Sky Sports is one of the only news sources that is properly understanding the newer generation. They have been doing very well on YouTube, amassing over 4.5 Million subscribers, and raking in millions of views on their videos which often involve a fun game or football challenges.
One such challenge they have is “Joe’s FIFA Rating” which is a video series where coaches or players from the Premier League come and train Joe, an amateur player, and Sky Sports broadcaster, and rate him as they are rated on their FIFA cards.
The latest player to star in this series is the one and only Kevin De Bruyne. KDB’s job was to train Joe in shooting and finishing and rate him along those lines. As hilarious as the video was, there was one incident which caught the eyes and ears of eagle-eyed fans.
At around the 7:20 minute mark, Joe asked for an inhaler because he was getting extremely out of breath. At this point, KDB made a passing joke about how he can “understand Klopp now”.
The Context?
Not too long ago, a rumour spread around the Premier League circles that Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp were using inhalers to give their players an undue advantage.
According to an unknown source who was allegedly close to the club, Liverpool’s 35-Man Squad had 22 players listed as asthmatic, which meant they could use asthmatic medication and inhalers, like Salbumotol, which increases oxygen intake.
For people who have normal breathing, this could mean more stamina as they can maintain their breath for longer. In 2010, Salbumotol was added to the World Anti-Doping List, but it is still allowed in certain regulated quantities.
These were all, of course, just rumours and conspiracy theories. There was no basis for the claim that so many players were asthmatic and also that any player was using inhalers for more than the required dosage. The idea that inhalers enhance athlete performance is also questionable, to say the least, as some studies have shown the opposite.
Coming back to the Belgian, this reference he made about Klopp right after Joe talked about inhalers was hilarious, and on first look, it is obvious that he is referencing the conspiracy. Manchester City were beaten to the title by the Kop a few years ago, stopping their incredible three-year run of championships. The wounds of the loss could possibly be deep enough for him to remember the issues that surrounded it.
The Reality?
As good as this storyline looks, it is unfortunately not the case. In reality, what De Bruyne is referencing is a lot more straightforward than the conspiracy was looking to be.
Two months ago, Klopp made an appearance in the same series. The task given to Klopp was to rate Joe on his physical attributes, like stamina and aggression. When the video ended, Klopp gave him an overall physical score of 45, which is very low for the Premier League standards.
It was this incredibly low rating that KDB was referring to when he said “I understand Klopp now”.
In fact, if you rewind a few seconds to around the 7:05 mark, you can see how he sees the rating and says the same thing but in context – “Now I see why he gave you a 45”.
Disappointing, but still funny. The series by Sky Sports is hilarious, and both Klopp and Kevin videos have given unmissable moments like these. Would be incredible if he actually meant the conspiracy though.