I am both curious and struggling to understand why NDombele has fitness (stamina?) issues and am hoping some of you who are sports scientists or have played or coached the game at a higher/advanced level can shed insights into what are fair expectations of a professional footballer (or NDombele).
I have an expectation that a professional footballer should be able to complete a match and not be running on fumes after an hour. However, I fully understand my lens in which I view players is as a fan who has played the game at very low standards. Is this expectation - being able to consistently complete a match (or at least a significant portion) - unrealistic?
I understand so much can vary, such as the player's attributes (mental/physical), the position on the pitch, the tactics of the coach/team set-up. I certainly appreciate players are going to burn through their energy stockpile in a pressing strategy versus a defensive-first minded team and a midfielder is going to get more distance under his/her belt then a CB. But I keep thinking, these are professional footballers - they should be able to maintain a high level of energy for a significant part of the match. After all, they are professionally trained with nutritionists, physios, training programs, fitness coaches, the latest equipment, etc.
Looking at NDombele's general stats from his time in France, I see, if I'm calculating correctly, he generally played about 55 minutes (Lyon - 2018 - Ligue 1: 34 matches for a total of 1,890 minutes) per match. Hence, I'm thinking, despite what I read about him needing to get up to fitness, is that perhaps he is already at peak fitness level, and I should expect him to be running on fumes at the hour mark.
I want to more fully celebrate and support this technically gifted player but keep thinking he should be able to show the skills in more minutes per match, because he is a professional footballer. Do I need to reframe my thinking?
I have an expectation that a professional footballer should be able to complete a match and not be running on fumes after an hour. However, I fully understand my lens in which I view players is as a fan who has played the game at very low standards. Is this expectation - being able to consistently complete a match (or at least a significant portion) - unrealistic?
I understand so much can vary, such as the player's attributes (mental/physical), the position on the pitch, the tactics of the coach/team set-up. I certainly appreciate players are going to burn through their energy stockpile in a pressing strategy versus a defensive-first minded team and a midfielder is going to get more distance under his/her belt then a CB. But I keep thinking, these are professional footballers - they should be able to maintain a high level of energy for a significant part of the match. After all, they are professionally trained with nutritionists, physios, training programs, fitness coaches, the latest equipment, etc.
Looking at NDombele's general stats from his time in France, I see, if I'm calculating correctly, he generally played about 55 minutes (Lyon - 2018 - Ligue 1: 34 matches for a total of 1,890 minutes) per match. Hence, I'm thinking, despite what I read about him needing to get up to fitness, is that perhaps he is already at peak fitness level, and I should expect him to be running on fumes at the hour mark.
I want to more fully celebrate and support this technically gifted player but keep thinking he should be able to show the skills in more minutes per match, because he is a professional footballer. Do I need to reframe my thinking?
