Participating in so many events and having a realistic possibility of winning them all comes at a cost. Every weekend and several days in between, the team has important matches scheduled that the players may not be fully fit for.
Certain schedules require players to play another game barely 48 hours after the last game. This not only impairs their performance, but also increases their risk of injury. This season, Real Madrid have faced similar concerns.
La Liga manager joins Carlo Ancelotti in his complaint
Carlo Ancelotti spoke at the game press conference against Villarreal and slammed the Spanish football authorities for poor game scheduling, claiming that this was the last time Real Madrid would play another game before at least 72 hours of recovery time.
The Italian manager fired on all cylinders, criticizing how the team sought the authorities twice for a schedule modification but received nothing in return. Javier Tebas, the president of La Liga, then came out, stating that Emilio Butragueno of Real Madrid had requested that the game be rescheduled for a later time to give the players returning from the international break more rest.
He meant to say that the tight deadline was solely due to Real Madrid's own actions and requests, which were fully fulfilled. Tebas has long been renowned for his feelings for Madrid, and it is seldom veiled.
With this heated exchange of opinions, another La Liga manager has joined forces with Carlo Ancelotti and expressed the same worry. Imanol Alguacil, manager of Real Sociedad, stated that the system was unjust and that Real Madrid was legitimate in raising the matter.
He said, "I think it was a moment of anger, a product of the barbarity that both Real Madrid and us have suffered. We are the two teams that have played the most and with the least rest, I would say that we have even played more."
Real Sociedad have played more games than Real Madrid on a tighter schedule, which explains Aguacil's surge. He said, "They're not wrong, and it's very difficult to compete like this. Look at how many players we're missing when we go into the game".