39 years old and about to play in a record-extending sixth tournament European Championship, Cristiano RonaldoThe longevity of football at the highest level almost defies belief.
Luka Modric 38 years old, still performing for Real Madrid and is expected to deliver X Factor for Croatia at the Euro in Germany, starting on June 14.
The best players are prolonging their careers longer, despite the increasing pace and intensity of the modern game.
Higher levels of fitness and endurance are being demanded of athletes, but that is being met by increasing expertise on how to maximize performance.
“Sports science has had an impact on how we prepare the modern-day player in terms of diet, nutrition, lifestyle and training programmes.” Tony Strudwick, a sports scientist with more than three decades of experience in soccer, told the Associated Press. “We came out of the 80s and 90s with an increased level of professionalism.”
Strudwick has held prominent roles at Manchester United, Arsenal And England and is currently the medical director at West Bromwich Albion.
He worked with Ronaldo at United when Portugal forward first established himself as one of the best players in the world.
“He just set himself up for success,” Strudwick said. “I said 4 or 5 years ago, knowing how professional Ronaldo is, he can play until he’s 40 years old. That doesn’t matter.”
As he is about to turn 40, Ronaldo still shows no signs of being ready to quit. And with the advancement of sports science, the longevity achieved by players like Ronaldo and Modrić could become the norm.
It’s not so much that athletes change physically over the years – it’s that they change mentally.
“We saw a kind of evolution in professionalism as opposed to an evolution in genetics,” Strudwick said. “It’s not that the players were unprofessional (before), they just didn’t know what they didn’t know.
“There is a lot more scrutiny on players in terms of accountability.”
Associated Press reports.
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