Injury to Calafiori proves Tuchel is wrong as clubs carry all the real risk | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel’s stance on England squad selection reveals a fundamental misjudgment of the delicate ecosystem that separates club and international football.

Mirror 24 March 2025

Thomas Tuchel’s assertion that he owes Premier League clubs no favours, even after acknowledging the strain on their squads, betrays a short-sightedness from a manager who should know better.

His swipe at Mikel Arteta for selecting Declan Rice in the second leg of a 7-1 Champions League tie was not only misdirected but seemed completely unnecessary.

“After a 7-1 first-leg win Declan Rice played in the second leg with Arsenal so I don’t have the feeling that they think too much about us,” said Tuchel when speaking about resting players to help their clubs. His comments come as England prepare to face Latvia in the UEFA Nations League, a side ranked 140th by FIFA, 136 places below Tuchel’s side.

“I don’t think we have to break our heads about this. I take care of the players but it would be the wrong signal to tell them: ‘Hey you have tough club matches coming up so I am resting you now.’

“We have a qualifier to play, we do what’s good for us, we monitor them, we are in contact with the clubs and we won’t take any unprofessional risks.

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“I don’t want the players to be injured, I want the players to play in the quarter-finals of the Champions League – all of them – because I want to watch it, I want to see it. But in the end we take care of ourselves and the clubs take care of themselves.”

But the stakes here aren’t the same.

Clubs don’t just “take care of themselves.” They pay the salaries. They manage the injuries. They carry the weight of development, long-term medical care, and the backlash when things go wrong. Case in point during this international break: Riccardo Calafiori.

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The 22-year-old has already suffered two muscle injuries and two knee setbacks this season. The latest came while on duty with Italy in a Nations League quarter-final, a competition that, for most fans and clubs, barely registers beyond a glorified friendly.

Italy confirmed that Calafiori suffered a knee ligament injury against Germany. Though initial signs suggest it is not serious, Arsenal will still be without him for at least two to three weeks, a period that could include the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.

This is not abstract risk. These are tangible costs.

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If Calafiori misses both Fulham and Everton, then potentially Madrid and Brentford, those are season-defining fixtures lost to an international match that, from the club’s point of view, adds little value. It’s Arsenal who suffer in the league standings, in the Champions League race, and in the margins of trophies, not Italy, and certainly not any international manager.

Clubs are legally bound to release players. They provide the fitness data. They manage recovery and peak conditioning. And when players break, like Calafiori last week, it’s not Wembley that picks up the pieces. It’s London Colney.

Tuchel, of all people, should know this. He has coached through injury crises, selection dilemmas, and fixture congestion. He has relied on the good faith of international coaches to manage workloads, just as now others rely on his.

“I don’t want the players to be injured… but in the end we take care of ourselves and the clubs take care of themselves.”

That’s not balance. That’s a shrug. And in elite sport, the margins are too thin for indifference.

Arsenal don’t just “take care of themselves.” They carry the consequences when countries push too far. When Calafiori goes down, Arteta is the one answering questions, not Luciano Spalletti. When Rice gets overplayed, it’s Arsenal’s season, not England’s, that derails.

Until Tuchel learns the difference, club managers and fans will continue to look on international football with suspicion, and rightly so.