Enzo Maresca believes only football’s players have the power to take action against the sport’s bloated calendar, but insisted none of his Chelsea squad would ever ask to be left out of a game.
The launch of an expanded Champions League format this season has put further strain on an already packed schedule, with Manchester City midfielder Rodri suggesting top players are on the verge of going on strike.
Chelsea are not in that competition, but do play in the Conference League this term and have the added complication of having qualified for Fifa’s new Club World Cup next summer.
The result is that a season which began on August 18 may not finish until July 15 next year and Maresca says there is “no doubt” players are being asked to play too many games.
“In terms of games it’s too much,” the Italian said. “I don’t think we protect players but the only ones who can do something are the players.
“We can say what we think, which is that for me it’s completely wrong, the amount of games we have. But the only ones who can do something are the players and we can help them.
“In the last week, some of the players tried to explain what they think I think it’s a good starting point.”
Asked specifically about the prospect of a strike, Maresca agreed that it is a possibility, but stopped short of giving players his backing.
“Some of them said that,” he added. “It could be an idea for them.”
Quizzed on whether there can be too much football, Maresca added: “For the fans I don’t think so.
“For players, probably yes. I don’t get bored. The problem is that when the games are there, the amount of games are there, there can be five, ten, twenty, the only thing you can try to do is adapt.
“The players are the ones that have to take some decisions.”
Chelsea have already taken steps to manage some players’ workload in opting to leave Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia out of their squad for the Conference League group stage.
Both Fofana and Lavia are returning from serious injuries that saw them miss much of last season, while Palmer’s summer break was compressed by England’s run to the final of Euro 2024.
However, Maresca was dismissive of the idea that any of his squad might ask to be left out of an FA Cup or Carabao Cup game over workload concerns.
“This is not going to happen,” he said. “Not here. Because in the end, since they were very young, they trained and they worked and the dream was to be football players.
“They are not going to say they don’t want to play. It’s not going to happen, never. Something different can happen but in the end, all the players want to play the games.”
The Chelsea boss suggested those responsible for scheduling at club and international level needed to be “fair” to players, though admitted he understood the constant demand for more games.
“For them, it’s a business so it’s more difficult for them to say: ‘Okay, we are not going to play many games’,” Maresca said.
“It’s less business. They want more games for more business. I don’t think it’s fair for the health of the players.”
