A lot of the old footballers we all know and love today were very passionate about the game. Their love and passion always show in the way they play for the team they represent, they put their sweat and blood into the game. After every game the players always look like people who actually played their heart out and not like the models we have today who are scared of getting their kit dirty.
When their team of representation losses a game you see the frustration and emotions shown on the faces of the players, this shows the love and passion they have for the game, back then players played every game like it was a Final. Wayne Rooney recalled an incident after Manchester United suffered an embarrassing defeat, he went into the locker room still fuming and annoyed about the loss but met Pogba and Lingard dancing and enjoying themselves after an embarrassing defeat, am not trying to say players should beat up themselves after a loss but at least show a bit of passion and love for the game and the team you represent.
The mentality of the old players and the modern players are completely different, the old players I see like warriors who go into every game with the intention of giving their all, while the modern players play sexy football.
Back then players play for their team and not their self, the team comes before self, there was no individuality but team work, but today players want to be the only shining star and only focus point in the team, they only care about their self and not the image of the team or the team's interest. We can all recall the situation of Kylian MbappĆ©, PSG was on a counter attack but he suddenly stopped running and got annoyed just because the ball was squared to another PSG player and not him. These just shows how players are now egotistical and lack respect for their team. You see strikers today whose team lost a game but they don't really care about the loss as long as they recorded a goal in the game and I might not be talking about a certain Liverpool strikerš.
Players back then has only one club which they support and truly love and represent no matter how "small" the team might be they still stay faithful to the team giving their best week in week out, but today a player love for a team depends on how much they are willing to put in his pocket, every club which can break the bank for them is the club they claim has always been their club from childhood, they kiss the badge of a team which they represent and claim to love since they were little but when a bigger team who offers more for them buys them they still kiss the badge and still claim they also supported the team since their childhood, these just shows that they only love the money not the team or the game.
The rivalry back then was unmatched, the atmosphere and passion was insane to see,
Players come out of every game looking like soldiers who are returning from war, these was what made many of us love the game so much, but today so called strikers or defenders don't want their body to touch the grass.
Alot of players now are not ready to give their all for their teams, they are just self centred, egotistical and arrogant, a lot of them earn way more than they play, you see a player who wouldn't even make the bench back then earning millions of dollars a month while contributing absolutely nothing to the team.
Club coaches and owners are not doing enough to bring back passion players once had for the game, you see clubs now giving ridiculous deals to players which gives them a lot of power which a player shouldn't have making the players behave stupidly knowing fully well that the club won't hold them accountable. Till coaches, club owners and even captains wake up to the fact that the team is bigger than any player or individual the players will continue to be undisciplined and the passion and love for the game will continue to fall because the focus of the players will be only on money and status rather than love and passion for the game.