Players, coaches, and clubs are struggling to navigate the various challenges associated with the increased number of games being played each season. Between preseason tours, international “breaks”, and larger tournaments, even top clubs like Bayern Munich are vulnerable to the wear and tear.
The additional revenue is funding larger salaries and transfer fees, especially at the bigger clubs. Fans, players, and clubs (basically everybody who isn’t FIFA or UEFA) support a lighter schedule. In a recent press conference, Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann offered some interesting points of his own.
“I’ve often stressed that I don’t want to constantly complain about the schedule,” Nagelsmann said (via @iMiaSanMia). “In the end, the many games finance the expensive sport.”
“On the other hand, you have to look at what kind of injuries they are,” Nagelsmann added. “If they were all reactions to overexertion, we could talk about it. Fülle (Niclas Füllkrug) has had them for ages, even during the break, there was not much evidence of overexertion. David Raum twisted ankle, which also had nothing to do with overexertion. With Henrichs, we don’t know for sure, he has had back problems for a while. But it can’t be a burden either, when I look at the minutes he played in Leipzig.”
“There won’t be fewer games in the future, but more,” Nagelsmann concluded. “We need to talk a bit about how the breaks are structured. In the NBA, players play around 80 games and also have to travel many kilometers. But they have a very long break, the NFL also has a long break. We don’t have that in football.”
It is important that Nagelsmann acknowledges injuries as a natural part of the game and overexertion is not always the culprit. His proposal of longer break periods would allow players to recover from nagging injuries rather than force themselves back into action.
Clubs will soon be forced to prioritize competitions and lower payout tournaments like Nations League or domestic cups will become watered down versions.
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