Over the last 3 seasons Astana has played three times in European group stage action, once in the Champions League and twice in the Europa League. Over that period of time the Kazakhstan champion has played 16 home matches at the Astana Arena which included the likes of Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Olympiacos and Celtic with the hosts winning 8 matches and drawing the other 8. The club which Head Coach Stanimir Stoilov built has succeeded thanks to financial investment and quality foreigners but does the synthetic pitch also play a part in their success?
While the majority of football matches take place on natural grass which is where most youngsters hone their trade, the question must be asked if their is an advantage playing on a synthetic pitch. Although it is not common practice, there are a number of clubs around the world whose stadiums use artificial turf. Generally the reason is due to cold weather conditions which makes it difficult to grow natural grass and they use the synthetic surface as a substitute. Among the clubs that use artificial turf are many in Scandinavia and Russia, as well as France, Young Boys in Switzerland and Boavista from Portugal.
The Sport Science program on ESPN tested the differences between natural grass and synthetic turf. According to the study the ball jumped 28% higher on a synthetic surface meaning that the surface helped the ball maintain more speed making the game move at a faster pace. This figure will also have an impact on the players’ actions, which should be higher.
The program also discussed the issues with synthetic surfaces which contributes to more injuries including skin burns and the fact that playing on natural grass reduces the overall risk of injury by 10-14%. However, the main problems are knee injuries where the chances rise by about 50%.
There are a number of people who are familiar with the subject including Dr. Itzik Ben Melech and former Maccabi player Klemi Saban.
The first issue that was looked at by both was how the surface impacts the game itself. Saban explained: “I played on a synthetic pitch in an away match in Europa League qualifying when I was with Maccabi Netanya and it was the only time in my career that I did. When I was with Steaua Bucharest in Romania we trained many times on a high quality synthetic pitch. From what I remember, it was not the most comfortable of surfaces and the feel of the ball on the surface is different. I know that there are very high end artificial surfaces across Europe, for example in the French league, but it still is not the same thing. Since they were really good pitches, I can’t tell how big a difference there is between the synthetic and grass but you can feel the difference. Sometimes it’s hard to play a passing game because you can’t always receive the ball exactly how you would on real grass, so it takes time to get used to.”
Ben Melech, who is also the head of the Methodology and Medicine in Sports Department at the Wingate Institute gave his opinion: “The ball doesn’t move as it normally should and most players are used to playing on natural grass. The speed and intensity is also not the same while the accuracy may drop as well.”
So how do you prepare to play on such a surface? “You need to practice on the surface more than just once. The shoes and cleats are the same. Perhaps some of the players will choose to play with metal cleats because they may feel that they could slip, but there really is no difference,” Saban explained. “In Israel, the artificial surfaces are not the same quality as in Europe and if it’s allowed to play on these pitches I don’t think that there will be a very big difference.”
Despite the non-conventional surface, there are still some positives with playing on a synthetic pitch as Ben Melech explains: “I can say that the artificial turf adds to the players’ speed because the bounce is better. Just like an athletic track, synthetic will always be faster.”
Saban added: “After a practice or two you get used to it and some players might like it better. Technical players will have a shorter adjustment period and will have an easier time in my opinion. It’s a matter of getting used to the surface just like when you play on a grass surface that has holes in it or a wet pitch. The main difference is how you feel on the pitch itself. It may be a bit odd at first and the shoes won’t stick to the ground as usual.”
Ben Melech looked at the injury aspect and explained: “Synthetic surfaces are not healthy from an orthopedic perspective and the heavier the player the more prone to injuries he will be especially in the back and knees. When you are dealing with children it’s not a big deal but with older players it is and I’m sure some players will feel the difference. The problem with the surface is not so much running or handling the ball but when your foot lands on the surface which can cause a bigger shock than normal because the pitch has more bounce and is harder.”
