Wenger wants more recovery time after internationals
LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants the way international matches are scheduled to be changed to allow more recovery time for players returning to club duty.
After the World Cup qualifiers last Saturday and Wednesday, many players face club matches this weekend after long and tiring journeys.
Wenger, who had France's Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira as well as England's Ashley Cole away on international duty, wants the system changed so internationals are played on Fridays and Tuesdays to ensure more recovery time.
Wenger said Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, whose France striker Louis Saha and England defender Gary Neville were injured while away, agreed with his point of view.
“I know Sir Alex is completely for this change as well,” Wenger was quoted as saying in Friday's Evening Standard.
“While the players are away for two weeks you expect a disaster. You just never know.
“It was a huge relief for me that I had no injuries. Manchester United were not so lucky with Neville and Saha. All the clubs are keen to push for the international matches to be on Friday and Tuesday. That gives us a fair chance to prepare for the game at the weekend.”
Champions Arsenal played Fulham in the Premier League yesterday then host PSV Eindhoven in their first Champions League match on Tuesday.
“I hope we will push for the change as a group but as an individual I have tried for a few years now to bring in the change,” the Frenchman said. “I know that many managers share that.”
He said ideally he would prefer internationals to be played on a Wednesday followed by a Saturday match, giving players a whole week to recover before their next club game.
The Frenchman said it was difficult to know whether the break would affect the momentum players had before they departed – a matter of great concern to him as Arsenal won their first four games and have now gone a record 44 league games unbeaten.
“It is difficult to get that unity and momentum when you start straight back,” said Wenger. “It's always disruptive and it is very, very difficult to start again like you finished.”
Chelsea's Jose Mourinho was another manager who feared for his players after the internationals. His side are currently level on points with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
“When the players go away for 10 or 15 days they can get tired, pick up injuries or lose focus,” Mourinho told the paper.
“It's very difficult when they have just two days to change and concentrate on their club matches. You never know how the players are going to react.
“I'll have this same conversation with my players over the next few days and try to get their minds focused. In the next five days we have two away matches against difficult opponents and we need to get our performance right.” – Reuters
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