They better fucking not be.
I don’t think it can be avoided and that saddens me. One of my favorite things about soccer is that it relies on players to solve problems, rather than to be pawns in their coaches’ schemes, and the more we make it easier for coaches to give direction, the less we allow players to solve problems themselves, together. But it is the players themselves that, to my eye, have made the strongest argument that soccer should be divided into quarters. There’s a real epidemic of “team timeouts” where the clock will hit the 22nd minute and the whole team will start running to the sideline for a team talk and then the goalie will sit down on the field claiming injury. We might have a chance of resisting the advertisers trying to add another commercial break, but the players too? Not a chance.
[T]hey are likely here to stay.
Not often a heading question is answered with ‘yes’ (not really here either), but I hope it will be replied by ‘no’, after all. Commercialisation is already ruining the sport for me by way of the unnatural growth of clubs and the concentration of successes with few teams. This would be yet another disgusting addition to that list.
I agree with everything you’ve said, but I think the unfortunate truth is that this might well be the future. Football confederations vote for Infantino because he promises them more money, and he has a pretty clear track record now of delivering. He has been very successful in finding new ways to bring in revenue and justify his leadership.
Oh for sure! Even UEFA can’t unify behind opposing Infantino.
Nah it will all be a bad dream once the club season starts. No one will care any more.
