As we get into the Premier League season, the dreaded international break is only just around the corner. Following the fixtures on 1-2 September, players will depart to join their national teams for a round of friendlies or the European competitive fixtures.
Manchester City has been dealt good news this week as their South American players will be banging the samba drums and igniting their Argentine barbeques in Manchester as they have been left out of their retrospective squads for their upcoming fixtures.
Danilo, Gabriel Jesus, Ederson and Fernandinho have not been selected in Brazil’s strong squad, which features the likes of Neymar Jr, Roberto Firminho, Willian and a number of World Cup stars.
While in Buenos Aires, the interim manager, Lionel Scaloni, has omitted a number of star players and opted for a squad dominated by upcoming youngsters. Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Otamendi are the names excluded from the 23-man squad.
Both teams will be experimenting their post-World Cup squads in the United States as both nations play in the MetLife Stadium and California.
The exclusion of all City’s Brazilians is quite a shock as two of the quartet would be nailed on to feature in any given circumstance. Gabriel Jesus played a big campaign in the summer but failed to impress in the World Cup with manager Tite potentially looking at home based talent to fill the void. Ederson is ranked as one of the best keepers in the world, but with Liverpool’s new manager Allison Becker in the squad, he may have travelled to only sit on the bench. He is reported to miss out for ‘personal reasons’.
Danilo is returning from injury and Fernandinho’s Brazil career may be past him as he reaches 33 and the squad looking younger ready for the Copa America in 2019.
It seems to me that Guardiola may have had a quiet word in order for the Brazilians or Argentines to be excluded from their friendly squad in order to save them for the coming months.
Their exclusion is good news for the club as they will be rested from not travelling across the Atlantic Ocean and will be available for extra training sessions with Pep Guardiola and his coaching team, should that be the management’s desire.
They may even send the six players on holiday to further recuperate after their World Cup campaign. Probably unlikely though as Aguero and Otamendi both had the full three weeks off, with Brazilians also not cutting short their break to return early for the pre-season campaign.
Time will tell whether the extra rest will prove crucial with the potential for the South Americans to be the stars of the season.