DUBAI: With the sun having set on a football career stretching from the Hackney Marshes to the hallowed grounds of the UEFA Champions League, former manager Harry Redknapp recently swapped a dark winter day in southern England for a balmy evening in the UAE to chat with Arab News about sport science and football in Saudi Arabia and the region.
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The 78-year-old Englishman, who counts managerial spells at West Ham, Tottenham and Portsmouth on his resume, was guest of honor at the launch of the London Sport Institute in Dubai, a new hub for sport science education and research. Held inside the Burj Khalifa, the glittering launch saw Redknapp surrounded by towering professors, elite athletes, and students invested in biomechanic labs and performance analytics.
Yet the retired manager’s connection to this world — of data points and bespoke conditioning — comes through contrast rather than technical exposition. He speaks of football’s evolution not with spreadsheets and data, but rather sepia-tinged memories and yarns that make you smile.
With Premier League teams seemingly experiencing more key injuries than ever in recent years, it was put to him whether the players were being overworked. For example, Rodri, the Manchester City midfielder, was vocal in his criticism of the incessant demands on players as he amassed more than 6,000 minutes across 66 matches during the 2023-24 season. Soon after, he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury that sidelined him for eight months.
