COMMENT: Money-spinning Middle Eastern friendlies may keep the sponsors happy, but Pep Guardiola's side have joined their counterparts in falling foul of the winter distraction
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Bayern Munich became the latest club to be punished after a Middle Eastern holiday when they fell to a dramatic 4-1 defeat to Bundesliga rivals Wolfsburg in a stunning resumption of action after the German mid-season break.
The hosts' emotional display was a fitting tribute to tragic midfielder Junior Malanda, who was killed in a car accident while on his way to the airport ahead of Wolfsburg's own warm weather training camp in South Africa.
Wolfsburg are no mugs - they are second to Bayern in the Bundesliga, and were a team possessed by a higher spirit on Friday night - but Bayern's heavy loss was the latest in a line of big clubs returning to Europe with an almighty thud after a Middle Eastern holiday.
The Bundesliga leaders have long used their six-week vacation as an opportunity to enjoy warm weather training camps. Bayern played three matches between January 13 and 23 but, despite having nearly a month to recover and train before returning to non-competitive action, were torn apart by an inspired Wolfsburg.
Bayern's tradition of travelling to warmer climes has been credited for their freshness in the latter stages of the season. The muscles rest in the sun, training is combined with a holiday, and match sharpness is regained with a series of exhibition matches against local teams before a more Teutonic encounter against a German team, in this case Vfl Bochum.
Other European teams to suffer on return to domestic action following trips to the Middle East include Real Madrid, AC Milan and Manchester City. That trio did not have the excuse of facing inspired opposition, while - unlike Bayern - their schedules were complicated by the decision to fly Emirates.
Before the 2014-15 winter break, Real Madrid won 22 matches in a row. They were champions of the world, top of La Liga, winners of Champions League Group B and about to face Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey round of 16.
Fast forward to January 7 and Real had lost their first two games since the restart of the Spanish domestic season - in La Liga to Valencia (2-1) and in the Copa to Atletico (2-0).
A win against Espanyol followed and, while Los Merengues are now back on track, performances have been anything but convincing, typified by the scrappy 2-1 victory at Cordoba that saw Cristiano Ronaldo dismissed and later suspended for two matches.
It all went wrong in late December when Madrid travelled to the Gulf for the Dubai International Sports Conference. This trip saw members of the squad attend the Globe Soccer Awards (December 28-29) and was followed by a mid-season exhibition match against AC Milan on December 30.
While hardly a thunderous, physical affair, Madrid’s 4-2 defeat to the Italians preceded a poor run on their return to action in January. Only a blip for Barcelona at Real Sociedad maintained their place on top of the league.
And it wasn’t just the losers who choked on that desert storm. Milan’s victory in Dubai was followed by a horrendous sequence of results. While they had already limped into the Christmas break, their January record of one Serie A point in four matches was their worst start to a New Year in 74 years.
In addition to slumping into the bottom half of the league, with qualification to next season’s Champions League now a distant dream, the Rossoneri also exited the Coppa Italia to Lazio. That alarming slump could cost Pippo Inzaghi his job as coach. It has also raised questions about the stewardship of Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani.
Probably the most surprising post-gulf hangover was felt by Manchester City, who suffered a shock 2-0 home defeat to Championship side Middlesbrough in the FA Cup - just three days after a match against Hamburg in Abu Dhabi.
City don’t even have the luxury of a winter break due to Great Britain’s tradition of piling up the fixtures over the Christmas period. Their 2-0 win over the Germans at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium came in midweek, three days after a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal.
City boss Manuel Pellegrini denied their school night vacation played a part in their loss to Boro. "It is very easy to say it is about Abu Dhabi," said Pellegrini. "I don't think that is the reason."
Why are these Middle Eastern money-spinners causing problems for elite teams? It’s not as if the matches or conditions are particularly gruelling. However, the travel – flights from Europe take approximately eight hours each way depending on the point of origin – and the interruption to training and recovery plans are not ideal at the highest level, where marginal gains and losses are felt most acutely.
The impact of these games varies by a team’s schedule and resources. For Madrid, the extended period in the Gulf clearly disrupted a winter break already shortened by the Club World Cup in Morocco. However, the size and quality of their squad means it will probably be little more than a blip in a season destined for success.
For Milan, the problems run far deeper and will probably extend into the next few years. For City, any errors are amplified by the strength of Chelsea who, incidentally, also went out of the FA Cup but have reached the League Cup final and go into the weekend Premier League clash as favourites over the defending champions.
So why are these teams risking domestic success for what appear to be little more than vanity projects? As always in the modern game, it comes down to money.
Real Madrid have a €150 million sponsorship deal with Emirates, AC Milan earn €100m from the same airline and, of course, Manchester City are owned by the U.A.E. Bayern, at least, appear to have a choice.
With Arabian money increasingly influential in European football, and with Financial Fair Play forcing teams to justify their income, such commercially-minded trips will only become more common. They key for their protagonists is how to incorporate them into the micromanaged world of elite performance.
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