“Football Has Been Cruel to [Gavi]” – Rodri Echoes Pep Guardiola’s Rant on Fixture Congestion

This season, many managers and players have complained about the fixture congestion issue in their interviews. There are times when a soccer player has to play a game within the next three days. It also includes training and traveling, which automatically leads to multiple players suffering long-term injuries. One of them was Barcelona star Gavi. His Spain teammate, Rodri, has also echoed the same complaints.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola also complained about the tight schedule. But the problem is that the complaints never materialized, and they took no action to reduce the fixture congestion. 

Rodri criticizes the tight schedule amid offering support to his injured teammate

Gavi suffered a heartbreaking injury in the Euros qualifier game against Georgia. He suffered a complete tear of his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. While the player went off, he was visibly very disappointed. In an interview, his teammate and Manchester City manager Rodri claimed that fixture congestion played a role in the injury.

He further said, “Football has been cruel to him. In the half-time break [against Georgia], we repeated to him that he’s young and this will make him stronger. We were all trying to convince him that he’d get back to being how he was. Today, you can overcome those injuries. We have the means to do it. I told him not to rush.”

Before the injury, the 19-year-old midfielder had started 13 out of the 15 games for Barcelona. The national team manager, Luis de la Fuente, would have done without starting him in the game against Georgia. It is because they had already qualified for the Euros. But he started him, and in the end, unfortunately, it led to an injury that will keep him out for six to eight months. He will miss the Euros and the Olympics subsequently.

It is not the first time players and managers have complained about the fixture congestion problem. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola trolled the authorities for the same issues earlier this season.

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Pep Guardiola called out authorities for failing to improve their planning

This season, the Spanish manager has lashed out at the authorities for schedule congestion. When his star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne suffered an injury, he pointed out that the teams now have very little time to recover for the upcoming season.

While speaking against the problems, he also said that the players could go on strike to improve the scheduling. He also pointed out that this is the reason the number of ACL injuries has increased this season.

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Therefore, injury concerns are increasing for clubs as the scheduling remains an issue. Players are humans, like all of us. So, fans cannot risk the reward of losing world-class players to injuries, and hopefully, things will get better.