Love them or hate them, International Breaks in Professional Football at the Elite level can be a blessing and a hex in equal measure! When youre on a good run they can break momentum - on a poor run, they can provide restbite. But changing whats happening in your squad is not easy, especially if half of your squad is scatterred to the 4 corners of the globe.

While the players on International Duty have to cram in 2 games, thousands of miles, potentially questionnable training and sub-optimal preparation, the ones at the training ground have too small numbers to do anything particularly constructive and you end up arranging a firendly game just to top up players match exposure minutes!

But it is one of the few touchpoints in the season when the players and staff at clubs can take a break - maybe only 2 or 3 days - and feel like a normal person in a normal job. Perhaps a mini-break, a city hop or some other sort holiday!

Then its back to the grind of the league season; well it is if your players return fit and fresh (they normally dont!) or you've lost your job as the head coach! 

Join us as we discuss International Breaks!