International week has come around again with several of Europe’s big guns facing crucial qualifiers as they try to secure their places in Euro 2008.
Fans in England, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal will be waiting anxiously to see if their teams put themselves on course for the finals in Austria and Switzerland. But Barcelona president Joan Laporta has a different take on the action.
“There’s another break in the league and that’s no help to the clubs,” he said after his side’s 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
“I hope that our players conserve their energies when they are with their national teams and don’t come back with any injuries. We have suffered the effects of such a break before in the shape of injuries and we don’t want it happening again.”
Is this a peculiarly Spanish, or perhaps Catalan, view on the importance of playing for a national side? Could a club president in England, France, Italy or Germany have got away with saying something similar?
Laporta has been one of the chief advocates of payments to clubs for allowing players to go on international duty. Has he got a point given that it is the clubs who buy the players, pay them and then have to face the consequences if they get injured?
Simon Baskett, Madrid
PHOTO: Barcelona’s president Joan Laporta attends a news conference at the Nou Camp REUTERS/Albert Gea
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4 comments so far
Totally agree with laporta. Liverpool went to the last Int’l break after scoring 6 goals. after the break their two key players Xabi and Agger came back with broken bones, and a mended Gerrard al played out. Carragher in the meantime stayed so long without kicking a ball that he actually forgot how.
Benitez watched too much of Leto and Aurelio and thought they were good but he forgot they did not practice with the Heavies, the rest is history as u know. A team with cisse won at anfield and Tottenham looked like Mourinho’s Chelsea.
- Posted by NJAU[...] Barca chief wants his international players to conserve energy (Reuters Soccer Blog) [...]
- Posted by Daily Dose 10.09.07 - World Football - The Offside - Soccer News and Opinion from leagues around the worldBarcelona’s Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o clearly doesn´t have much time for Laporta’s suggestion. This is what he told the feel football debate (www.feelfootball.com):
“If unfortunately I got injured one day with my national team, I don’t think my country nor my country’s football association would be able to pay for that sort of compensation. You have to consider that too, because some football associations are quite poor and won’t be able to pay for compensations.
“Frankly, I think it’s a bit too much that a national team should have to pay a club to be able to play somebody who’s got his flag’s colours in his blood, isn’t it? I think it’s too much.
“You should not pay for the feeling of defending your country’s flag. I think that’s precisely what makes football more beautiful: that a player knows, when he’s listening to his national anthem, that he’s representing millions and millions of people and he’s like a solider going to war. That feeling, to my mind, should not be paid for.”
“When a player is considered to be an international, his value in the market is very important,” added Eto’o. “I do not think that either a club or the national team should have greater privilege than the other in this issue. In football we do not last very long, which is why we have to give it all in order to enjoy every single moment. Every time I play with my club or national team I try to give my best effort.”
- Posted by Simon Basketti ask for the mail of joan laporta ???
- Posted by zidan shareef