In August, all to the west. By unveiling, Wednesday, June 17, the new calendar of European football competitions – Champions League in mind -, updated after the containment linked to the pandemic of Covid-19, the head of the UEFA (Union of European associations of football), Aleksander Ceferin has given an appointment to the clubs still competing in Lisbon, from August 12, for a "Final 8", without round-trip matches.
"This new formula will be exciting and rich in emotions, commented the president of Paris-Saint-Germain, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, at the microphone of RMC Sports. Our players and staff, who resume training next Monday, will do their utmost to be ready in early August. "
This is a challenge for Lyon and PSG, while the other European clubs have already resumed their championships. The last two French representatives (OL must play a round of 16 return against Juventus Turin, PSG is already in quarters) will not see the lawns until August, and advance in terra incognita for the resumption.
"Limiting the negative effects" of containment
“The context is new. In France, this is the first time that we will end up with twenty-three weeks without competition ", exhibits Bruno Marrier, "Sport scientist" at AS Monaco – a role as a link between medical and technical staff. "The main idea, during the eight weeks of confinement, was to limit the negative effects on the players. "
Not all clubs have been housed under the same banner. Several French teams admit that they had difficulty monitoring their flock and making them observe a specific program – partial unemployment did not help. Hence the importance of individualizing the recovery, and of assessing the physical condition of each player, his shortcomings and his improvements.
"You have to know the player, analyze the workloads and the gradual recovery, recommends Doctor Emmanuel Orhant, medical director of the French Football Federation (FFF), at the origin of the protocol for the takeover of French clubs. Before the start of the season, it should be tested at the muscle and joint level. From these points of weakness, make him work specifically to bring him to the maximum of his capacities, without tipping him on the worrying side, at risk for his muscles. "
The specialists anticipate the desire of the players, deprived of ball, to resume with the big strikes of the ball. "Most haven't done it for eight to ten weeks, underlines Jean-Benoît Morin, researcher at the Faculty of Sport Sciences at the Côte-d´Azur University. However, the biggest trap is to believe that because the player is in good overall physical shape – and that he had no symptoms of Covid-19 – he becomes a normal footballer again with all the intensity imposed by football. "
You have 60.56% of this article to read. The suite is reserved for subscribers.
