Does the Premier League’s Holiday Schedule Hurt the England National Team?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: January 2, 2015

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The English Premier League's holiday schedule is arguably the best part of the season. The glut of fixtures over the festive period is great for fans, who can watch up to 30 matches in seven days. However, it could be one of the reasons for the England national team's underachievement in international tournaments.

Three games over the course of a week is torturous for any club. It leads to fatigue and injury. Rotation helps, but some teams do not possess the quality depth of a Manchester City.

Some managers, such as Chelsea's Jose Mourinho, chose to keep almost every starter in the lineup in each match. Most of the blame can be pinned on the coaches.

Every European club has to deal with its domestic league, but England has three competitions on home soil. France does as well, but teams have the winter break to recover. That's not even accounting for sides that participate in the Champions League, Europa League or other international tournaments. 

France, who won the 1998 World Cup, had just three squad members from English teams. Arsenal's Emmanuel Petit was integral in that tournament, but fellow Gunner Patrick Vieira and Chelsea's Frank Leboeuf were sparingly used. 



Every other Frenchman played their club football in France, Italy, Germany or Spain. All four leagues have winter breaks for at least two weeks.

Italy's 2006 World Cup squad was entirely made up of Serie A players, who were definitely fitter than others in that tournament.

Spain's teams between 2008 and 2012 had a handful of English-based players, most notably Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas, who started a fair amount of matches during the run of European Championship and World Cup success. On the other hand, the core of those teams played for Barcelona.

Germany had four Premier League players in their 2014 squad. However, Per Mertesacker, Mesut Ozil and Andre Schurrle were...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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