For those who play football for their country this season, Wednesday is the new Thursday, Thursday is the new Friday, and Petr Cech is already a big fan of the change.
The days in question are the ones immediately following a typical double-header of international fixtures and with the scheduling of those matches now altered, the upshot is an extra day of recovery and preparation in the build up to today's game at West Ham.
Whereas for many years an international break meant a big program of games around the globe on the Saturday a week after the last league match, and then a second set of internationals on the following Wednesday, on the recommendation of top club managers the pattern is now Friday evening and Tuesday evening games.
'It is a really big improvement in terms of timing,' reckons Cech who returned from facing Lithuania for the Czech Republic this week.
'Before with the national team, the week was long when you had preparation from the Monday to the game on Saturday.
'To play the first game on Friday is better because you can then play on Tuesday. Before this change, some of the guys were flying for five hours back from somewhere, and you don't sleep after the game, you go straight to the airport, and then on Thursday you are completely dead.
'On Friday you could have a little training session and if you were playing an away game on Saturday it was not the best scenario because you kept travelling. It was tiring.
'So I think going to international matches on Friday and Tuesday is the best idea for a long time.'
It had long been a concern for top clubs with many star players that two-week international breaks had a detrimental effect on results. Last season, a last-minute goal prevented a Chelsea slip-up at Stoke after such an interval but when it came to playing away at Aston Villa with a Saturday lunchtime kick-off, Cech and his colleagues did suffer defeat.
Only time will tell if the new calendar shows any trends in results but our keeper does confirm this week felt more like a standard domestic one with a midweek game.
'You have your recovery day on Wednesday, the following day you feel the worst and then you have Friday to feel fresh and get ready for the game.
'Let's wait and see but it should improve everybody's state. Teams like us with many internationals, when everybody comes back from all over the world then you obviously have a disadvantage compared with other sides. One extra day can make a big difference.'
The days in question are the ones immediately following a typical double-header of international fixtures and with the scheduling of those matches now altered, the upshot is an extra day of recovery and preparation in the build up to today's game at West Ham.
Whereas for many years an international break meant a big program of games around the globe on the Saturday a week after the last league match, and then a second set of internationals on the following Wednesday, on the recommendation of top club managers the pattern is now Friday evening and Tuesday evening games.
'It is a really big improvement in terms of timing,' reckons Cech who returned from facing Lithuania for the Czech Republic this week.
'Before with the national team, the week was long when you had preparation from the Monday to the game on Saturday.
'To play the first game on Friday is better because you can then play on Tuesday. Before this change, some of the guys were flying for five hours back from somewhere, and you don't sleep after the game, you go straight to the airport, and then on Thursday you are completely dead.
'On Friday you could have a little training session and if you were playing an away game on Saturday it was not the best scenario because you kept travelling. It was tiring.
'So I think going to international matches on Friday and Tuesday is the best idea for a long time.'
It had long been a concern for top clubs with many star players that two-week international breaks had a detrimental effect on results. Last season, a last-minute goal prevented a Chelsea slip-up at Stoke after such an interval but when it came to playing away at Aston Villa with a Saturday lunchtime kick-off, Cech and his colleagues did suffer defeat.
Only time will tell if the new calendar shows any trends in results but our keeper does confirm this week felt more like a standard domestic one with a midweek game.
'You have your recovery day on Wednesday, the following day you feel the worst and then you have Friday to feel fresh and get ready for the game.
'Let's wait and see but it should improve everybody's state. Teams like us with many internationals, when everybody comes back from all over the world then you obviously have a disadvantage compared with other sides. One extra day can make a big difference.'
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