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James is tired. And it is not a perception, a speculation or a suspicion. These are the words of Carlo Ancelotti himself, the coach who knows him best and manages him wisely. Tired out? Could there be a reason?
“I eliminated James and Richarlison because they were very tired. But that’s normal after the international scheme,” said the Everton England manager. He gave him just over 70 minutes on the pitch after the trip to South America for the Qatar 2022 draw, from which he returned upside down (3-0 vs Uruguay and 6-1 vs Ecuador).
But before that trip he had already decided the same, always on average 70 minutes, in the defeat against Manchester United 1-3. Then, with his usual naturalness, he explained: “I was tired”. Here the antecedent is that he did not train with his teammates due to a blow, apparently in a testicle, which marginalized him.
Two very different rivals and the same symptom: fatigue. Comparisons are always hateful, but is it normal that at this point of the season (which has just begun) the numbers of the teams show fatigue?
His South American peers are worth a look: Lionel Messi has played 16 games, 12 with FC Barcelona and 4 with the Argentine national team (2 away games); Luis Suárez adds 13, 10 with Atlético de Madrid and 3 with Uruguay (2 away matches, he couldn’t be against Uruguay due to the coronavirus covid-19); Neymar has played 9 games, 7 with PSG and 2 with Brazil (1 away match, he was injured on 29 October). Including a Colombian in the comparison, Duván Zapata has 15 games, 11 with Atalanta and 4 with the national team (2 away games).
James has 13 games in total, 9 with Everton and 4 with the Colombian national team (2 away games). They are two fewer than Zapata and three fewer than Messi, with both players adding more trips to the Champions League. Enough to invoke physical exhaustion?
It was clear that the away match, the wave of rumors about possible clashes with his teammates in the last qualifying session that forced him to a tough statement and, above all, his poor performance at the command of Carlos Queiroz, were going to be felt. The soul and the body are equally tired when everything plays against each other.
The season does not improve
It turns out to be a relief for Carlo Ancelotti who for almost four months will see James thinking exclusively of Everton. This is what he needs to regain the level he showed in his first outings dressed in blue, when he scored 3 goals and 3 assists in 5 games. But that doesn’t mean the player gets the rest he needs.
On the scoreboard there are matches with different needs until the end of the year and one marked in red, given the importance it has for the club:
28.11- Everton vs Leeds United
5.12- Burnley against Everton
12.12- Everton vs Chelsea
15.12- Leicester vs Everton
19.12- Everton vs Arsenal
23.12- Carabao Cup- Everton vs Manchester United
26.12- Sheffield United vs Everton
28.12- Everton vs Manchester City
Mental fatigue is as surprising as physical fatigue. And what comes to James, therapeutic or not, is more demanding, more minutes, more effort. The pressure of his national team eases, not a little, until March 2021. But for now, there will be no rest.
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