LThe date and schedule of the derby caused controversy from the moment they met, due to the fact that Atlético has had two days less to prepare for it than Real Madrid, those who mediated between the whites’ match against Alavés, played on Tuesday, and the red and white visit to Vigo, which took place on Thursday. But that referred to ‘before’. Once the rivalry duel is played, however, it’s time for the Champions League. And there is also room for discussion: It is not usual for teams with the highest continental competition on the horizon to be scheduled for the previous match of the domestic championship on a Sunday at 9:00 p.m..
In fact, it could not be done directly if the Champions League duel was played on Tuesday. But it is not the case. Both Ancelotti’s and Simeone’s men have Wednesday on their agenda, in both cases at home, to face Lille for the former, and Benfica for the latter. So the regulator has deemed it convenient to have a league date, tomorrow, that only two other of the 36 teams that play in the European group stage will have. And in both cases, quite a few hours before the ball starts rolling in the Metropolitano. Girona will visit Celta at 2:00 p.m. and Aston Villa (the only foreign example) will play at Ipswich’s home at 3:00 p.m..
In fact, by the time these lines are published there will be up to ten teams already awaiting their Champions League commitment, after they attended the local competition on Friday. Ukraine, France (in two cases: Brest and PSG), Serbia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Portugal, in order of schedules, decided to schedule matches with teams involved for Friday. In Spain, however, a Valladolid-Mallorca match was played. It is true, on the other hand, that the eighth day of our League has followed the seventh if only one date in between, in an absolutely frenetic start to the season.
The bulk of continental participation remains for Saturday. Up to 22 teams will take to the pitch to play for points before focusing on the Champions League event. There will even be two direct duels, Bayern-Bayer Leverkusen in Germany and Bologna-Atalanta in Italy, in a range of matches that starts at 3:00 p.m. in Italy and ends at 9:30 p.m. in Portugal. (precisely with the rojiblanco rival). The only Spanish team that has been granted that day’s margin is Barcelona, which goes to Pamplona with the idea of maintaining its domestic total of victories… before seeking the first European victory on Tuesday against Young Boys.
Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, alluded precisely to the tournaments organized by UEFA when he wanted to explain the schedule of the derby: “There are many days during the week and European competitions. There are teams that play Thursday-Sunday and it is considered to be a sufficient rest.” . Yes indeed, The speech of the top leader of the football employers’ association later alluded to “audiovisual decisions” that seem to be at the origin of the explanation: It is a priority that the league schedules respond to the interests of the television networks with rights, regardless of whether this harms the Spanish teams in sporting terms. The result they achieve later is still unknown, but it is a fact that Atlético and Real Madrid will go to the continental front with less rest than their rivals.
The derby will end around 11:00 p.m., so there will be less than 72 until the Champions League match. Monday will only serve for regenerative training for those who have had minutes at the Metropolitano and Tuesday will be a preview day, with the respective trips for both (UEFA requires you to travel one day before, although there are exceptions that confirm the rule). After the Champions League there will still be a new domestic matchday before the national team break, in this case with less rest for Real Madrid (they receive Villarreal on Saturday) than for Atlético (visit Real on Sunday). Be that as it may, whites and red and whites will close this weekend. They will be the last in Europe.
