Man In The Middle (Episode 3) takeaways
Man In The Middle (Episode 3) takeaways
E3 focuses on the start of the knockout phase of the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League season, with the referees having to deal with more than just football as COVID-19 sweeps across Europe...
My takeaways:
Anthony Taylor: “From a psychological perspective, all we always aim to do is be the very, very best we can be. And the only way we can do that is to be totally honest.”
Werner Helson (UEFA fitness coach):
Responsible for physical preparation of European referees
Elite referee in CL runs a total distance of 6-8 miles
Most impressive is sprint speed (12-13 miles per hour)
~1,800 changes in direction and speed per game. That’s a change of direction/speed every ~2 seconds.
“We don’t need to motivate them [UEFA referees]. They are already motivated. A lot. So we are very lucky because we are doing what we want to do and love to do. They are very responsible.”
Comparing physical demands between Champions League matches and domestic league matches: the amount of time spent in high-intensity zone (over 85% of maximum heart rate) is 15 minutes more in CL compared to domestic league. CL matches are much more intensive!
Know a soccer ref? Feel free to share this with them 💙