Schweinsteiger criticizes the hydration breaks introduced at the World Cup
By OnzeActu · · 2 min read
Asked about the hydration breaks put in place at the World Cup, Bastian Schweinsteiger was reserved about their systematic necessity and pointed out the consequences on the fluidity of the game, particularly during the first moments after the restart.
Bastian Schweinsteiger has joined the many voices criticizing the hydration breaks introduced during the World Cup. The former German midfielder, world champion in 2014, does not see the obvious benefit of these downtimes in all matches and is also surprised that the pitch is watered during these breaks. “These breaks bothered me a little. It's not forty degrees here and the humidity isn't high either. Of course, if it is very hot, they are necessary, but with this rather pleasant climate, I find it curious,” Schweinsteiger confided on the German channel ARD, where he was speaking to analyze the Canada – Bosnia-Herzegovina match.
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The former Bayern Munich player, who also played in the United States with the Chicago Fire from 2017 to 2019, was perplexed by the watering of the pitch in the middle of a match, a practice which according to him changes the playing conditions. “It changes a lot of things. The ball rolls faster, and you have to readjust. I noticed that the passes were quite messy during the first minutes after these breaks. It’s not a very good idea to wet the lawn like this,” he explained.
These interruptions sparked some controversy from the start of the competition, in particular due to the use of breaks by certain channels, such as the Dutch broadcaster NOS, to insert advertisements. Some observers accuse FIFA of having introduced these breaks mainly for commercial reasons.