The head coach of Uruguay national, Marcelo Bielsa, has insisted that football is gradually dying even though more people are now attracted to the game.
Marcelo Bielsa believes that the increased interest in football is not a sign of growth because what makes the sport more enjoyable (unpredictability) is gradually diminishing.
According to him, the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and other technological approaches to the game are killing the suspense in the game. Hence, over time, people will be bored of football and the increasing traffic to the game will dwindle drastically.
“I am sure that football is in a process of decline, that is to say, that more and more people are watching football, but it is becoming less and less attractive because what made it the best game in the world is not there”, Marcelo Bielsa told reporters in the United States as his team continues to shine in the 2024 Copa America.
The 68-year-old Argentine tactician added: “If you let a lot of people watch football, but you don’t protect the pleasure of what they watch, that favours business because the business is that a lot of people watch football.”
On the controversial application of the VAR to football, Marcelo Bielsa argued that the technology is doing more harm to the sport than good.
“For me, it does a lot of harm to football. This sport has a particularity: when it becomes completely predictable, it loses its appeal”, the former Leeds United coach said.
Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay are currently in the semi-final stage of the 2024 Copa America after knocking out Brazil 4-2 via penalties in the quarter-finals.
In the semi-final stage of the competition, they are billed to face in-form Colombia who disgraced Panama out of the tournament with a 5-0 scoreline. The semi-final clash will take place at 1 a.m. WAT on Thursday, July 11.
