MADRID, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- La Liga will return to action after a six-week break due to the World Cup in Qatar, and the big question to be answered is how that break will affect the remainder of the season.
A winter World Cup and mid-season break is something that has never happened in Spain and is consequently a leap into the unknown for players and medical staff.
There is a feeling that for the players who didn't take part in the World Cup, the break could be a good thing, with Josean Lekue, who is responsible for Athletic Club Bilbao's medical services, explaining: "Scientific evidence shows that from a medical point of view, we can look at it positively as it allows you to reprogram and see an improvement in issues such as injuries."
However, although most players were able to enjoy a break in November and then resume training in December, for others, the World Cup could have a different effect.
A total of 82 players in La Liga played in the World Cup, with FC Barcelona supplying 17, Real Madrid 13, Atletico Madrid 12, Sevilla 10 and Betis and Villarreal supplying 5 each.
Obviously, some of these players spent more time in Qatar than others, but some, such as Barcelona duo, Jules Kounde and Ousmane Dembele were there to the end with France.
Real Madrid had Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga with France, Luka Modric with Croatia (who finished third) while others such as Eder Militao, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo were all quarter-finalists with Brazil and were in Qatar until the last week of the World Cup.
Now they come back at what promises to be the busiest moment of the season, with Real Madrid and Barcelona, not just involved in La Liga and Copa del Rey in January, but also flying to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Supercup (along with Valencia and Betis) between January 11th-15th.
Real Madrid also have to play in the World Club Cup between February 1st-11th, further adding to their domestic fixture backlog, before the return of European competition the following week.
The intense three months of domestic and European football between August and mid-November saw plenty of injuries at clubs playing in Europe, now the Copa del Rey is added into the mix and means coaches such as Xavi Hernandez at Barcelona and Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid have to get their squad rotations spot on to try and keep their key players fit.
That could offer a chance to other teams, who didn't have so many players in the World Cup, to spring a surprise or two, and although Barca and Madrid probably have too big a lead in La Liga for a major shock in the title race, we could be in for a very interesting second half of the season. It's very much a leap into the unknown. ■
