'Ball bounces like a rabbit'

BBC News

4 days ago

Paris St-Germain manager Luis Enrique has criticised the pitches at the Club World Cup and said the "ball bounced like a rabbit" during his side's win against the Seattle Sounders.The match was played at Seattle's Lumen Field, home of MLS side the Sounders and NFL team the Seattle Seahawks, with the stadium's artificial turf replaced with a temporary hybrid grass for the tournament.The Spaniard says football's world governing body Fifa need to "bear in mind" the quality of match and training pitches if it wants the Club World Cup to be "the most high-level competition in the world"."I wouldn't imagine an NBA court full of holes," the 55-year-old said after his side won 2-0 to secure top spot in Group B in the tournament, which is being solely hosted in the United States."What I really care about is the state of the field of play, and I say this on the day we've won."The ball bounces almost like if it were jumping around like a rabbit."
PSG won the Champions League at the end of May with a dominant victory over Inter Milan in Munich to complete a European and domestic treble.Enrique admitted his team have had to adjust the way they play since their arrival in the US because of pitch conditions."Lumen Field is an example, it used to be artificial turf and now it is natural grass and they have to water it by hand - they did so at half-time but the field was dry again in 10 minutes," he added. "For our game this a problem. It's very different to European pitches. The grass is different and therefore it is not so easy to have the same smoothness to play our style - but we did adapt well and we're very happy."
Concerns for the World Cup
There are fewer than 12 months before the Fifa World Cup takes place across Canada, Mexico and United States.Real Madrid's Jude Belligham also criticised the pitches at the Club World Cup after his side's 3-1 win over Pachuca."The pitches aren't great at all. It holds up the ball, the ball barely bounces," said the England midfielder."It's tough on the knees as well. Hopefully, there's someone who will look at that going into the World Cup next year."Five of the venues from this year - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Hard Rock Stadium, MetLife Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field and Lumen Field - will also host World Cup matches.All five are used for NFL stadiums and use artificial turf but will have real grass installed in time for the World Cup to meet Fifa requirements.The Club World Cup is not the first time the standard of pitches in the US have caused problems.Players were critical of conditions at last summer's Copa America, with Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez saying the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was a "disaster" following a win over Canada.Tournament organiser Conmebol defended the pitches, with director of competitions Fredirico Nantes saying "the grass in Atlanta posed absolutely no threat".The stadium will host eight matches at the World Cup next summer, including a semi-final.
The state of the pitches is the latest problem that has been raised at the Club World Cup.There have been concerns about the weather throughout the competition, with extreme heat causing problems for the players.Borussia Dortmund substitutes watched the first half of their win over Mamelodi Sundowns from the dressing room because of the temperature, with their manager Niko Kovac saying conditions were "like a sauna".Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has said his side have struggled to train in Philadelphia, as temperatures reached 37C. BBC Sport has contacted Fifa for comment.