With the EPL title decided–Chelsea–and La Liga set to go down this weekend–either Real Madrid or Barca–many of the World Cup squads have players in flux on league rosters and not soon after their seasons end they will need to be in camp with their World Cup squads getting ready for the monthlong tournament in South Africa.
How do these league races effect the World Cup? Well, every guy who’s playing the World Cup and is already “out of it” will have plenty of time to rest and recuperate–plus they will have time to mentally rest and recuperate.
It’s the mental aspect that helps the most as there are guys who are just bodies with no brains and they are simply tired of thinking. Look at someone like Kobe Bryant. He wins a Gold Medal in Beijing, then he wins the NBA title, but he had some down time between the two and he actually lost the NBA title before the Olympics in 2008.
I don’t know how he managed at the Olympics, but he is the exception to the rule because most people just wouldn’t be able to mentally handle the strain of losing, winning, doing the whole season, and winning a title.
The same is true here. Even the best players need a break and teams like Portugal and Argentina–who count on guys like Messi and Ronaldo–will have some early hiccups with their stars playing so late into their own club seasons.
I don’t expect these hiccups to be big, but they will be there. A few scares here and there before they pull themselves together, but if one of those hiccups lasts too long them someone is going to have a really bad summer.
I don’t wish it on anyone, I’m just saying. Club play is hard and doing it right before the World Cup is harder still.
