16.07.2010 13:04

Barça stars to have more recovery time

Jesús Carrillo

Pep Guardiola will have more time to prepare his FC Barcelona players before and after Spain play international matches after it was revealed that la Selección will play all their games on Tuesdays and Fridays next season.

Vicente del Bosque's side already have their next few games confirmed as the 2012 European Championships qualifiers kick off in September, starting on Friday 3 against Liechtenstein in Vaduz.

With no games in the league on the first weekend in September the Spanish team will travel to New York for a friendly encounter with Argentina on Tuesday 7 which will give Guardiola a day more to work with his squad when they return.

Friday and Tuesday

The changes made now mean that La Roja take on Lithuania on Friday, Ocotber 12 and then meet Scotland on Tuesday, October 12 in a plan to help ease the frustrations of club coaches.

Across the Pond

If the South American confederations also apply the new changes to their international timetable then stars such as Lionel Messi, Dani Alves and Rafa Márquez will be able to return to the Catalan earlier. On many occasions in previous campaigns players appearing for South and Central American teams have returned on Friday and been jet-lagged.