According to Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola, the players should return from their national teams in good shape before the battle for the top of the Premier League.
Manchester City host Arsenal in a crucial clash for the English Premier League title on March 31.
Before that, there is a national team break, and for example City’s star player Erling Haaland is with the Norwegian team for the matches against the Czech Republic and Norway on March 22 and 26.
The head coach of a Manchester club that has won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League Pep Guardiola doesn’t want his key players to get injured as the spring decider games approach.
“He just told us that if we don’t come back fresh, he’ll get mad at us,” Haaland told the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation According to NRK.
Manchester City is third in the Premier League standings, a point behind Arsenal and Liverpool.
In elite football, the number of matches has increased, which also increases the risk of injury. For example, Haaland can play up to 60 games this season if City advance to the finals of the FA Cup and Champions League.
The refusal of players to represent their countries in the middle of a match rush has made headlines in recent days. For example, named Huuhkajii Robert Taylor stayed to play for his club team Inter Miami instead of qualifying for the European Championship.
The top striker of Liverpool, who is fighting for the Premier League title Darwin Nunez in turn withdrew from the Uruguay squad citing injury. Taylor justified his decision by saying that the national team needs players who are “one hundred percent fit”.
According to Haaland, who was injured for five matches at the turn of the year, tolerating the match load depends on the individual.
– Some last longer than others. The quality of playing suffers. There are enough matches, but what can I do about it? Haaland told NRK.
Next season, the number of matches for the Norwegian stalwart can increase to 80 with the World Cup tournament for club teams.
– You can’t expect me to accelerate explosively for more than a thousand meters in every 70 matches. You just have to follow the match schedule, there’s nothing else you can do.
The Norwegian national team did not make it to the European Championships or further qualification, so there is no competitive stake in its March matches.
– Of course it’s nice to play in the national team, but it’s obviously different to face Arsenal next week than the Czech national team at home. I’m not going to lie, there’s a big difference, Haaland said.
Norway head coach by Ståle Solbakken including Haaland and the Arsenal striker Martin Ödegaard will start on the pitch against the Czech Republic.