Where Football Explains the World Tackles

by Alex Bellos

  4. Continuity

  Athletic mainly promotes players from its youth team, who already know the area, the tactics and their teammates. Not selling players can be more important than buying new ones!

  WE WISH YOU A SMELLY CHRISTMAS

  Catalans have a strange Christmas tradition: they have small figurines depicting a peasant doing a poo in their Nativity scenes. The tradition dates back to the eighteenth century, but no one is quite sure why it started. Some think the pooers, known as caganers, are fertilizing the earth, while others think it symbolizes equality: no matter how famous or successful you might be, you still need to poo. In recent years, Catalan shops have sold celebrity pooers, including members of royalty, American presidents and, of course, Barcelona players! Poo-ey!

  POLITICS QUIZ

  1. What does the Spanish word real mean in Real Madrid?

  a) Rogue

  b) Royal

  c) Real

  d) Rebel

  2. What is the Guggenheim Bilbao, the city’s most famous landmark?

  a) A factory that makes footballs

  b) A school where the uniform is the full Athletic Bilbao kit

  c) A museum of modern art

  d) A church where the organ player is the Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper

  3. What is celebrated on 11 September every year in Barcelona?

  a) Johan Cruyff’s birthday

  b) Ham Day

  c) National Day of Catalonia

  d) National Football Day

  4. What is the Basque sport of bale-lifting?

  a) Lifting a bale of hay as many times as possible in a set time

  b) Stealing as many hay bales as you can from a farm before the farmer spots you

  c) Squeezing as many hay bales as possible in a lift

  d) Lifting Gareth Bale as many times as possible in a set time

  5. What happens at the annual La Tomatina festival in the Spanish town of Buñol?

  a) Over 20,000 people throw tomatoes at each other in the town square

  b) All greengrocers give out free tomatoes for a day

  c) Everyone in Buñol must wear something red for the day

  d) People called Tom or Tina come from all over the world to take part in a huge outdoor disco

  Wakey, wakey! Let’s start this lesson with a question: what does everyone need to perform at their best, whether it’s Harry Kane getting ready to play in a World Cup game, Alex playing dominoes with Pelé or Ben running with his dog in the park? No dozing at the back! The answer is: sleep.

  Everyone needs a good night’s sleep and in this lesson we are going to learn how to get the most out of our zzzzzs. Professional footballers have to play matches at all hours: at lunchtime, in the afternoon and even late at night. They need to be getting enough sleep to be alert no matter what time it is.

  We’re going to find out what tricks they use to get the best night’s sleep before a big game. We’ll also meet the man who tells Real Madrid’s players what pyjamas to wear. And the animal that sleeps for only two hours every day.

  Rise and shine!

  SLEEPY HEADS

  When we go to sleep, we feel our mind slowly drifting off … and off … and off… Meanwhile, our body is getting to work. Because when you sleep, lots is happening.

  The heart slows, blood pressure lowers, the body’s temperature drops and the blood supply to the muscles increases. This helps restore our energy levels when we wake.

  Chemicals are released to repair injured cells in the body. This helps the body protect itself against illness and recover from injury.

  The brain lists all the things that have happened that day in the part that stores memories.

  Sleep is our daily recovery and rejuvenation routine. Recently, scientists have discovered just how important sleep is, not only to our health but also to our happiness. They say that the right amount of sleep can help us live longer, be happier, more driven and creative and even more honest. Tell that to your parents when they try to wake you up!

  Sleep can make a massive difference to sportspeople too. Footballers who sleep soundly have better reaction times and decision-making skills, and also recover more quickly from injury than those who toss and turn. Before we meet the man who teaches footballers how to sleep, let’s learn about what happens when we are counting sheep… Baa-ck to bed!

  FIVE-A-NIGHT

  When you’re asleep, your body goes through a cycle of four different stages. Each stage serves a specific purpose, and each complete cycle lasts around 90 minutes – the same time as a football match!

  You go through many sleep cycles in a night. Doctors say that four year olds need about twelve hours sleep a night, eight to twelve year olds need about ten hours and adults need about eight hours.

  But it is not just about the number of hours, it is also about the quality of the sleep. Deep sleep is the most restorative sleep for your body, and the longer that period is, the better you will feel the next day. Babies spend a lot of time in deep sleep. But the older you become, the longer your light sleep cycle lasts. This might be why your grandparents complain of having a bad night’s sleep.

  So if you’re a professional footballer, how do you get the most out of your zzzzzs?

  SLEEP DIARY

  Stage 1: TRANSITIONAL PHASE

  The mind drops off. The eyes might roll. The muscles might jerk as you enter a light sleep.

  FUNCTION: To prepare the body for sleep.

  Stage 2: LIGHT SLEEP

  The muscles relax, the mind rests and the heart-rate slows down. You can be easily woken from this stage.

  FUNCTION: To repair damaged cells.

