Endless season for five Real champions: 12 months without a break

Real Sociedad is already in the second week of the 24-25 preseason but, although it seems impossible, five footballers, five pillars, five European champions, closed the season 23-24 this Monday. An eternal season they ended by winning a European Championship but that seemed long. Oyarzabal, Remiro, Merino, Le Normand and Zubimendi They have been training and competing for 12 months. Something incredible.

huge load

Five champions is about 365 days in the season. Surprisingly, everything except Oyarzabalthey cut their vacation short last summer to return to training. Remiro He returned six days earlier and was the longest on the course: 377 days, since July 4. Merino and Zubimendi They shortened their break by three days and joined on July 17 (364 days), Le Normand He returned a day earlier than expected, on the 19th (362 days), and Oyarzabal, who did not play in June in Spain, returned on the first day of the preseason, on July 10, and has 371 days of season. Almost nothing. And at the end of the 23-24 season, despite the fact that they skipped the tour of Japan, they barely had three days left before focusing on Spain for the Euro Cup. Days he took advantage of Merino get married, for example, without their colleagues going internationally.

Not only was the time long, but it was demanding. Imanol has squeezed its columns during the course and also a From the origin which attracted many of them. In fact, constant presence on calls is just relaxing Merino, Zubimendi and Le Normand at Christmas and the mini break for the Cup final, in April. Remiro He started going to Spain in November, so he took a few days off during the October and September breaks, and Oyarzabal He just missed the September FIFA date.

life chances, Oyarzabal, Merino and Le Normand They played the same number of games in the whole season between club and national team: 58. A little behind (54) there is a Zubimendi who ended LaLiga injured, having missed six of the last seven games, but is still the field player with the most minutes for Real and the one who missed the fewest games in the season five champions. Remiro (50), who played just one international match, was fifth in matches.

It is worth taking a break, but a short one

Logically, the five will have their vacations which, as this newspaper has learned, and Real confirmed to MD, will be three weeks, equivalent to Aramburu. The club has scheduled the Venezuelan on July 29 and the five champions on August 5, just 13 days before the start of the new League season. Maybe Merinopending the honeymoon, and Le Normand First they have to go through Donostia to hold a much talked about club meeting about their futures.

Those who return on August 5, to stay, will once again face a very difficult time without an adequate preseason. It is not unusual for someone to return to work early to get in good shape to begin with. The course also begins with four league matches in 15 days in August as one match has to be promoted to coincide with the new Europa League which guarantees two more matches for each participant. And the calendar doesn’t keep up, even though the tournaments coincide. Personnel management Imanol It will be more important than ever. And the five champions will have to wait until next summer to truly rest and disconnect.