Coach of Olympique de Marseille, André Villas-Boas lives his confinement in Portugal, his country of origin. Questioned by RMC Sport while Ligue 1 was suspended for an indefinite period, the technician raised the delicate problem of the end of the French Championship season when no one knows if it will be able to go to its end or not.
If the majority of the leaders of hexagonal football hopes to be able to complete the ten days remaining this summer, the Portuguese coach stands out with another proposal consisting in postponing the recovery later. “ It's difficult for everyone. We begin to think that the most viable would be to finish this season in November-December and continue on a civil calendar from 2021 to arrive until 2022 and the World Cup in Qatar. After that we will have to return to a normal calendar. For the economic health of the clubs, it would be good to finish the championship, "said Villas-Boas.
Jean-Pierre Rivère launched the idea on Friday
The day before, OGC Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivère had defended this idea in L'Equipe by anticipating the disruption of the calendar with the 2022 World Cup organized in winter in Qatar. “Let us think beyond the current year and try to give coherence to the next three years. In 2022, the World Cup will take place in Qatar, from November 21 to December 18. Why not adapt to this competition today? Now may be the time for a big change. In 2022, it would be possible to start our championship in February and to fix the (Christmas) truce between August 1 and 17. In 2021, we can envisage the same thing. For 2020, the idea is to resume the current championship at the end of August and finish it at the end of October or in November. The dates indicated should be worked out by far more qualified people. ”
This inverted calendar would have the advantage of making it possible to settle the health crisis without giving in to the rush and eagerness to find the grounds, to end the season at the end of the calendar year before starting a new one in the middle of winter with a break (usually scheduled for Christmas and the beginning of the year) this time considered in the middle of summer.
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