BVB legend Hummels: top stars worn down by heavy workload | OneFootball

Europa Cup, Club World Cup, international matches, national championship and cup: Many professional footballers only get a short break throughout the year. World champion Mats Hummels (36), soon to be active as a TV expert, warns of overloading the players.

Federico Valverde was a busy man in the 2024/25 season. The Real Madrid midfielder appeared in La Liga 36 times. He racked up 14 appearances in the Champions League. His coaches Carlo Ancelotti (66) and his successor Xabi Alonso (43) also relied on the 27-year-old in the national cup, Club World Cup etc. He played a total of 65 matches for the Royals.

Valverde is also a fixed figure in the Uruguayan national team. Whether it's the Copa América or World Cup qualifiers, Valverde is always there. He has played 15 international matches since mid-June 2024. Had he not been sidelined by lumbago in the meantime, his personal record would have included far more than 80 matches.

Hummels surely had professionals like Valverde in mind when he criticized the workload of today's professionals. "This is still a topic that needs to be paid attention to in football. You can't completely overload the players," the SID quotes the former professional from Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich. The 78-time international warns: "I am always very worried that in the coming years many, many top players will no longer be on the field in important matches because they will eventually be worn down by the demands."

Soon to be active as a TV expert

The former world-class central defender will be working for Prime Video in the Champions League in the future. He ended his active career at the end of the last season. As part of the BVB season opener against Juventus Turin (1:2), he was on the pitch in black and yellow for about 20 minutes. On Tuesday (16th September, 9 pm), both clubs will meet again at the CL kick-off.

Hummels is convinced by the new format in the Champions League with 36 participants and eight matches in just one group. "I think the new variant is very cool," raves the 36-year-old. "There are a lot more different matches. That convinces me."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.