Football Update: International Duty Calls Barcelona Players, as Del Bosque, Spain’s coach summons them for a friendly fixture against Mexico
The clubs and national sides are always at disagreement with each other, especially when the duty calls players in difficult times. The clubs pay their players heavy wages, so that they would stay and help them in winning their matches. On the other hand, the national sides use these players, who have developed their exceptional skills while playing for their clubs.
In the past, there have been instances of problems between clubs and national teams. For example, Croatia blamed Arsenal for the broken leg of Eduardo De Silva, their striker and top goal scorer during the qualifying campaign, due to which he was unable to participate in Euro 2008. Similarly, last season Robin Van Persie was injured in an international friendly match. His injury proved to be season threatening, which also ended Arsenal’s hopes prematurely, as the Gunners relied heavily on the Dutchman’s presence.
When a player is called for International duty, the clubs cannot officially stop him from leaving. Sometimes even players want to leave, as they love to play for their country. Lionel Messi did the same as he went to participate in Olympics, despite the displeasure shown by the authorities at Barcelona. Nevertheless, in case of friendlies, clubs have some discretionary power to ask the coaches to limit the playing time of their players. However, if they stop them from going, a fine would be imposed by FIFA.
Right now, Barcelona has found itself in trouble, as seven of their players have been called by Vicente Del Bosque, Spain’s coach, for a friendly fixture against Mexico. These players include Victor Valdes, Carlos Puyol, Gerard Pique, Pedro, Sergio Busquets, Xavi and David Villa. Barcelona’s sporting director, Andoni Zubizerreta, has spoken against the call of duty. The Season is about to start, while he cannot afford any mishap to his players.
The major problem is that the players are still on holiday, after winning the FIFA World Cup. It has been almost a month since they had a taste of football. Therefore, there might be some fitness issues with these players. In addition, the match is in Mexico, which is supposed to be a long journey. Even the weather in Mexico is not good enough, which would act as a catalyst to fitness related issues. These players would not be able to play for a long time, as they have been out of action for almost a month.
The same concerns were also shown by Dani Alves, the Brazilian right back in Barcelona. He also believed that this duty would be hard for his Barcelona teammates, but they would have to pay a price for being World Champions.
These are not the only players who have been called up from Barcelona’s squad. Lionel Messi is in Argentina’s national side right now, while Alves is with his Brazilian team. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been called by Sweden, while Bojan Krkic and Jeffren Suarez are with Spanish U21 team. The Barcelona’s season starts after three days of these international fixtures, as they would face Sevilla in the first leg of Spanish Super Cup.
Barcelona currently holds the Super Cup; however, they would find it hard to defend their title. Pep Guardiola, Barcelona’s manager, has left with almost no options as he would start his preparations for the match. Therefore, this international duty would also delay the preparations of Barcelona for their next season. An injury to some player, at the start of the season, would also lower the confidence of Barcelona’s squad.
These sorts of mishaps had happened in football. However, clubs cannot interfere in National sides’ affairs; sometimes they pay huge amounts to stop their players from attending national duty. This can lower the morale of certain players, depending on the level of nationalism in them. Barcelona, right now, can only hope to avoid any accident, while they will have to work a tough schedule to complete their preparations before the start of new season.
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