Corner is a new feature each Monday on US Soccer Players that attempts to breakdown an issue trending in the world of soccer in under 400 words. Yes, this explanation counts.
Germany's Bundesliga hasn't played a game that counted in the standings since December 18th. Their season won't resume until January 20th. For some, this lengthy winter break should be a part of the schedule all over Europe. It's not just the weather. As we were reminded by Omar Gonzalez's unfortunately short trip to Turkey last week, Bundesliga clubs use early January for training. That gives their league a competitive advantage, a chance to integrate new players and work on what went right and what went wrong over the first-half of the season.
The benefit of training camp is a competitive advantage not just for the rest of the Bundesliga schedule, but for those German clubs still alive in European competition. What they get is time.
Compare that to the English Premier League where over that same period the schedule is packed. Arsenal - still alive in the Champions League - will play six times including today's FA Cup game against Leeds. It's the same number of games for Chelsea, the other Premier League club with Champions League soccer on their schedule.
Perhaps… perhaps, the case could be made that running a gauntlet of games makes a high level professional team better, but it's a tough one to seriously make. It certainly wouldn't be stressed by any manager. It's easy enough to find quotes from elite Premier League managers wondering why their team is expected to compete across multiple competitions with a crowded schedule. This isn't a new point, but it gets stressed every December into January where some leagues opt for a needed break.
Serie A resumed play over the weekend after a two and a half week break. That's not the length of the Bundesliga's but it does have the Italian clubs idle during the same period where Premier League clubs play on a couple of days rest. Again, it's a competitive advantage for those teams not playing. This doesn't have to be necessitated by the weather. It's a realization that contemporary soccer is very different than it was even a couple of decades ago, and time off is a necessity.
Corner Rating: (1-11 with 11 being a lock that this issue doesn't go away) 11
Last Week's Corner: In our debut, we talked about Manchester City's loss to Sunderland and the push from the English media that City were in crisis. Since then, City shutout Liverpool 3-0 in the Premier League, but lost to Manchester United 3-2 in the FA Cup Third Round. Dropping out of the FA Cup to their local rival continued the crisis headlines, but in real terms? City are focused on winning the Premier League and perhaps the Europa League. It's the Premier League taking precedence, and with City still in 1st-place we stand by our original Corner Rating of 3.
