Posted by Stephen Kuzner

By Stephen Kuzner - WFD Fan Correspondent

Believe it or not, the past number of years I've liked international breaks for no other reason than watching Team USA measure-up to the best in the world and seeing who is rising through the ranks of the US player pool. This may sound like the soccer equivalent of enjoying math homework. However, to satisfy any tabloid cravings I might have, there is the manic and depressive nature of the English national team and its supporters to relish in. So an international break for me is kind of like anoraking your calculus with Jerry Springer on in the background.

The break for the Euros these past too-many days however has been encumbering. Three weeks into the English Premiership and one week into La Liga, it's like having your sails finally catch some wind and then having it immediately subdued. I know. I know. There is MLS, but that is a byproduct of the MLS needing revenues from weekend crowds. Whether MLS should abide by the FIFA calendar or not is another matter to debate altogether. The rest of the world for the most part stops for these breaks.

International football during international breaks becomes solely about your home-country's team and not about the big picture of something else like a League Table, Cup, or Champions League. The novelistic plot-line of the club-season is interrupted by the quick short-story of international football. It can be encumbering. Further, if you were to play devils advocate, I don't think FIFA would interrupt either the Copa America, Euro's, or World Cup for the FIFA Club World Cup. If FIFA hired some physicist to craft an equation that could explain the unexplained necessity of international breaks in the midst of a club season, it may be this ....

International Break + Club Season = Footballing Momentum Killjoy

All kidding aside, however, these international breaks are necessary. Going with my nerd-theme of this column, in the enlightening Soccernomics, Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski point-out three factors (among others) that impact a nation's relative footballing-strength are population size, per capita GDP, and international experience. If the USA is ever going to catch the Spain's, Brazil's, Italy's, and Italy's of the world, the USA needs to keep playing games for experience alone. The US drawing with Argentina in the Meadowlands a few years ago foreshadowed the victory over Spain in the Confederations Cup. For teams playing catch-up in the experience category, these ho-hum international breaks are vital.

So at the end of the day, International breaks are like medicine or vitamins. You don't really like them, but they are necessary for your health and the health of your home footballing-nation. That being said, lets enjoy some EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and MLS this weekend. Here's a quick preview of what to expect in La Liga this weekend. Valencia will cruise past Racing Santander 2-0, Barcelona tonks Hercules 4-0, Real Madrid bounces back against Osasuna 4-1, Athletic Bilbao draw with Atlético Madrid 1-1 in a boxing-match of a game, Sporting Gijon slip-by Mallorca 2-1, Real Zaragoza and Málaga draw 1-1, Getafe beat Levante 2-1, Villarreal and Espanyol draw 2-2 in probably the best game of the week, and Sevilla FC win over Deportivo La Coruña 3-1.



Please send any feedback to skuzner@mail.com.