‘Ball bounces like a rabbit’ – Luis Enrique on Club World Cup pitches

‘Ball bounces like a rabbit’ – Luis Enrique on Club World Cup pitches

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Luis Enrique, the manager of Paris St-Germain, has criticised the stadiums during the Club World Cup, claiming that the “ball bounced like a rabbit” in the Seattle Sounders’ victory.

The Seattle Seahawks and the MLS team the Sounders played the match at Lumen Field, where the artificial turf was used to temporarily replace the stadium’s artificial turf for the tournament.

The Spaniard claims that the Club World Cup must be “the most high-level competition in the world” for football’s world-governing body Fifa to “bear in mind” the quality of both match and training pitches.

After his team won 2-0 to take the top spot in Group B of the tournament, which is being held exclusively in the United States, the 55-year-old said, “I wouldn’t imagine a NBA court full of holes.

“On the day we win, the state of the field of play is what I really care about,” I declare.

At the end of May, PSG claimed the title of champions league champions thanks to a stunning victory over Inter Milan in Munich.

Due to the nature of the pitch conditions, Luis Enrique said his team has had to adjust since moving to the US.

“Lumen Field is an example, it used to be artificial turf, but it has been replaced with natural grass,” he continued. They had to manually water it at halftime, but the field was dry once more in ten minutes.

This is a problem for our game, they say. It is significantly different from European pitches. We did well to adapt, and we’re very happy because the grass is different and therefore it’s not as simple to play our style.

World Cup-related concerns

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Less than a year until the Fifa World Cup is held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Jude Bellingham, who lost 3-1 to Pachuca, also criticized the pitches at the Club World Cup.

The pitches are not at all excellent. The England midfielder said, “It holds up the ball, the ball barely bounces.”

It’s also “tough on the knees,” they say. Hopefully, that will be addressed prior to the World Cup the following year.

World Cup games will also be played at five of the venue’s starting locations: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Hard Rock Stadium, MetLife Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, and Lumen Field.

NFL teams typically use artificial turf, but they will install real grass just in time for the World Cup to meet Fifa requirements.

The pitch quality in the US has previously caused issues with the inaugural Club World Cup.

At last year’s Copa America, players expressed concern for the conditions, with Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez calling the field “a disaster” following its win over Canada.

Conmebol, the tournament’s organizer, defended the pitches, while Fredirico Nantes, the director of competitions, said, “The Atlanta grass posed absolutely no threat.”

The stadium will host one of the semi-finals of the World Cup’s eight matches in the summer.

The most recent issue raised during the Club World Cup is the state of the pitches.

Throughout the entire competition, there have been concerns about the weather, with players experiencing issues from extreme heat.

Borussia Dortmund’s substitutes were unable to watch the first half of their 2-1 win over Mamelodi Sundowns because of the temperature, according to Niko Kovac, manager, who described the situation as “like a sauna”.

Enzo Maresca, Chelsea’s manager, claimed that as the weather reached 37C, his team had had a difficult training schedule in Philadelphia.

related subjects

  • Paris Saint-Germain
  • Football
  • FIFA World Cup

Source: BBC

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