Jurgen Klopp is always vocal in protecting the welfare of his players, making it understandable that he’s clearly frustrated with the decision for international teams to ask their squads to take part in training camps at the end of this campaign.
The German addressed this in his press conference ahead of the West Ham match: “They [his players on international duty] have, before they go on internationals, a few days off and then they go to camps and then they play”, which was quickly followed by a frustrated shake of his head.
The 55-year-old went on to say: “To be honest, the players have to negotiate that with their nations, if they go to a full camp, or a half camp, or whatever – we have to do that constantly, to juggle around and now they [the international teams] have just said ‘The day after the season ends you go on a camp to prepare you for whatever’s coming up this summer’.
“It’s crazy but our hands are tied this summer, we cannot say anything about that”.
After a season that already started early and finished late because of the World Cup, it really is ridiculous that players are now expected to go on training camps ahead of further international fixtures – before their summer even begins.
Football won’t benefit from overworking its star assets, especially after a season where so much has already been asked of them.
You can watch Klopp’s comments on international football (from 0:42) via BeanymanSports on YouTube: