretary of High Competition of the FETRI. It is thus that the leagues entered the norm of the five changes by party. In addition to this, agreed make two stops to drink water in half of each part, interrupting the game, or creating new strategic opportunities? We have been able to see how a lot of trainers have retouched the strategy in these technical stops, remembering us a bit to the dead times of the basketball or of the five-a-side football, where can see a faster game, more dynamic.

Less time of rest

The days had to condense and this has resulted in that the teams have had to play more than a party by week. This has given to the teams a tempo of insufficient rest, so much mental like physicist. It has not given time to correct failures, change of strategy, train and recover the rhythm, what has added more fatigue and stress to the teams. Some teams have seen in a position in which they had to keep his leadership, try save the category or achieve European places. And this has not been easy, the teams that work more like group that by individualities have had very difficult to keep the rhythm of previous competition to the stop. And this no only has had a psychological effect, have seen as, day after day, the muscular injuries have gone in increase, and the performance in the field has gone down considerably. One of the most striking data has been the one of the goals, that have seen widely reduced.

Like this, Zafra ensures that "The football has changed: the technician no longer is the key. The key is a good physical condition. The teams with better form have been those that have been able to mark the difference. Before it was 50-50. Now it is 80% physical condition and 20% luck".

LaLiga

Before the coronavirus desatase in Spain, the Barcelona was leader in The League. After going back, have seen a much more irregular team that has lost the league in front of a Real Madrid imparable. Like this, Zafra comments that "the Barça changed of trainer shortly before the stop, something that did not come him well to the team to the hour to understand the new dynamics of Quique Setién". If we add besides the factor to play without fans, to the Barça has done him largo this final stretch of the season. On the other hand, another of the teams that has seen more affected by the stop has been the Getafe, a team that trusted it everything to the intensity and to the work in team, and that after the stop has not been able to replace , losing even his opportunity to play in Europe by second consecutive year.

Finally, it is remarkable the data of the injuries. Before the stop, the muscular injuries supposed 48% of the injuries that produced in The League. After restarting , this number increased until 83% of the total that represent.

Bundesliga

It seemed that this year the German competition went to be more argued that other seasons. In March, just before closing the competition during two months, the Bayern of Munich led the table, followed very closely by the Borussia Dortmund, Network Bull Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach. After restarting the league, the Bayern went back much stronger that his competitors, achieving a difference of until 13 points with the Dortmund, that did not go back so regular.

In addition to this, in Germany, one of the teams to which worse seated the stop was the Bayer Leverkusen. Before it braked the league, the Leverkusen achieved 22 points of 27 possible, whereas after the pandemia achieved 16 of 27. In this sense, the team annotated seven goals less in the same quantity of parties, and received three goals more. In addition to all this, the first weekend of July played the final of the German glass, that confronted to the Leverkusen against the Bayern, a party in which the Bayern went back to show his fortress, defeating 4-2 to the Leverkusen.

Premier League: The Leicester almost goes back to surprise. Almost

Guillermo Zafra comments that the "Leicester was the second in the league and was showing that it was a strong team and with possibilities to go back to do something big", but after the stop "the key players of the Leicecster could not keep the level of requirement of the team". Like tendency, no only in the Premier League, have seen that the quantity of goals decreció considerably. Before the stop, the average of goals by party in the Premier was of 2,7, whereas after the stop, this average saw reduced to 2,2. Likewise, 70% of the goals in June were in the second part, showing that the teams had problems to keep the intensity.

Series To: Lose the rhythm can carry you to the series B

Beginning by the high part of the classification, the most evident case has been the one of the Lazio. It seemed that, after 8 years followed of intractable reign of the Juventus, opened a door to that another team could win the league. Before the stop, the Lazio had achieved 13 points of 15 possible, and after the stop, only achieved 6 of 15 in the following five parties.

In addition to this, Zafra shares us also some reflections on the Lecce: "it is remarcable mention how lose the concentration and the inertia can do you lose the category. The Lecce, in spite of being one of the feeblest teams, was playing well before the stop. After restarting the league, went a disaster, lost five parties followed, doing much more complicated the dream of the Lecce to achieve the permanence".

Anyway, the stop has not been bad for all the teams. The AC Milan alone could achieve 5 parties of 15 possible before the stop, whereas after going back to the terrains of game, showed a fortress that carried him to achieve 13 points of 15 possible. Like this, it won to the Juve and to the Lazio, showing be one of the most benefited teams by the stop. In this way, also we could see that, before the stop, the Milan alone could annotate 5 goals in 5 parties, and after going back, achieved 13 in the same quantity of parties. Perhaps the stop helped to forget the bad series of parties, also is possible that the players have been able to train better, or perhaps both. What is clear is that the Milan has taken advantage of positively of this stop.

The "Fan Effect"

There has been a big quantity of players that have affirmed that play without public has demoralised them, and can be true. A study made by The Conversation sample that, while the local team wins 46% of the times when there is interested in the stadium, this number sees reduced to 19% when there is not interested. A lot of players ensure that they feel it, and the numbers confirm it.

Conclusion

We have seen how this pandemia has molding a new football, with new norms and forms of encarar the parties. It is possible that have opened the door to new roads to train and understand this sport, and can that we go in in a new was of the football. Like this, from the form to train and where train, going through the recovery and the parties, to the norms that impose from the organisations. Now the question is, will go back to the old football, or some changes have arrived to remain ?