David Aganzopresident of the Spanish Footballers Associationserves OKDIARIO in the midst of a wave of complaints from footballers about the infernal calendar to which they are being subjected 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 protests could be a before and after.
«You have to see it well. Above all legally. Because a strike is a worker’s right and we would have to see the competition, the moment and many other things. But it is clear that it is not only the participation in competitions, but also the gesture. What our colleagues demand is that they are destroyed with the issue of the calendar. FIFA, and especially UEFA, which boasts so much about helping its teammates, has to realize that the competitions they modify and add more games to, that in the end the ones who are harmed are the footballers,” David Aganzo begins by pointing out in a talk with this newspaper about how a players’ strike could be managed worldwide.
And for AFE, Rodri and Carvajal, for example, are right in their statements against the infernal calendar to which they are subjected: «Yes, it is clear. I don’t take away a comma from what Rodri said. Apart from the fact that he is affiliated with AFE, he is a highly respected teammate, one of the captains of the Spanish team, a standard bearer for Manchester City and a more than recognized footballer worldwide. Rodri does it to try to favor football, he doesn’t do it because he wakes up one morning and thinks about criticizing the calendar. We have had this complaint on the table for a long time. “Institutions like UEFA always look out for their own benefit and logically those who are harmed in terms of health are the footballers.”
«Here we forget an important issue, and that is that colleagues are people. And these people compete 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 belts and who ‘coincidentally’, it is not a matter of chance, are injured much more frequently than we would like. Those of us who like football want to see our teammates at maximum performance and rested, so that the show can be an industry that sells itself the way the Employers’ Association wants to sell it, but not with the accumulated fatigue of the players, because that is harming us. themselves,” adds David Aganzo to OKDIARIO.
If UEFA and FIFA do not give in…
“The strike”, that is the alternative that David Aganzo believes exists if UEFA and FIFA did not give in. «It is a matter of common sense. FIFA and UEFA have to 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 here to stand in front of them and let the ‘shocks’ go to us, as 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 president of AFE.
«We spoke 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 left, as Carvajal left, as Courtois has left and as many teammates have left in Spain last year for example. “We are not talking about new news,” emphasizes David Aganzo in statements to this newspaper.
David Aganzo also makes it clear that salary is not the problem: “There are people who say they should lower their salary. It’s not a money issue. It is a health issue and it is a matter of the industry becoming worth more every day. When people turn on the television they no longer know if the Nations League, the Champions League, the League or the Cup is being played.
«This alarm is going to be decisive»
«We have to be very strict with UEFA and FIFA. Both in the same way. And not because you get along better with one to protect her. In the end we have to protect the footballers. And that’s what we owe. We have to try to give in and have decent competitions so that they can be interesting. And not that each one tries to have their competition and tries to take advantage of the footballers. We must try to ensure that the right parties try to compete to be in optimal conditions,” David Aganzo tells this newspaper.
And finally, the question was clear. Does David Aganzo think that there will be a footballers’ strike?: «I am very into trying to reach agreements. The strike is a worker’s right. Unfortunately, when I was a player I had to go on strike because clubs with many problems due to lack of liquidity or very difficult situations could not be sustained in Spain. With many defaults 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 part of this sport. I am clear that UEFA and FIFA will have that mind of not only looking at the money and will realize that the footballers are serious, because we have always been serious. In the end many things can break around football. “This alarm is going to be decisive in making it a before and after.”
