Sport

Pele: Burn-out may cause shocks

13 April 2012

World Cup legend Pele has warned that many of soccer's leading players will be suffering from under-preparation or burnout-when the tournament starts on Friday.

On the day that the France team doctor Jean-Marcel Ferret blamed the World Cup's early start for the thigh injury that has ruled Zinedine Zidane out of the opening two games against Senegal and Uruguay, Pele voiced his fears that too many players will be exhausted from arduous seasons or not acclimatised.

Brazil legend Pele said:'I'm worried about the quality of the football. We'll have all the best players fully committed but I wonder if they'll be fully tuned up. Remember we start on May 31, one or two weeks earlier than usual. Teams may have skipped on preparation and we could see surprise results in the first round.'

Zidane had only 11 days between scoring Real Madrid's European Cup winner and injuring his thigh in France's warm-up against South Korea.

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Pele
Real Madrid
South Korea
Zinedine Zidane