Munich (dpa) – According to an expert, the Bundesliga could lose quality of play due to the World Cup in Qatar.
“It’ll probably just get a little worse,” said game analyst Martin Rafelt of the German Press Agency. “More English weeks equals less training time equals lower quality,” added Rafelt, who is an author at the soccer blog “Spielvertragung” and was an assistant coach at Hajduk Split until 2020.
Due to the Winter World Cup from November 21 to December 18 in Qatar, the league has to make large-scale adjustments. So there will be a two-month break in play around the World Cup and league games in a tight period of time. A German international at Bayern Munich, for example, would play at least 25 competitive games between the end of July and mid-November – in 15 weeks.
A broad squad could give players breathers. “We will sit down with Hasan to talk through everything,” said Julian Nagelsmann, coach of FC Bayern Munich, in mid-May about the plans for the coming season. “After the World Cup there is no putting your feet up, but the hot phase continues straight away.”
This is a period where there could be surprises in the league when some teams field very successful players at the World Cup, says Rafelt: “If your entire starting XI is not there in preparation but still needs regeneration before the start of the second half and is not at a high fitness level at the beginning either, then I can imagine that the first five to ten matchdays of the second half of the season will be a rollercoaster ride.”