Cesc Fabregas, a Monaco midfielder, has warned that football is becoming “robotic” and that a player’s talent is no longer the most important factor.
The emphasis of numbers, according to the Spaniard, has taken over team training and taken the emotion out of the sport.
Fabregas says the changes have made him feel “old school,” but he knows things will never be the same again.
“Football has changed a lot, a lot, a lot. The change began four or five years ago and now it is quite noticeable.
“I have had several trainers and it has not happened to me with one or two. It has happened to me with four and with five. This is here to stay.
“They are methodologies that have been based on many automatisms in which the coach basically tells you how far you have to pass the ball at all times. The player has to be placed in a specific place. A robotic game is being made.
“Then there is the GPS game. Many coaches are obsessed with numbers. If you don’t do those numbers, you’re not ready to play, and if you rest you have to do these numbers to maintain the level… sometimes I’m a bit of the ‘old school’ in this regard.
“I have lived great moments, great stages of my career in which physically and emotionally, without training, I had great seasons.
“Now it seems that if you don’t train you can’t be well. It’s all based on science, numbers and GPS,” Fabregas told Marca.