Barcelona manager Hansi Flick took a shot at La Liga for their scheduling of Barça’s league clash against Real Valladolid in between the Champions League semi-finals between the Blaugrana and Inter Milan.
The league confirmed that the Catalans will face Valladolid away from home on Saturday, May 3, at 9pm CET, and Flick called the decision a “joke” in his press conference as it forces the team to travel back to Barcelona overnight and gives them less time to rest and prepare for the second leg of the semi-finals on Tuesday.
Flick explained that he simply hoped the match to be scheduled earlier in the same day, and was clearly irritated since the same thing happened last week when Barça faced Leganés away from home on a Saturday night ahead of a trip to Dortmund for the second leg of their European quarter-final, which also took place on a Tuesday.
“It has happened again and the people in charge of the schedule don’t want to talk about it. It’s not an excuse, but it sounds like a joke to me. Why can’t we play away at 4pm or 6pm, just like we do at home?
“They’ve done it again! It’ll happen again before Milan. We’ll arrive very late, at 4am on Sunday. I’ve never seen this anywhere, only in the Spanish league. Those responsible don’t want to talk about it, but it’s not good.
“I have no words for the person who decides this. They have no idea what it means for the players to rest more. There will be five teams in the Champions League next year. In other countries they take care of teams in the Champions League, but not in Spain.”
Flick has a point, and all you need to do is look to France: PSG, as has been the case for years now, didn’t have to play a weekend match between their two quarter-finals against Aston Villa, and Ligue 1 has them playing on a Friday before the following Tuesday’s first leg, and then on a Saturday before the second leg the following Wednesday.
That is sensible scheduling, putting the players’ health as a priority and giving a club from their own league a better chance to do well in Europe, which would ultimately benefit the league as a whole.
How can La Liga not see that? Well, as we all know, it’s not football, it’s La Liga.
