Steroids in Soccer
Soccer is the most played and most watched sport in the world. This sport is a trillion dollar industry, making it one of the richest businesses in the world. Is it naive to think that professional footballers achieve their level naturally? The way I see it is that there's no way steroids are as common in soccer as people seem to think. Think about it - there are about 265 million professional soccer players (male and female). It's INSANE to think that there's doping in this sport and they're all hushed up about it. HGH's (human-growth hormone's) are the suspected steroids.
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| Barcelona's Triple Title Winning Squad 2008-2009 (Domestic, League and European Champions) |
Some players are more suspected than others. The most suspicious group of players is Barcelona's team from 2008-2012 and Spain's National Team. Not only has their coach, Pep Guardiola, failed drug tests more than once, but they broke records every year. This group of players (Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas, Pique, Villa, Busquets, etc) dominated the international scene for 6 years as well as the club scene. It's so easy to blame their success on performance-ehancing drugs, but if everyone was doping why wasn't any other group of players dominating? Personally I think these players were just on a different level than everyone else and people needed an excuse for their teams underperforming.
You guys might be thinking: If soccer players are on steroids why don't they look like it? This is because people confuse anabolic steroids with HGH's. The latter is thought to be popular in soccer because professionals play 90 minutes (often running more than 8km) and then do it again 3 days later! Any athlete would know how exhausting that is, especially when they do it all year long. Some teams even participate in multiple tournaments on top of their league. I think that despite all that, soccer is too big of a sport for steroids to be an issue. I don't think doping is as common as people want you to think, but I do think that drug tests are too relaxed in soccer and should be inforced.
SOURCE: http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/8770/guardiola-sentenced-to-seven-months-for-positive-dope-test
Well for one I was very surprised to read that soccer is a trillion dollar industry. I knew that it was popular but not at this point. One other thing that did catch me off guard was that there is another type of steroid other than the anabolic ones. But what exactly do anabolic steroids do? Do they boost levels of adrenaline? Do they give players more energy? Because if these steroids are clearly giving the ones who use it a far superior advantage against other teams than maybe drug tests should be taken a little more seriously
ReplyDeleteYou have good points but soccer is actually the most played sport and most watched sport in the world. Anabolic steroids are used in bodybuilding to get unnatrual phsyiques such as very heavy people with low body fat percentages. You're very right that it's unfair and it should be taken more seriously.
DeleteI really enjoy watching soccer, and it has never crossed my mind that the players I am watching could have taken steroids. You raise important questions about the subject that everyone should be thinking about. I also did not know that there was another kind of steroid that sport players are accused of taking. Great Work! I am looking forward to reading more posts!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback
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ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that so many soccer players take steroids, do you know any players that do take steroids, Also, don't you find it surprising that the number is that high even though all the rules FIFA enforces on the players. If it was my decision, I would fine, and potentially fire any player who takes them in my league.
ReplyDeleteNo I don't, thanks for the input friend.
DeleteI've noticed throughout some of your articles, you've used the term "doping" ; where exactly does the term come from? When I hear the word dope, I tend to think of dopamine (happiness hormone, essentially) but I don't quite see what this has to do with sports. Is there some type of connection I'm missing or is the use of the term completely unrelated?
ReplyDeleteHere's webster's definition
Delete"the illegal use of a drug (such as a steroid) to improve an athlete's performance"
I am not surprised why people would think that several soccer players take some sort of steroide to help improve the way they play the sport. I was really surprised with the coach Pep Guardialo because he was tested positive. Cool blog keep it up!
ReplyDeleteYea it makes sense because they play every third day for 90 minutes as if they've been resting all week. They run an average of 9km each! Soccer is really tiring. I was also surprised when I read about Pep because he has a big image in the sport so it's a big deal that he was tested positive.
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ReplyDeleteTalking from experience, I play soccer a lot and sometimes I have three games a day during a tournament and I get exhausted and sore. Like the time when I went to Australia. Now these athletes practices like 3 times a day and and have games every week and I would be suprised that these soccer players are doping in soccer! Great blog Chris!
ReplyDeleteTo think a sport as simple as soccer has athletes that use steroids is crazy.You would think the most popular sport in the world would be clean but I guess not. Thanks Chris for enlightening me on the steroid problem and how it is not very publicly advertised in the soccer scene.
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