In an interview with Voetbal International magazine, Dutch soccer star Van Basten expressed his strong dissatisfaction and opposition to the current situation in soccer where the summer window remains open after the season has already begun. He believes that this status quo has been going on for two decades, but that transfer activity should all be completed by mid-August to ensure that players have enough time for pre-season preparations and to improve the quality of play throughout the season.
Van Basten pointed out that if the transfer window remains open after the start of the season, clubs may face the dilemma of suddenly losing key players during matches, which not only affects the team's tactical deployment and performance, but also adversely affects the players' psychological state. As an example, he said that some clubs may even sell as many as three players after the start of the season, a situation he considered "crazy".
As FIFA's director of technical development, Van Basten has repeatedly made suggestions to adjust the closing time of the summer window, but unfortunately, these suggestions have not been taken seriously enough and adopted. He emphasized that in order to improve the situation, consideration could be given to delaying the start of the season in order to better coordinate the schedule of matches and the deadline of the transfer window. This would give the players more time to prepare physically and tactically so that they are in the best shape to meet the challenges of the new season.
Van Basten's appeal has undoubtedly triggered deep thoughts in the soccer world about the transfer system and seasonal arrangements. In the increasingly competitive modern soccer, how to balance the transfer needs of clubs and the season preparation of players has become an urgent problem. Perhaps, Van Basten's suggestion can provide us with a new perspective and direction of thinking.
