Spanish midfielder Thiago was interviewed by The Guardian in an exclusive interview with the Guardian, where he talked about his views on the development of modern football.
Born in Italy, playing for Spain, playing in Germany and England, and having a father (Maziño) who was once a Brazilian international, how does such a complex identity affect your football?
The biggest change I feel is not in the change of geography, but in the change of times. When my father was still playing, I enjoyed watching the way players played and trained in that era. Then I started playing, and the players around me were Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol. As the career progressed, teammates and opponents also changed stubble after stubble. But then again, every league is unique, and they can have a different impact on your culture.
How is football different now than it was at the beginning of your career?
Faster, more rhythmic, more focused on physical confrontation. The traditional No. 10 position has almost disappeared, and the artistry and imagination of the players are not as good as they were then. "Fast" became the only criterion, and the idea of speed first seemed to make the dribbling technique meaningless. A player, even if he is highly skilled, will be eliminated if he is not fast enough. Players like us who don't run fast enough on their legs have to turn their brains faster than others. But things are always moving forward, football is constantly changing, and you have to adapt as much as you can.
Football is more competitive?
The increase in intensity is particularly evident in national team matches. Now the new young people are energetic and hardworking. When I was 18 years old, every day I would have a cup of coffee, sit down and chat for a while, and then put on my shoes and go out 5 minutes before the start of training. But times have changed, and these young people now warm up in the gym 30-45 minutes before their training starts.
Will the older generation of players emulate this practice of the younger generation?
New and old players will influence each other. Young people see us and think, "I'm going to reach their heights." "We will also accept their way of training. Players learn new training methods over time. But the most important thing is the beauty of passing on the skills.
Expand to talk?
Pedri is a good example of how he has understood football since he was a child.
Is there a risk that this beauty will be lost? If it is lost, is it the coach's pot?
Coaches should not carry this pot. Football is a collective sport, and if the group plays well, there is no need to emphasize individual skills. When you're besieged on the pitch and don't know who to pass on, personal skill and creativity naturally work. Modern football has developed to this day, emphasizing that in the game prioritizing the collective, individual heroism is secondary.
Has the pandemic changed the game?
It's easier to communicate between coaches and players [in empty games] and between players. But the competitiveness of the game has decreased, and the extra substitutions mean that the team can stick to the end or push to the end. It gave me a feeling of "hating modern football" because I was a classical player. There's also the var that I've always been against: players make mistakes, referees make mistakes, that's a quality of football. After var intervened, many of the "famous scenes" that were talked about would never be staged again. If you score a super handsome shot in the middle of the line, waiting for the referee to look back, you have to keep worrying, "Will there be offside?" Will there be fouls when organizing? ......”。
You and Levan are about to meet in the game, have you talked to him?
Not yet, but we'll talk about it. We fought together for a wonderful 6 years and became very good friends. If there was a Golden Globe last year, it was none other than him. It would have been unfair to simply cancel the award at the time.
The best 11 people in your heart?
The best 11 guys in my mind, no, it should be the best 24 guys, it's our whole Spanish team.
Seeing the moment Eriksen fell to the ground, what was your thought?
We were about to go to training, and when we saw that scene, everyone held their heads in shock: "Please, don't get into trouble!" Please wake up soon! "At that time, I only hoped that he would wake up soon so that he would have a chance to live and get back on the field. At that moment, I wasn't in the mood to go to training, I just wanted to figure out what was going on, but seeing everything that followed, I was also thinking: how lucky I was to be able to play football, and how touching everyone's efforts were when the accident happened.
(Editor: Yao Fan)