Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni spoke about the current workload on the elite players.
Lionel Scaloni has a squad which is mostly made up of players that are signed to European clubs. And the constant travelling between South America and Europe is a worry for the international treble winning coach.
Scaloni spoke in an interview about the current number of matches on the elite players. In an interview with FIFPRO, here is what he had to say:
“[The situation] worries us a lot, yes. When Argentina plays in Venezuela, for example, there is not only the workload of the player from the previous game in Europe to consider, but also the travel. Then the second game, you have to go back to Buenos Aires which is another seven hours of travel.
“The reality is that it is unthinkable that this can improve, because the players all play in Europe and the number of matches isn’t going to change.”
In regards to the South American World Cup qualifiers which begin in September:
“The truth is that we have very little time and we try to think more about recovery than training because all we want is for them to perform at their best – we can’t overload them. This in itself represents a setback that must be dealt with in the best way possible.”
The World Cup winning coach added the following:
“They are the main actors, the ones who will have to stand up at one point and say, ‘either this happens or we don’t continue’. Communication is fundamental for these issues, especially the captains, the most experienced players.
“Nowadays there are South American players in the big clubs everywhere, and they have great relationships amongst each other. To give an example: when there was the issue of the pandemic [they were discussing whether or not to play in the Copa America], they were constantly talking and reaching agreements among themselves.
“They have to know that, if they are well, the show is going to be better; if they are not well, if they are tired, if they are overloaded with games, the show is what it is. But communication is key, and everyone should know that, despite the fact that it is a show and that everyone wants more games to be played, it is also important that the players recover and that they are well.”
The article on FIFPro states that Argentina goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli left Ajax on May 28 and flew just under 11,500 km from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires to be with his family and days later flew almost 20,000 km to China for to be with the Argentina national team.
Very well said. But I think the scenario has not changed since he took over as the coach. He succeeded under the same scenario last time. Why is he raising the issue now? Is it a late realization? Is he trying to lay a foundation of excuses? But whatever he said makes a lot of sense. 🙂
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