Former Brescia boss, Diego Lopez, has attacked the gruelling international schedule that players have to contend with, blaming that for his premature retirement from representing Uruguay.
Lopez, 47, managed 32 appearances for Uruguay before calling time on his international career in 2005. He went on to play a further five years for Cagliari, amassing a total of 344 matches for Casteddu.
The former defender believes that such international schedules are very tough on the players, above all those travelling huge distances from Europe to South America.
“I wasn’t doing well, I just wanted to stop playing international football,” Lopez told la Nazionale. “I played for Cagliari, then flew to Rome to get a connecting flight for Madrid. Then I went from there to Buenos Aires or Montevideo, played, and did the same journey back.
“It wasn’t easy! Now, no thanks to the pandemic, one game a week has become three for South American players, meaning things have become even more difficult. Who pays for this? The players and their clubs.”
The Cagliari legend also spoke about the impact that such journeys have on the players, stating that performances are indeed affected as a result.
“Yes, I think that players performances are affected. They come back from international duty at much less than 100 percent, so they’re very tired.
“The players are also people, human beings, so it’s normal. Maybe they’re ok in the first half and can perform well, but the second half is a different story. Tiredness kicks in and it becomes very difficult,” he concluded.
