Well, that has more or less already happened at the top clubs in world football.
Debates about the busy schedule in world football has raged on for many years now, but the creation of the expanded Club World Cup has raised it to new levels. Worse, the Nations League threatens to leave a real scheduling conflict with the CWC. If Bayern Munich, for example, were to achieve its’ dream and qualify for the Champions League final, held in their own stadium, the club’s German (and French and Portuguese) players would play the final on May 31, go to their national teams, play the Nations League semifinals on June 4, play the third place match/final on June 8th and then go to America to play in the Club World Cup on June 15th. So much for a summer break, eh?
When this issue was mentioned to Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen, however, he claimed that the players would like the schedule: “I think you should look at it from the players’ perspective: They want to play in the [Nations League] Final Four, and competitive athletes always want to go as far as possible,” the former Adidas CEO said, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “Everyone is proud to be a national team player. Many of them even say, “We’d rather play three times a week than train.” – We’re just as excited about the Club World Cup.”
Well…hopefully the players would be able to withstand the toll on their bodies. As we now know, Bayern Munich was dealt a blow with a season ending injury to Alphonso Davies and an issue for Dayot Upamecano that will keep him out as long as six weeks.
Looking for final thoughts and analysis of Germany’s UEFA Nations League quarterfinal tie vs. Italy? What about an update on where things stand as Bayern Munich ramps back up — and the latest news on Florian Wirtz and his potential move to Bayern? Awesome, then we have you covered with the latest edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works Show, which is available on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
Be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @bfwinnn, @IredahlMarcus, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more.
