The beautiful game of soccer and its decline in an age of aggression.

As a local Urgent Care physician, I encounter sports injuries on a daily basis. in the process of elucidating the type of injury, I have realized that many such injuries are intentional fouls on players. I am shocked at how aggressive playing soccer has become. To drive the point home with the utmost of fever, I witnessed my own son experience a similar type of injury. My son was an avid soccer player until recently and has been playing since he was about 5 years old. Most recently, he played on a local soccer team, Mclean Youth Soccer. Unfortunately, he sustained an injury that was intentional on the field to prevent him from scoring a goal. I am trying to raise awareness to the transformation of what was once a “game” of skill and art and has now become about winning and “doing whatever it takes to win”. It is not unusual to hear coaches make such a statement to their players outright. As an Urgent Care physician, I see injuries similar to that endured by my son on a daily basis. Sometimes, it is basketball, other times soccer. Virtually any organized game is experiencing similar injuries. Amazingly, due to the awareness regarding concussions in football, I no longer see similar injuries in this sport. However, there are visibly no overseeing or “rules” for injuries in soccer. I am appalled!

For this reason, I am attaching my son’s account of his detrimental injury in parts. I urge parents, coaches and trainers to encourage fair play and a return to the skill required to play sports. Is it not enough that there are bullies in our schools getting away with psychological insults? Does it necessarily have to extend to the playing field?

Read along and spread the word....

Part 1:

Saving the Beautiful Game from its Imminent Demise

Soccer, more commonly referred to outside of the United States as either football or futbol, is the world’s most popular sport. Throughout the years, soccer has become increasingly popular throughout all regions of the globe. It captivates its audiences with a dazzling display of art and skill. Unlike most other sports, soccer prides itself on skill and artistic play, as opposed to physicality and sheer brute force, hence it has earned the name the “beautiful game.” This was a sport in which superior skill almost always prevailed. Nowadays, this has increasingly become less so. In the last decade, the greed to wine has come to have a detrimental effect on the sport that the world so quickly came to love. Furthermore, there has been the introduction of aggression and physicality that contradicts the laws of the game. Today, soccer has become more about winning, than playing the “beautiful game.” These new so-called strategies have enabled the larger and more physical players to merely push, shove, and/or tackle the skilled opponent, which in effect nullifies any and all skills. In the past, such reckless action would have led to fouls, ejections, and other such ramifications upon the offender. As both an avid supporter, and player of the sport itself, I take pride in skill and passion for the game. However, in recent years, I have begun to feel the full force of this newly introduced aggression in the form of several injuries. None, of which were more severe than what I would face late last year. Last September, I suffered a severe injury that would effectively end my promising soccer career, in that I have been advised against engaging in highly competitive action for around two years. As you can imagine, I feel as though part of my heart has been ripped out in the most violent and torturous of manners. The beauty of this sport must be restored before it is too late. I hope that my story can help in eradicating this aggressive and illegal play. For while my competitive playing days have been cut short, it would do me the greatest pleasure if I were able to restore soccer to its former glory. The “beautiful game” must prevail!
September 13, 2014, a day that will likely remain in the back of my mind until my last days. I had joined a new team, and we were getting ready for what would be our second game of the season. Given that I had been unable to contribute in the manner that I so desired in the first game, I arrived at the second game with an increased sense of urgency. It was not the best of conditions, in that the field was being drenched by steady rainfall. Such conditions, however, are simply not enough to prevent a truly passionate soccer player from taking part in the game that he or she loves. The scouting report had told us that our opponents were a physical and aggressive bunch, which were lacking in terms of skill and technical ability. The whistle that officially set the match into action, would prove the start of the most defining match of my career.
Following the kickoff, my team was able to get into the groove of things rather quickly. It seemed as though our technical superiority was simply too much for our opponents to handle. Within minutes, I went on one of my signature runs down the left wing, passing the defenders with ease before sending in a pinpoint cross for my teammate to guide into the back of the net to give us a 1-0 lead. We would score another three goals in a matter of minutes, and the score would be 4 – 0 with only twenty minutes gone in the first half. Despite not scoring, I had been heavily involved in the match up until that point, and had contributed greatly in that I provided the assisting pass for each of our four goals. Soon enough, a chance to get my first goal of the season would arise. I found an opening and smashed a wicked strike from a distance of about 30-35 years. Due to the unpredictable swerve and movement I had inflicted upon the ball, the goalkeeper had trouble keeping track of it, in that he was barely able to get his fingertips onto the ball leading to a corner kick. This corner would prove catastrophic.

The resulting corner would be taken short. As I received the pass I saw an opportunity and attempted to dribble my way into the box in order to create a chance. As I dribbled past the last defender I had failed to realize that he was preparing to unleash a devastating kick to the interior aspect of my right knee. Before I knew what had happened, this region of my knee would feel the full force of a powerful kick from behind. The pain was excruciating, I yelled in pain and agony, but to no avail. The impact had left me on the ground. It was clear that some major damage had been done, indicated by a tearing sensation within my knee, as well as the swelling. Too only further my pain, the referee would accuse me of simulation (flopping). After around half a minute on the ground I lost all sensation in my knee, as well as the entire portion of my leg below the knee. After what would seem like a lifetime, the referee would stop the game and inform my coach that I required some attention, or a talking too. Both the head coach and assistant coach would show very little urgency in their approach, they would carry me to the bench where they would show very little concern. Given, that it was clear that something major had happened, I concluded that I should call my father to pick me up and take me to the nearest urgent care facility for an evaluation, and so that is what happened.

At the urgent care, I had x-rays taken immediately. Within an hour, the results would come back. The x-rays revealed that I had suffered a minor fracture on the top portion of my femur. However, they were unable to determine the extent of any ligament or muscle damage, due to the fact that x-rays cannot identify such injuries. I was provided with a set of crutches, and referred to radiologist who would provide me with an MRI, and analyze the damage. This appointment was scheduled for the coming Monday.
On Monday, my worst fears would be realized. The fear that ligaments in my knee were damaged would be confirmed. Although I had expected this, I was unaware of the sheer severity that the MRI would reveal. The radiologist broke the news, asserting that I had suffered a complete tear to my ACL, which was beyond reparation; tears to both my LCL as well as MCL, and finally two tears to my meniscus. As is evident, the damage that had been done was unprecedented. Given the severe extent of the injury, surgery would be required if I ever wanted to engage in any level of sports ever again. I was then referred to a well—recognized orthopedic surgeon who somewhat specializes in surgeries involving moderate to severe knee damage. My surgery would be scheduled to take place October 17th, 2014.

To be continued.....