Once again in recent weeks, a hot topic within English football is whether a winter break should be introduced. It’s a debate that has rolled on for a number of years now.

I have been fortunate enough to experience football in countries that have a winter break, alongside playing for clubs in England, where the idea of a break during the winter months seems unthinkable.

I personally believe that everybody involved in English football could benefit from a break mid-way through the season during the winter months. But the key word is break. For a player to truly benefit, they would need to use the time to relax; to take a break from the daily training and pressure of performing in matches, and focus on spending time with family and friends over Christmas. If a player decided to travel to a far-off location, spending all their time burning in the sun and going out most nights, they’d feel little benefit from a break at all – so a player taking responsibility during a mid-season break would be important.

If a player can adapt quickly and use the time off wisely, once the season resume they will feel re-energised and be fresher and sharper come the end of the season. Not to mention how important that break could be for a player expected to play in a major international tournament immediately after the season finishes!

Having a break can be challenging though. I experienced a winter break whilst playing in both Switzerland and Germany; with the Swiss break longer than the German one. When you returned from the break, you’d be expected to go through a second pre-season essentially – and we all know how players feel about pre-season training…

Winter Memories

Playing in England in winter was a change for me. The first time, whilst at Blackburn Rovers in 2007/08, I remember being so excited to play a lot of games over Christmas. However, when I started playing regularly at Leicester City, I never felt I physically hit my highest level of performance for each game during the Christmas period. I’d say that, from five games, I was at my best for three of them at the most. For the other two, it was just a case of ‘just get yourself through it’!

Short But Sweet

I feel a month-long break in the winter would be ideal. Nothing too long at all. Players and staff could enjoy 7-10 days off to recover and recharge and I don’t feel an athlete would lose much of his shape or fitness in that time. In fact, it’d be the exact opposite. The body would regain strength and feel revitalised. As for the mental benefits, I think we all know, regardless of our job, how much shutting everything off from time to time helps.

Players are spending more time away from home, family and friends on an annual basis. In addition to lengthy trips for away games during the season, many clubs hold pre-season camps and games in foreign countries. This means that players need to adapt to weather conditions, jet lag and, at times, isolation during the summer ahead of a long campaign. I think managers are keen to pay more attention to players’ lives away from the training ground to ensure happiness and maximum effort at work.

For me, a winter break in England makes so much sense. I hope we’ll see it in place in the coming years.

Ready To Go

I’m coming to the end of my first winter break as manager of SC Kriens – and whilst I’d have been keen to continue the season due to the form we were in and fitness of our squad, I needed to put the life and commitment of my players throughout 2017 into focus. Every player deserved a six-week break.

This Thursday, we commence our winter pre-season and will play six pre-season games over a seven-week period. I feel refreshed and ready to go.

Bruno

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