Bayern legend’s drinking break sharply criticized – “commercial break”

Warning about Americanization

Drinking break at the World Cup: Bayern legend with sharp criticism

Ex-footballer Bixente Lizarazu is concerned about the development of football with regard to the rules at the World Cup. A Bayern star, however, receives special praise.

Bixente Lizarazu has sharply criticized the drinking breaks during half-time announced for the World Cup. They are “in reality just a disguised commercial break that is not physiologically necessary,” wrote the ex-FC Bayern professional in his column for the French sports daily “L’Equipe”.

Lizarazu demands that the game rhythm of twice 45 minutes must be adhered to. “We cannot change the spirit of football or its gameplay just because we travel to a country that has a different view of sports entertainment.” The drinking break “seriously affected” the core of football.

But the rule is not entirely new: FIFA introduced it in 2014 to protect the health of players in high temperatures. At the Club World Cup last summer there were frequent drinking breaks – sometimes it was so hot that the substitutes watched the game in the air-conditioned changing rooms.

If it were really about fluid intake, “with a little ingenuity you would easily find other ways” to be able to perform despite the temperatures, explained the 1998 world champion. The former professional footballer also dislikes the fact that five substitutions per team are now allowed due to the high level of stress. This would mean that the players would only become chess pieces “that serve the coach’s strategy, like in American football.”

Although tactics have always played an important role in football, one should not take away the players’ “spontaneity, creativity and joy of playing” because that is exactly what “made football legendary”. In this regard, the 56-year-old particularly praises Bayern star Michael Olise, who would break with the conventions of modern football. “It reinforces the idea that football should belong more to the players and less to the coaches.”