Tottenham is already making arrangements for its offseason by scheduling a friendly in Australia a mere three days after the Premier League ends. These types of friendlies are not new. For example, last season, Barcelona traveled to Japan on June 6 to play a friendly against Vissel Kobe. Two days before then, Barcelona concluded its league-winning campaign in Spain.
The North London outfit has not officially booked a game across the globe. However, there are talks ongoing to schedule a friendly on Wednesday, May 22. Tottenham avoided scheduling any game while it remained alive in the FA Cup. Friday’s loss against Manchester City forced Spurs out of the FA Cup prematurely. Therefore, Spurs’ season will definitively end on Championship Sunday in the Premier League, May 19. That allows the opportunity for Tottenham to play games quickly after the season ends
The trip for Spurs down under allows Ange Postecoglou to return to his home country as a Premier League manager. That is the pivotal part of this trip to Australia, a place where Tottenham played last season in Postecoglou’s first game as manager of Tottenham. Spurs lost to West Ham United, 3-2, in front of over 46,000 supporters.
Australians will look forward to having one of their brightest coaching minds back home. Likewise, Postecoglou will wrap up his first season with Tottenham in a celebratory fashion in Melbourne. Yet, this does not suit players well ahead of a massive summer of soccer across the globe.
Many of Tottenham’s players hail from Europe or South America. As a result, they will want to compete in the Copa America in the United States or the European Championship in Germany. Playing an additional game, and one that happens so soon after the conclusion of the league campaign, runs the risk of injuries in what amounts to a meaningless game. The massive travel from London to Melbourne, which requires a stopover somewhere along the way because the two cities are so far apart, is not great for players, either.
The two international tournaments start in the middle of June. Depending on how these players leave Australia, the South American players would be subject to immense travel. For example, a return flight to London after the friendly would happen before the long flight to South America or the United States.
Fortunately for Spurs players, the club is only playing 41 games in the entire season. Early exits in both the FA Cup and League Cup combine with the 38 league fixtures for a relatively quiet season for top English teams. By comparison, Manchester City played 65 games in its treble-winning season last year.
Regardless, all the preseason tours and friendlies take a toll on players. Moreover, the added physical impact of international games throughout the campaign has some players involved in far too many games. It only adds to the threat of injuries for the world’s top talents. It will be interesting to see how Postecoglou uses players in this friendly in Australia ahead of international tournaments.
PHOTOS: IMAGO