  Stage 3: DEEP SLEEP

  This is the most refreshing part of sleep. Breathing slows. The body is still. Sometimes your limbs will move, so this is when sleepwalking, talking in your sleep or bed-wetting can occur.

  FUNCTION: This is the key stage for your body and mind to recover. The brain gets a reboot so it can learn afresh the next day. If you are a child, this is when your body grows.

  Stage 4: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) SLEEP

  The brain is active and revitalized. The body is still apart from your eyelids, which flutter. The heart-rate and blood pressure increase. You dream. The length of this stage increases with each cycle, so longer dreams occur towards the end of sleep.

  FUNCTION: To store memories, as the brain processes our emotional experiences.

  ASLEEP ON THE JOB

  Nick Littlehales was working for a mattress company when he wrote to former Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson, offering to help players recover from matches with sleep advice. Ferguson was keen to know more. Littlehales suggested that defender Gary Pallister, who was suffering from back problems, change his mattress. His advice also helped Ryan Giggs play for United even after he had turned 40.

  That’s how Littlehales started his new job as a sleep coach for the world’s biggest football teams, including Chelsea, Real Madrid and the England national team.

  Our body regulates its own feelings of sleepfulness and wakefulness according to natural light. When it is dark outside, we are more likely to want to sleep. When it’s light, we want to be active. Littlehales visits each player’s bedroom to make sure they have a good set of curtains and don’t have too many distractions. One player he visited had four different flatscreen TVs on his bedroom wall, while another had a huge lit-up aquarium. Lights out!

  TEACHING RONALDO TO SLEEP

  When Littlehales was at Real Madrid, he knew that Cristiano Ronaldo was looking to improve all aspects of his performance, including his recovery and sleep. He gave tips to the players and coaches at Real Madrid and is proud that Ronaldo has adopted the principles of his advice. This is what he told European football’s most successful club:

  Switch off all devices – such as laptops, smartphones and tablets – over an hour before you go to sleep. The blue light from these devices triggers brain waves, which makes it harder to go to sleep.

  M
ove from a warm, light area to a cooler, darker one. This recreates the everyday process of sunrise and sunset, as your brain slowly relaxes from hyper-awake mode.

  Avoid fatty or sugary foods in the evening as they take longer to digest. A balanced diet, which includes carbohydrates such as pasta, and protein such as chicken and nuts, will improve sleep quality.

  Sleep in the foetal position, which is curled up like a baby in their mother’s stomach. This protects your vital organs. Lie on your non-dominant side. If you are right-handed, then lie on your left side: this position leaves your strong side free.

  MORNING LARKS AND NIGHT OWLS

  We’re all different – and this is also true when it comes to sleep. Alex likes to get up at a time so early that most of us are still asleep. He’s a morning lark. Ben prefers to go to bed later and wake up later in the morning. He’s a night owl. What are you?

  Your preference for certain sleeping patterns is based on an internal clock inside your body. This is known as your body clock, or circadian rhythm. Studies have shown that sportspeople reach their peak performance depending on their circadian rhythms. This information can be important for coaches as it will help them get the best out of their team.

  SLEEPING PATTERN BEST PERFORMANCE

  Morning lark 6-7 hours after waking up

  Night Owl 11 hours after waking up

  SIESTA FIESTA

  We didn’t always save sleep for one long session at the end of the day. Historians believe humans used to sleep for a bit, then get up in the middle of the night to do jobs, before going back to sleep again. Some experts believe that this is still the best way for the body to regularly recover. In certain cultures, particularly in hot countries like Spain or Greece, a midday nap is normal. This is known as a siesta. Swansea City have even encouraged their players to have daytime naps by installing sleep pods at the training-ground.

  CLEAN ROOM, CLEAN MIND

  Some people count sheep, others read until they drop their books. But England’s record goalscorer Wayne Rooney used to put on the vacuum cleaner before he went to sleep! The repetitive and monotonous sound it made, known as white noise, drowned out other sounds that might keep him awake. When that didn’t work, he would use his girlfriend’s hairdryer – sometimes until it broke!

  SLEEPOVER

  The majority of athletes find it difficult to fall asleep before a big event. One club, Southampton, used to take custom-made mattresses to hotels for away games, so players would be used to the beds despite the unfamiliar environment. Another club, Bournemouth, give their players a sleep pack containing amber-lensed glasses, an eye mask and a small torch. The glasses, to be worn two hours before going to sleep, block out the harmful blue light from TVs and devices. The eye mask keeps out the light once the players are asleep and does not touch the eyelids, which can wake them up. The torch gives enough light so players, if they wake in the middle of the night, can go to the loo without turning on the main lights.

