Manchester United and ex-Real Madrid star Raphael Varane reveals the game through concussions
The former star of Real Madrid Raphael Varane revealed that he played two of the most crucial games of his career with a concussion, although it was not known before the game. Concussion checks have become commonplace in soccer, but Varane said the incidents happened long before the games he suffered.
One of the key matches he would have missed was against Manchester City, in the Champions League Round of 16 meeting with Real Madrid in 2020. He revealed to L'Equipe that before the match he felt a feeling of fog, as brought by MD.
“During that game he had a concussion. I felt it from the warm-up and I said to myself: 'wake up'. I almost wanted to hit myself. During the match, my first three balls were technically clean, but I was too slow. I could not concentrate, I was like a spectator. The match went badly for me and, in retrospect, I realized that it was related to the shock I suffered.”
It was not a good performance from Varane, and Real Madrid fell 2-1, exiting the competition. Both games Manchester United The mentioned defender was during his time at Real Madrid.
“I have never missed these types of important matches, on the contrary, they are usually the ones in which I can be more focused. At the beginning, I took the elimination personally, even if collectively we did not have a good day. I I questioned a lot and finally understood that these mistakes did not fall from the sky.”
“During a league match against Getafe, I received a ball in the head from a corner and had to leave the field. I followed a five-day recovery protocol without much effort. Then we had a few days of rest and I remember feeling very tired, but I thought it was related to the usual decompression at the end of the season.”
Varane also suffered the same six years earlier, when Germany beat France in Brazil in 2014.
“I had many concussions. If we look back at three of the worst games of my career, there are at least two in which I had suffered a concussion a few days before: against Germany in the quarter-finals of the World Cup 2014 and with Real Madrid against Manchester City round of 16 of the Champions League 2020”.
“If someone had spoken to me at that moment, I don't even know if I would have been able to answer. I don't remember the game after this shock. I feel fatigue in my eyes. Looking back, I wonder: if I had knowing it's a concussion, would he have said it, even if he didn't want to play this game? I don't even know if there were tests ten years ago. How can I measure at that moment my ability to play or not against Germany in the quarter-finals? You can't blame the doctors either, it's a difficult situation. not complicated. In 10 years, I never wanted to talk about it because it can sound like an excuse and I never I wanted it to look like that, because it's not.”
In the UK there has been increased awareness and attention surrounding concussion protocols and the potential adverse outcomes for footballers later in life in relation to Alzheimer's disease. However, in Spain, this has been a less present discourse, and there is still no substitution of concussion in football in general.
