Tuchel criticizes Germany's USA trip: "Don't know who thought this up."
Speaking at his Friday presser, FC Bayern München trainer Thomas Tuchel let slip a little diatribe about the current state of affairs in international football when discussing the coming international break.
Thomas Tuchel made no effort to hide his displeasure at the fact that five of his players had to hop across the pond to play friendly fixtures during the coming international break. The first German national team squad put together by newly-appointed Bundestrainer Julian Nagelsmann will play the USMNT and Mexico in a pair of friendlies in Hartford, Connecticut and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
"Playing against Mexico in America before a European Championship in Germany, I don't know if that makes sense to me," Tuchel said, "I also don't know if anyone can explain it to me so coherently that I understand it completely. I don't know who thought this up, but it was decided."
Tuchel's German internationals will return to the Bundesrepublik on Thursday, October 19th; just in time to travel to Mainz on Friday. After that, the team must travel to Turkey for a midweek Champions' League fixture. The never-ending series of "English Weeks" carries through until the next international break in November and the end of the calendar year.
"It pushes it to full capacity," Tuchel noted, "No coach at this level will tell you otherwise. No one asks us. There will eventually be more Champions' League games. The European Championship will be expanded. The World Cup will be expanded. The games will be played thousands of kilometers apart."
"You won't find a club coach or player who finds this good," Tuchel went on to say, "You won't find a player who can tell you that I can perform at my peak with this schedule. But that's just the way it is."