Club World Cup participants ‘have to adapt to schedule’, Hugo Lloris says

LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris believes footballers competing in the FIFA Club World Cup “have to adapt to the schedule” of another summer of competitive football in an increasingly relentless calendar.

Lloris also insists that the top European clubs participating do not face greater challenges than their opponents from the rest of the football world.

The 38-year-old and LAFC were the last of 32 clubs to qualify for the inaugural edition of FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s controversial expanded Club World Cup, defeating Club America 2-1 after extra time in a playoff last month to take the place vacated by Club Leon’s disqualification from the tournament due to violation of FIFA’s multi-club ownership rules.

FIFA’s introduction of a new, vast summer tournament has stoked opposition from domestic leagues, clubs and player unions around the world. One of the most prominent and persistent criticisms has been the lack of consideration afforded to player welfare, with leading players at the participating clubs subjected to significantly increased workloads.

But none of that appears to have greatly moved Lloris, who enjoyed a highly distinguished 19-year professional career in Europe with Nice, Lyon and Tottenham Hotspur — much of it as the starting goalkeeper for the France national team — before leaving to join LAFC on a free transfer in the summer of 2024.

“To be honest with you, when I came to MLS, I expected a rhythm of games less intense than in Europe,” Lloris said. “But then you start to realise you travel a lot, there are as many games as in Europe, you are also involved in the Champions League, Concacaf, the Club World Cup, and the cup against the Mexican teams.

“Everywhere is the same, there are a lot of competitions and players have to adapt to the schedule. Also, you cannot say being involved in the Club World Cup is not exciting for the players. Then there will be the moment to decide, especially for the European players, how many days, how many weeks are they going to get off mentally, physically for the next season.

“For us, as soon as we finish the tournament, we have to go back to a routine of the MLS games which is not easy either. Players have to adapt to the schedule. I am not here to question the schedule. I am just here to tell you we are enjoying being here and to do our best.”

While he is determined to embrace the Club World Cup, Lloris is under no illusions that LAFC are underdogs in a group featuring Chelsea, Flamengo and Esperance de Tunis.

“We come here with a lot of humility,” he added. “We just take it game by game. I cannot hide that the standard of the opponents are higher than ours. Especially Chelsea, then Flamengo and Tunis is a competitive club in Africa.

“We just want to come here to enjoy the competition, try to get the best result we can but we also have to be realistic. First, we focus on Chelsea.”

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(Photo: Rich Storry/Getty Images)