A match every three days: Real Madrid's grueling winter

Two grueling months await Madrid if success accompanies them.

In reality, they are already part of his own success, as he is involved in tournaments that he disputes as the winner of competitions, such as the Spanish Super Cup or the Club World Cup.

If

's team qualifies for the finals of both competitions and reaches the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, dated March 1, 2023, they would play 18 games in 62 days until then.

That is, a game every 3.4 days.

The World Cup implied a compression of the calendar that now the teams with the most World Cups are going to suffer especially.

In the case of Madrid, three of its footballers reached the outcome:

and

, finalists;

and

, involved in the match for third and fourth place.

It treats of footballers that play in the center of the field and that are considered key by the Italian technician.

Due to the accumulated wear and tear in Qatar, they have enjoyed a longer rest period than the rest to join training in Valdebebas.

As in the case of other World Cups, it is unknown how the tournament can affect their performance.

The difference for Madrid is the immediate and compressed demand of their commitments.

That marathon starts this Friday with a visit to the Valladolid stadium (9:30 p.m.).

Ancelotti intends to offer minutes to the players who have accumulated less wear and tear, either because they were not called up or because their participation ended earlier, but the results will determine the roadmap.

The trip to Arabia

«Evaluating what is going to happen is very complicated, it is a calendar that demands a lot.

We have the Spanish Super Cup and the Club World Cup.

Until March there are many games and you have to make a personal evaluation player by player.

The World Cup players had to be given rest.

There are no days off, since we play every three days, especially until February 19, "the Italian explained yesterday.

The Super Cup, in Arabia, will force Madrid to a long journey.

On Wednesday, January 11, they will play the semifinal against Valencia, waiting to find out if they qualify for the final, against Betis or Barcelona.

Less wear and tear will imply the trip to play the Club World Cup, in Morocco.

On February 8, they will play the semifinal against Flamengo, in Tangier.

The final, in Rabat, will remain pending the result.

The dates of the competition were announced by the president of FIFA,

, during the World Cup, in Doha, for which reason they mean additional wear and tear on Madrid than initially planned.

Benzema's moment

Among the footballers that Ancelotti has been able to count on is Benzema, who returned from the French camp before the start of the World Cup due to a controversial injury.

The subsequent break with the national team and with

has the white team as the main beneficiary.

At 34 years old, the Frenchman could accuse a lot of overexertion from playing, in addition, with France.

This is the case of Modric, who maintains his commitment to Croatia.

Those matches, however, will come after this marathon, in March.

“We have recovered Benzema well.

It's okay.

He returned from vacation on the 10th, worked with the team and in friendlies he played half an hour and 45 minutes.

I think he's going to show all his quality with us, because he's very motivated," Ancelotti said.

The same is the opinion of Hazard's coach, knocked out by Belgium in the first phase of the World Cup.

Despite the demands, Ancelotti does not believe that it is necessary to seek reinforcements in the winter market: «The tickets are closed, because we have a great squad.

We don't know about the departures, because perhaps some players who play less want to leave.

Compared to December 2022, I think we are better.

Throughout this marathon, apart from the titles at stake in the Spanish Super Cup and the Club World Cup, there are two red dates for Ancelotti's players: the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Liverpool, on February 21 in Anfield, and the derby against Atlético, five days later.

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• Spain Supercup

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