Since November 28, 2023, Jules Koundé has posted a simply staggering regularity: he totaled, before his May injury, more than 100 consecutive games played with FC Barcelona, which is equivalent to 6,522 minutes played in the year 2024 according to the FifPro report. Such a level of presence on the ground, almost every week for two years, clearly exceeds the simple notion of a reliable player to graze that of a superman. This crazy cadence confirms why international bodies are arrested. “We are not machines”said Koundé at a press conference just a year ago. And yet, on the field, the French defender continues to respond, tirelessly, without breathing, match after match. The extreme character of his calendar is all the more illustrated if we add his record of minutes played on the 2024 calendar year, with 5,872 minutes, a record figure worldwide. This confirms that the French right side is not only omnipresent, but also unstoppable-a frantic trial race between club competitions and national selections.
We understand better why Koundé protests, why the players now publicly evoke exhaustion, and why this frantic rhythm imposes a serious questioning of the sustainability of such a agenda for the health of the players. Besides, Koundé had a real physical glitch at the end of last season and his series was therefore suddenly stopped, as a sign: “It was frustrating, it happened at the most important time of the season, when we played a semi-final of the Champions League. Obviously it frustrated me, it happens just after a high with the victory against Madrid in the cup. This is the limit to play as much. I try to control as many things as possible but at one point the body said to stop. The sequence was very fast. Frustrating but I got well, it's part of everyday life to injure yourself“He said at a press conference with the Blues on Wednesday. To measure the magnitude of the load, just remember that a “standard” professional footballer plays an average of 45 to 50 games per season – Koundé has long exceeded them, without break.
Koundé's new warning cry
The case of Jules Koundé alone illustrates the excesses of an ever more overloaded calendar. According to Cies Football Observatory, the French defender is among the most used players in the world: “There are things to improve, opinions to consider, players, coaches but also technical staffs, all the people who work around football and are also a little victim of this disproportionate pace. It's a whole system. Having a lot of matches … In life, when we abuse certain things, we do not give the same importance, is overconsumption. Other things to change? Beyond the calendars, I don't know. This could be certain rules … In Liga, we start to really count the number of seconds when the goalkeeper keeps the ball in his hands. But already having a little fewer games. I think that this Champions League formula, which certainly added matches, was a success in terms of show». The FIFPro, in its reports on the workload of players, insists on the disturbing accumulation of minutes and the frequency of close encounters.
This lack of rest mechanically weakens the health of the players and increases the risk of injury, while compromising their longevity at the highest level. If his endurance impresses, his situation illustrates above all the problem denounced by many internationals: an infernal rate imposed by a calendar that even the protection organizations of players today consider unbearable: “Having few days of gathering, it allows us to be even more focused. We have less time to work so you have to be even more effective and present. It's already a good thing that we no longer play three games, but two. I feel very good. See you almost 27 years old, I surely enter my best years. I was very happy with what we did in a club last season, to have greatly contributed. There is no room for relaxation, it goes very quickly. I'm always very hungry, I'm approaching this season with the same desire to win, perform and improve myself». For Koundé, this infernal rhythm is not only a physical risk: it could also help to lose interest in football, if the show is at the expense of players.
