Mixed Feelings for Barcelona over Effects of International Break
Clubs dread international breaks—especially big clubs, as nearly all of their players are fixtures in their country's respective national squads.
One reason is because of player fitness; not just the risk of injury while playing matches but also problems with fatigue and jet lag following international flights.
Injuries resulting from travel and its effects may not show up until the player is back with his club, while problems suffered because of playing on pitches that aren't up to the standard that teams like Barcelona maintain can be common.
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Adding more journeys and more fixtures to an already packed schedule is a recipe for time spent with the medical department.
A second reason is because coaches lose the bulk of their squad and the weeks are wasted. They can't train properly, save for going through individual work with those left behind.
The advantage, of course, is that players who are already injured have extra time to recover. That is the case with Lionel Messi, Ivan Rakitic and Samuel Umtiti.
Having virtually two weeks off from matches means these three stars, who arguably would all feature in Barcelona's strongest XI, will likely be fit for the Champions League clash with Manchester City on October 19.
They play Deportivo La Coruna on October 15 before that in La Liga, and all three will hope to participate to some extent against the Galicians.
Sport's Javier Miguel said Messi's objective is to play 30 minutes in that game before facing Man City from the start. He wrote:
"The objective is that Messi arrives at 100 per cent for the game against Man City in 13 days. The player, who is recovering from his groin problem at the expected rate will receive medical clearance to play next Monday so he can feature for 30 minutes against Deportivo de la Coruna.
Messi will keep working with physical trainer Edu Pons on the pitch and physiotherapist Roger Girones when in the gym. Doctor Ricard Pruna completes the trident of professionals who are looking after the Argentine forward.
"
Luis Enrique has given the remaining players three days off, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but according to Miguel, Messi will only take the latter off.
According to Javier Miguel of Sport, Umtiti is recovering well and could even start against Depor, given Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano will likely have played two matches each for Spain and Argentina, respectively.
Both featured for their countries on Thursday and had differing evenings.
Pique was solid against Italy as Spain drew 1-1, in a game they should have won but for a late penalty given away by Sergio Ramos towards the end.
Mascherano's Messi-less Argentina drew 2-2 with Peru, and the Barcelona man was culpable for the hosts' later equaliser.
His misplaced and badly weighted pass back was easily intercepted by Paolo Guerrero, who was then brought down in the area by Ramiro Funes Mori, with Christian Cueva netting the resulting penalty.
After Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Sergio Busquets had come out and admitted their errors after Barcelona's 4-3 defeat by Celta Vigo last weekend, Mascherano followed suit for the Albiceleste.
"My mistake cost us the three points. What a load of s--t,” he said after the game, per Sport.
Mascherano has endured a torrid start to the season. While most figured he would feature less this year with the arrival of Umtiti, nobody knew just how quickly the Frenchman would stake his claim for the Argentinian’s spot in the team.
From being shown up against Leganes to this latest error, Mascherano seems to have declined at a startling pace.
Sport linked Kostas Manolas to Barcelona on Friday morning, and that could be as a direct result of Mascherano’s form.
Better news for Barcelona from South America came in the form of Neymar’s performance for Brazil in their 5-0 win over Bolivia. He scored a goal and set two up, playing the flowing football he found hard to produce against Celta Vigo.
Furthermore, a booking rules him out of Brazil’s game against Venezuela and means he can rejoin Barcelona earlier than planned, getting over the jet lag and travel effects well before his side face Deportivo.
One negative was the brutal elbow from Yasmani Duk that left Neymar bleeding and needing medical attention before being substituted.
It occurred as he tried to poke the ball through Duk’s legs, another incident where an opponent has been riled by Neymar’s skill-filled game.
Neymar’s strike-partner Luis Suarez had a good game for Uruguay, helping them see off Venezuela 3-0 and creating two of those strikes. He will play against Colombia on October 11 before returning.
Suarez was left out of Barcelona’s clash with Alaves after the last international break, given he returned with little time to spare before the game.
Last season, when he was still banned from playing for his country, his performances for Barcelona were consistently sensational, and it is not too far-fetched to link the two together.
Closer to home, there was better news for Barcelona, with one major exception. Jordi Alba suffered an injury to his left leg and was taken off in the 22nd minute of Spain’s draw. He has been replaced in the national team squad by Nacho Monreal.
Of course, bad news for one man can make for good news for another. Alba's injury could see Lucas Digne given the chance to start against Deportivo, if it is serious enough to keep the Spaniard out for that.
The French full-back has done well in his limited opportunities thus far and will look to grasp this one, if it transpires as such, with both hands.
As mentioned earlier, Pique did well against Italy, and the same was true for the other Barcelona players who featured.
Andres Iniesta played in the same vein as he did against Celta Vigo, with a wonderful rendition in midfield, while Busquets was far improved from his recent club performances.
Barcelona will hope the defensive midfielder can take this positivity back with him to the training ground and put the previous bad displays out of his mind.
Sergi Roberto did not feature and watched the game from the bench—which will be just fine in Luis Enrique’s book.
Denis Suarez, meanwhile, featured for Spain’s U21 side and helped them to a 3-0 win against San Marino, finding the net along the way.
He hasn’t had a huge amount of game time for Barcelona, so playing this match could actually be seen as a positive—to help keep him at the right level when called upon by Luis Enrique.
Barcelona’s international worries have not finished yet, though.
Ter Stegen could feature for Germany against the Czech Republic on Friday night, likewise Andre Gomes for Portugal against Andorra, Digne for France against Belgium and Jasper Cillessen for the Netherlands against Belarus.
And all that’s before Round 2 of the international break kicks off…
Rik Sharma is Bleacher Report's lead Barcelona correspondent. All information and quotes obtained firsthand unless specified. Follow him on Twitter here: @riksharma_.
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