One of my futbol friends prompted me to a video titled Cristiano Ronaldo Test to the Limit by Castrol EDGE which was aired in Sky Sports channel. You can watch it at YouTube though. And well, the documentary was about a team of sports science and sports experts gathered to study Cristiano Ronaldo, trying to find out why he is one of the world best futbolista (futbol player in spanish)! They focused on his body strength, mentality, technique and skill.
I watched through the entire 45 minutes of the documentary film and once again I told myself, welcome to the modern futbol world! Hey, I am not that old but during my futbol era, the world didn’t really pay much attention on sports science and whatever technology you are taking about now. The effect of these technology on futbol cannot be ignored now. Coaches are realising the potential of such technology for analysing and simulating playing performance in competition and training.
I can still remember during my brief stint in the S-League, nearly 10 years ago, when I was not involved in certain game, the head coach would ask me to sit in the crowd. With a small booklet and a pen, I am dedicated a task of recording down how many passes or tackles Mr. Player-A did. That was how it worked back then if you want to know how well a player perform!
In today’s futbol, computer technology makes it so much easier for a coach to access full statistic data on his team. Not only these science and technology apply to the game, many coaches have also introduce these (science and technology) in the training too. Quick search on the net, there are Heart Rate Monitors (HRM) which are used to ensure players are working at or above a target intensity in fitness training. Isokinetic machines are used to test muscle function and strength in soccer players and can be useful in predicting muscle injuries, e.g. muscle imbalance where one leg is stronger than the others. Treadmills and cycle ergometers are used to provide the conditions for simulating exercise for the physiological analysis of performance. The speed of the treadmill can be adjusted to simulate the different running speeds seen in soccer. Photoelectric cells are used to measure the running speeds of players. And in fact, there are plenty more of such technology in the market nowadays.
After watching the documentary film of Cristiano Ronaldo, even as a layman, I am finally enlightened and aware of what are the components and attributes which Ronald has to make him a great player. All thank to the sports science and technology teams for elaborating the unbelievable to all futbol fans. Back to our own humble world, I believe if you are willing to work as hard as Ronald did, you will not lack behind (Ronaldo) much. I put it this way, science and technology will only enhance your play if you are already a good player, isn’t it!
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