David AganzoPresident of the Spanish Footballers’ Association, attends OKDIARIO amid a wave of complaints from footballers about the hellish schedule they are subjected to by UEFA and FIFA. Rodri, Carvajal or Koundé They have raised their voices and the alarm is real. We spoke with Aganzo to see if this footballers’ strike could be a reality or not. What is clear is that these star demonstrations could be a before and after.
“We have to see it clearly. Especially legally. Because the strike is a workers’ right and we have to see the competition, the moment and many other things. But we have to see that it is not only about participation in competitions, but also about the gesture. What our colleagues demand is that they be destroyed with the issue of the calendar. FIFA, and especially UEFA, which boasts so much about helping its teammates, must realize that the competitions they modify and add more matches, that in the end, those who suffer are the footballers”, begins David Aganzo, emphasizing in an interview with this newspaper on how a players’ strike could be managed around the world.
And for the AFE, Rodri and Carvajal, for example, are right in their statements against the hellish schedule to which they are subjected: “Yes, that’s clear. I don’t take away a comma from what Rodri said. In addition to his affiliation with the AFE, he is a highly respected teammate, one of the captains of the Spanish team, a standard-bearer for Manchester City and a footballer more than recognized throughout the world. Rodri does it to try to promote football, he doesn’t do it because he wakes up one morning and thinks of criticizing the schedule. This complaint has been on the table for a long time. “Institutions like UEFA always look out for their own benefit and, logically, those who suffer in terms of health are the footballers.”
“Here we forget an important issue, which is that colleagues are people. And these people participate in 70 or 80 games per season, and we have already had cases like Pedri, Gavi or Fermín, in addition to Oyarzabal who also injured his knee. Players who have many games under their belt and who, “by chance”, it is not by chance, get injured much more often than we would like. Those of us who love football want to see our teammates at their peak and rested, so that the show can be an industry that sells itself as the employers’ union wants, but not with the accumulated fatigue of the players, because that hurts us”, adds David Aganzo to OKDIARIO.
If UEFA and FIFA do not give in…
“Strike” is the alternative that David Aganzo believes exists if UEFA and FIFA do not give in. “It is a question of common sense. FIFA and UEFA must respect and should be the first to assess the physical and mental state of our teammates. The players give their opinion. They have been suffering from this situation for a long time. They are the ones who play. The unions are there to stand in front of them and let the “shocks” fall on us, because we are the ones who really have to fight with them. And let the players not put themselves first, because they have to play football. And not leave them alone,” says the AFE president.
“We have spoken with them and they have had this complaint for a long time. What happens is that if you ask them, they say what they feel. Rodri has left, like Carvajal has left, like Courtois has left and like many teammates have left for Spain last year for example. “We are not talking about new things,” David Aganzo emphasizes in statements to this newspaper.
David Aganzo also clarifies that salary is not the problem: “There are people who say they should lower their salary. It’s not a question of money. It’s a question of health and it’s about the industry gaining value every day. When people turn on the television, they no longer know if we’re playing the Nations League, the Champions League, the League or the Cup.
“This alarm will be decisive”
“We have to be very strict with UEFA and FIFA. Both equally. And not because you get along better with someone to protect them. In the end, we have to protect the footballers. And that’s what we have to. We have to try to give in and have decent competitions so that they are interesting. And it’s not that everyone tries to have their competition and tries to take advantage of the footballers. We have to try to make sure that the good parties try to compete to be in optimal conditions,” David Aganzo told the newspaper.
And finally, the question was clear. Does David Aganzo think there will be a strike by footballers?: “I am very keen on reaching agreements. Striking is a workers’ right. Unfortunately, when I was a player I had to strike because clubs faced with many problems due to lack of liquidity or very difficult situations could not survive in Spain. With many defects and where we had to reach the last option. I think that by talking to the parties, they will understand that footballers are an important part, if not the most important, of this sport. I am sure that UEFA and FIFA will not only be interested in money and will realise that footballers are serious, because we have always been serious. In the end, many things can break around football. “This alarm will be decisive to make a before and after.”