  COUNTING SHEEP

  Animals also need different amounts of sleep. Look at how long certain species sleep for in a 24-hour cycle:

  PSHE QUIZ

  1. The dream stage of sleep is called REM. What does REM stand for?

  a) Really Extraordinary Memories

  b) Rest, Exhale, Motionless

  c) Rapid Eye Movement

  d) Ready for Exciting Missions

  2. How does Manchester City keep their recovery rooms dark, so players can rest properly?

  a) All the lightbulbs are removed

  b) There are blackout curtains over the windows

  c) The rooms are underground

  d) They make the players wear blindfolds

  3. What was French midfielder Julien Faubert accused of doing when playing a match for Real Madrid against Villarreal in 2009?

  a) Missing the game as he fell asleep in his car on the way to the stadium

  b) Falling asleep in the dressing-room at half-time

  c) Falling asleep on the substitutes’ bench

  d) Falling asleep on the pitch as soon as the final whistle blew

  4. How long did Ghana midfielder Michael Essien, a Premier League title winner with Chelsea, say he needed to sleep for every night?

  a) 4 hours

  b) 8 hours

  c) 10 hours

  d) 14 hours

  5. What causes snoring?

  a) Your nose farting

  b) Lying in an uncomfortable position

  c) Your throat or nasal airways vibrating as you breathe

  d) Reading Football School before bed

  FOOTBALL SCHOOL

  VISIT TO FOREST GREEN ROVERS FOOTBALL CLUB

  Dear Parent/Guardian,

  Your child is going on a school trip. The topics that will be covered:

  Burping cows

  Farting bugs

  Flushing toilets

  Mode of transport: electric bus

  Please bring: notepad made from recycled paper, biodegradable rubbish bag

  Don’t bring: plastic packaging, pets, footballs

  A lunch of fungus will be provided. Water will be available all day, served in recycled plastic bottles.

  Kind regards,

  Alex and Ben

  I give permission for _____________ to take part in the school trip and promise that they will limit the singing of football songs to the bus trip, refrain from playing football using cowpats and will make a list of green goals at the end of the day.

  Parent/Guardian signature: _____________.

  School trip information pack

  We’re travelling today to Nailsworth, a small town in the Gloucestershire countryside. It’s the home of Forest Green Rovers, a club which in 2017 was promoted to the English Football League for the first time in their history.

  Forest Green is very different from any other club – not just in England but anywhere in the world. They like to do things their own way. In fact if you look out of the bus window, you’ll see they are so concerned about being different, that the name of the road that leads to their stadium is called Another Way!

  Forest Green want to do things differently by looking after the planet as much as possible.

  FOOTBALL TO THE RESCUE

  Forest Green wants to save the world! But before we get off the bus and begin our visit to the club, let’s look at two reasons why the world needs saving in the first place.

  PROBLEM 1: CLIMATE CHANGE

  The world is heating up, which is causing many problems. The ice at the North and South Poles is melting, which means that polar bears may soon lose their homes. We can’t bear it! And, because the water from the melting ice is going into the world’s oceans, the height of the sea, or sea level, is rising. If the sea level continues to rise, many villages, towns and cities all over the world could flood and eventually go underwater. Glug!

  The major cause of climate change is the burning of fuels such as petrol and coal. (These substances are known as fossil fuels, because they are made over millions of years from dead plants and animals being crushed and heated underground.) When fossil fuels are burned, they create a gas – carbon dioxide – that ends up trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, making the planet hotter.

  PROBLEM 2: PLASTIC POLLUTION

  Plastic is fantastic! It is long-lasting, cheap and useful for so many things. But these reasons also make plastic really bad for the environment. For example, huge amounts are thrown away every day, and since it is long-lasting and does not rot, it ends up in rivers, on beaches and in the oceans, where it is a danger to sharks, fish, whales and other marine animals. The plastic problem is drastic!

  CHANGE THE WORLD

  We could reduce the problem of climate change if we stopped burning petrol and coal. And we could greatly reduce the problem of plastic pollution if we stopped using things made from plastic.

  Sounds easy! But it is impractical and unrealistic to think we can instantly give up petrol, coal and plastics. We’d also have to give up travellin
g by plane, ship and most cars, since they use petrol. And we use plastics every day in hundreds of ways, from your toothbrush to your water bottle. Our way of life relies on substances that are damaging the world.

  But we need to look after our planet better than we have been doing. We are going to have to change our behaviour by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and throwing away less stuff that may be harmful to animals.

  Forest Green Rovers are leading the way in doing both these things – and more. Let’s start our first worksheet and find out how.

  WORKSHEET 1: ENERGY

  The electricity that we use when we switch on the lights comes from many different energy sources. In the UK, about half of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels in power stations. Fossil fuels are non-renewable, which means that they will run out and take millions of years to be replaced. But electricity can also be made from renewable sources, which will not run out and can be used again and again. One shining example is the sun!

  A solar panel is a shiny panel that absorbs sunlight and turns it into electricity. The New Lawn, the Forest Green stadium, has 170 solar panels on its roof, which provide the club with free electricity.