There has never been a football season like the one now with the World Cup in Qatar, when clubs’ schedules are split in two. It’s a saturated history program where the Argentine champion wanders around Buenos Aires while the others go on a trip to play the King’s Cup. With almost no rest, World Cup players must reintegrate into the first competitive level with the resulting physical and emotional risk. Those who aren’t summoned have a chance, but will need to make up for the lack of rhythm after the ‘pre-season’.

These are some of the results they came up with for El Peródico de Esapaña from the Prensa Ibérica group: Luis Casais, Professor and researcher, coach, or member of the Association of Physical Trainers (APF) at the University of Vigo; Y david fairy, President of the Spanish Federation of Sports Psychology (FEPD). Never straying from high-performance football, two subject matter experts are immersed in a split and unprecedented scenario that could change the order of goals and locations where the heroes arrive at the World Cup.

from cup to cup

The first thing to do is to put the chronology in order. The season started on August 10. European Super Cup. Two days later, the first league day was played, which was suspended on November 10 to make room for the Qatar event, which ended on Sunday, December 18. Nearly 48 hours later, the second round of the King’s Cup kicked off with the First Division teams competing. The situation is repeated in England, where the EFL Cup is activated. return League We have to wait until Thursday, December 29., did not stop during the Second World Cup. Thus begins a football spree: 12 days of matches from 21 December to 8 January.

The cross-competition marathon for the 2022/2023 academic year will end With the dispute of the final on June 10 Champions in Istanbul Ataturk Olympic Stadium. “Players will have to perform on unfamiliar dates with the demand that this entails, and moreover—due to the saturation of the calendar at Christmas. It’s a situation that needs to be managed. To find optimal fitness,” says sports psychologist David Peris. “They just finished the World Cup, they need to be good again because they’re playing important goals.”

In terms of physical preparation, the planning for the season has been challenging. “The interruption of the World Cup resulted in two major divisions or ‘macro-cycles’ in which teams had to repeat the structure applied all year: prepare, compete, rest; namely: pre-season, season, first round or vacations,” he says. Professor Luis Casais, who thinks from this point of view, “For 90% of the players, this year’s schedule structure is more beneficial than a five-week pre-summer season and a 9- or 10-month competition.”

Time of the ‘Strangers’

However, the remaining 10%, corresponding to those called up for Qatar, will “double demand to qualify for a World Cup in the midst of competitive periods, as they will return to their leagues partially exhausted and fight another five months.” . On the other hand, the physical trainer “helps them better manage their physical condition, although they have lost certain adaptations in the new preparation period with non-World Cup players: some teams healed injured or overloaded teams and others gave them a physical ‘reload’ that would give them a good base for the months to come.“.

According to Luis Casais of the Association of Physical Trainers, this setup situation predicts that “teams with almost no international players, ‘outsiders’, may be better off than some ‘greats’ who train with a small number of athletes, mostly as reserves and to get some rest. or take the overloaded players who need rest”. To this question, David Peris adds a nuance: “These footballers are training in atypical situations, without goals, in a semi-vacation state compared to stressful scenarios that they will experience again”.

Except for some exceptional tours, As Betis did for Latin America (with disastrous results, proving disconnection), Spanish teams chose to schedule friendly matches with other teams swapped in the same situation. Or for Central Europeans and other latitudes already taking advantage of these dates coinciding with the winter holidays. stages in the national area. Therefore, the performance of clubs returning to routine will depend on a combination of factors from those who stay in Qatar and those who leave.

individualized study

“Teams with a large number of World Cup players like Atletico, Real Madrid, Barça or Sevilla will have a duo or even a triple group of players: ‘pre-season’, those playing the World Cup. players playing the final qualifying rounds and needing some rest, and just more players who took part in the primary stages, they don’t have much fatigue, but they don’t have the extra ‘mini pre-season’ preparation either. These weeks,” adds Luis Casais, who agrees with David Peris. in both the physical and mental part, individualized work will be required.

Because they claim that every player is different, because of his role in the team, whether he is replaced by someone else, his career or age, physical profile… And there is no general picture. He also mentions his performance in the World Cup. The paradigmatic situation is that of PSG with players such as: judge, Marquinho’s, mbappe, Messi anyone neymar with more wear Konate, usually do, vitinha anyone Sarabia, carrying a lighter load. Finally, the group bouquets, bernat anyone Verratti those who have been educated

The situation is repeated as follows: real MadridHe is the only Spanish representative in the Champions League to return with a round of 16 contention on 14 February. Tchouameni, modric, military Y vinicius is in a state of greater physical stress than carvajal, Rodrygo anyone camavingaas analyzed by the placing APF member Kroos, praise, mendy anyone nachosRemaining in the Spanish capital, Benzema took a different step from Benzema, who left the French concentration without making his debut. According to Casais, these features, for example, coin World champion with Argentina, who returned with some discomfort, aggravated by the accumulation of matches.

performance degradation

On the psychological factor, harmony will be an even more personal matter. “Most of the players who participated in the World Cup ‘failed’ because only one can win. You have to know how to manage it,” the FEPD president explains. “Body and mind seek balance: When you put in a big effort like in this tournament, what you’re doing is coming down to recover. So you have to work to keep up your performance.”. Therefore, the professor from the University of Vigo envisions a term that the most rested, slightly below their potential, will take advantage of to take a step forward.

As if open fronts were scarce, some players will be switching teams in the coming weeks with the winter transfer market from the World Cup evening. It’s the climax of the shaker where personality and physical preparation must be ‘all-in-one’ in team life, where world football is getting more hectic than ever before. There is no time to forget the missed penalty in Qatar, because the ball is already ready for the next shot on the LaLiga or Cup court.