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Arsene Wenger would cry if there were no holiday Premier League games
The Arsenal manager loves the tradition of the hectic holiday period in England, even if few other managers do.
Julian Finney/Getty Images
The holiday period is a subject of a fair bit of contention in the Premier League. Many teams play seven or more league games in a matter of just a few weeks, including a stretch where they’ll play three matches in a seven-to-nine-day window around Christmas. At a time when most other leagues have taken a mid-season break, EPL players are instead playing a ton of matches and wearing themselves down ahead of the stretch run of the season.
The whole of Europe come to watch football on Boxing Day. It is an important part for us to being popular in the world. At Christmas, nobody works in the world and everybody watches the Premier League.
I would cry if you changed that. It is part of English tradition and English football.
I [would] always be pleased for a break after 1 January but we have to keep this tradition alive.
Source: BBC
It’s certainly a valid point about the traditional nature and helping the popularity of the league by being the only thing around -- but do they have to play quite so many matches so quickly? It seems like the schedule could be adjusted to make things a little less intense.
Goal of the day
In the news
The International Trade Union Confederation has “deep concern” over Sheikh Salman of Bahrain standing for election as FIFA president. (BBC)
Retired Czech star Pavel Nedved has been appointed as club vice-president at Juventus. (Football Italia)
Jose Mourinho once again feels disrespected by the English media. (Guardian)
Daniel Sturridge is a doubt for Liverpool again and is set for a scan on his troublesome knee, which is now full of fluid. (ESPN FC)
Karim Benzema won’t play for Real Madrid this weekend, and still isn’t back in training. (AS)
You should be reading
The BBC sat down for an interview with controversial Chelsea striker Diego Costa, who admits he is “no angel.”(BBC)
David Hytner interviews Tottenham Hotspur player Eric Dier about his unique upbringing abroad as an English football player. (Guardian)
The Cristiano Ronaldo “brand” is worth the most in world football and eighth-most among all athletes, according to Forbes. (ESPN FC)
Schalke 04 are being celebrated in Germany for their core of homegrown players. (bundesliga.de)
What happened in Thursday’s matches
The USWNT looked a bit rusty in a 1-1 draw with Brazil. (Stars & Stripes FC)
Napoli dominated FC Midtjylland, winning 4-1 in Denmark to continue their perfect Europa League start. (The Siren’s Song)
It was a third straight 1-1 draw in the Europa League for Liverpool, this time against 10-man Rubin Kazan at Anfield. (The Liverpool Offside)
Serie A-leading Fiorentina slumped to a 2-1 home loss to the last-place side in Poland. (Viola Nation)
Anderlecht looked excellent in a 2-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur. (Cartilage Free Captain)
It was one-way traffic in Spain as Villarreal ran out 4-0 winners over Dinamo Minsk. (Villarreal USA)
What to watch on Friday (click for listings, all times ET)
Ligue 1: Olympique Lyon vs. Toulouse (2:30 p.m.): Lyon’s season continues to not be poor, but also not really winding up looking like they wanted it to. Still, a win against relegation-threatened Toulouse would see Lyon potentially end the weekend in fourth, and that represents progress.
Bundesliga: Hoffenheim vs. Hamburger SV (2:30 p.m.): HSV’s roaring start to the season has turned into familiar struggle of late, and they’re right back to hovering above the relegation zone. That place is all too familiar to their fans, who hope that they can start vaulting back up the table with a win against 17th-place Hoffenheim.
Liga MX: Santos Laguna vs. Cruz Azul (10:30 p.m.): Did anyone really see this coming? Everyone kind of figured that these two teams wouldn’t be quite as good as we generally expect them to be, but seeing Santos Laguna and Cruz Azul in two of the bottom four places in Liga MX is still pretty mind-boggling.
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