Jose Mourinho Concerned About Player Burnout

Aug 4, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Chelsea head coach Jose Mourinho looks on during the first half against AC Milan at Metlife Stadium. Chelsea won the game 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Being a team that is filled with so many players that are consistent call-ups for national duty, it should be no surprise that Chelsea FC boss Jose Mourinho is concerned with the amount of games that his players have been playing each year.

Mourinho is faced with the good problem of having a deep squad full of top level talent that he gets to regularly rotate throughout the season and consistently get the results he craves.

But Mourinho is concerned about the lack of a significant break that his players have been getting, especially those coming off of World Cup duty.

"“They need holidays, they don’t have holidays,” Mourinho said. “They need a proper pre-season, they don’t have a proper pre- season. I think players are getting in trouble and when I anticipate the next pre-season it will be even worse, because there will be international matches. For a World Cup some teams don’t qualify; for the international fixtures, every player goes with his national team. After that, before the start of the Premier League, they are going to have, like, two weeks of pre-season.”"

FIFA also added the 2015 edition of Copa America to its official calendar, which means all of the top players will be available for selection by their national squads.

This means the Chelsea’s Brazilian contingent of Oscar, Ramires and Willian face another offseason of international tournament play, causing Mourinho to juggle his squad for the second straight year.

Oscar has played an insane amount of games in the past three years as he participated in the 2012 London Olympics before making 64 appearances in his debut season at Chelsea and played in 47 matches last season before playing in the World Cup.

The young Brazilian has been appreciative of the rest he has been given by Mourinho so he can perform well in every match.

“I have had time,” Oscar said. “Mourinho told me he has a lot of players, so I don’t play against City, or Schalke at the start. But I start against Bolton and I play well because I am not tired.”

With Capital One Cup and Champions League fixtures becoming a staple in the midweek schedules, it’s important for Mourinho to rotate his squad properly so Chelsea can field the best team possible each match. With the amount of talent and depth that Chelsea has at each position, they should have no problem managing another 60+ fixture season.