In the second part of his interview with Kevin Azzopardi, Professor Andrea Ferretti, the head of the FIGC’s medical staff, speaks about the rise in the number of football-related injuries, the risks of staging the 2022 Qatar World Cup in the summer and his admiration for Malta coach Pietro Ghedin.

Professional clubs take a scientific approach to training and invest significantly in their medical facilities nowadays.

Despite the on-going advances in the field of sports medicine and injury rehabilitation, the general perception is that the number of football-related injuries has in-creased over the last two decades.

Prof. Andrea Ferretti, who is also the head of the orthopaedic surgery department at Rome’s San Andrea Clinic and lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the Sapienza University, pointed at the speed of the game, which is much more elevated than before, as one of the contributing factors behind the rise in injuries to footballers.

“The game has become a lot quicker and the time to react has diminished,” Prof. Ferretti said.

“A muscular lesion occurs in milli-seconds and it’s very difficult to adapt to a dangerous situation.

“A UEFA study has found that top-level clubs get an average of 10 to 12 muscle strains every season.

“If, over a two- to three-year period, clubs are getting more injuries than the average in this UEFA study, then something is not right.”

Another contentious issue in modern football is the use of arti-ficial pitches vis-a-vis natural turf. It has often been argued, even in our country, that players are more prone to suffer injuries on synthetic pitches, moreso when they train and play on different surfaces on a regular basis, but Prof. Ferretti stressed that there is no unequivocal evidence to support this theory.

“A few years ago we conducted a research study,” he said.

“We analysed two clubs, Cesena and Novara, who had artificial pitches, and the data gathered showed that the amount of injuries was not significantly higher than at clubs that have natural turf.

“Sometimes, the perception doesn’t correspond with reality. We need scientific evidence to reach certain conclusions. Besides, the latest artificial pitches are very advanced.”

Prof. Ferretti added his voice to widespread concerns about the risks associated with playing high-intensity games in stifling heat during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“I have experienced something similar in the United States,” he said.

“At the 1994 World Cup, some games were played in extreme conditions, maybe worse than those encountered in Brazil last year or very similar.

“Teams must adapt their training programme in a way that allows the players to conserve energy for the game itself.

“For example, it makes more sense to train in early morning on the eve of the game rather than at the same time as kick-off.

“I remember that, in Italy’s match against Spain during the 1994 World Cup, one of our players was completely dehydrated. In the last 10 minutes, he was wandering aimlessly around the pitch , not knowing what he was doing. When he got back to the dressing room, we had to administer an intravenous infusion of fluids.”

Prof. Ferretti is currently exploring the possibility of initiating a partnership with his Maltese counterparts as, in his own words, he is willing “to offer my experience and knowledge in the field of orthopaedic traumatology to the Maltese community”.

Pietro Ghedin... positive energy.

During his short stay here, Prof. Ferretti caught up with a long-time friend, Malta coach Pietro Ghedin.

The two know each other very well after working together for several years when Ghedin served as assistant coach of the Italy senior team under Giovanni Trapattoni and Cesare Maldini.

Prof. Ferretti was effusive in his praise for Ghedin.

“The main thing I remember about Ghedin is that he always transmitted positive energy,” he said.

“I’m not qualified to judge him from a technical point-of-view but then again he was a player and has been a coach for so many years... Ghedin chews football.

“He always had this air of positivity and tranquility about him and this had an uplifting effect on the squad and staff.”