Gianluca Vialli ‘open-minded’ about 2022 World Cup in Qatar

Sport360 staff 17:16 19/11/2014
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  • Footballing great: Italy legend Gianluca Vialli believes player performances at last year's World Cup in Brazil were affected by the time of the tournament.

    Juventus and Italy legend Gianluca Vialli believes holding the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the winter could see improved performances from the players involved in Qatar.

    Fears over the searing heat in the Gulf state in the summer months have led to FIFA suggesting its quadrennial showpiece is held in winter for the first time, with January and February or November and December put forward as potential dates.  

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    The winter proposal has been met unfavourably by many, including the Premier League and a number of European clubs, whose traditional August-May season would be disrupted.

    However, Vialli – who represented Italy at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups – feels that holding the competition mid-season has a number of benefits, notably that the players involved will be fitter and fresher than when they play at the end of a grueling campaign.

    “I'm excited because it's something new and fresh,” Vialli told Sport360. “Football is a global business and it’s only good in places and countries where in the past you wouldn’t normally consider.

    “If it’s in December or January so be it, let’s give it a go. It might be wonderful, better than playing a World Cup at the end of the season.

    “It might be good to break up the season in two halves. There are so many pros, and a few cons, but if you don’t want to give it a go and think it’s terrible for football and don’t consider it, then it’s wrong.

    “At the World Cup in Brazil, I saw players who were not in top form. Some of them trained them too much, some not enough, but it was affected by the season and the time of the tournament.”

    * Read Alam Khan’s full exclusive interview with Gianluca Vialli in Thursday’s edition of Sport360.

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