Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has spoken out in favour of a winter break in English football but would like to see one in place after the festive period.
While most other European leagues have a pause either in December or January, the Premier League and EFL see more games during Christmas and New Year before continuing non-stop until the end of the season.
Criticism of the fixture pile-up in England resurfaced this season when Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola claimed that too much football would "kill the players".
Although Cech has come out in support of a pause midway through the campaign, the veteran goalkeeper believes that festive fixtures should be kept as part of the nation's footballing tradition.
"We should [have a break], but not during the Christmas period, because it has such a great tradition in this country and I wouldn't change that," Cech told the official Arsenal site.
"Usually the first week of January or the second week of January is the FA Cup game and I think there are plenty of moments where you can shift one week. I would probably leave this period because, as I said, it's really special in England.
"I would play in the frantic and charged period of December and in the first week of January. Then the second week of January I would give everybody a break because I think if you cut those five days, it would help people to recharge physically and mentally.
"People would be refreshed, the teams would have a week where you could have five days off completely, for people to drift away from football, then come back, have five days of preparation and then resume.
"I think it would have no impact on anything because if you think, every year we finish around May 20, then have the FA Cup depending on how it goes. Then you have international games which start on June 13, so if you finish on May 20, you still have to train because you go to the national team."
Last year, Italy's Serie A opted to move the 2017-18 winter break to January instead of during the festive period.
Giuseppe Labellarte
