After the Christmas Eve dinner, the players began their Christmas holiday.
But as the team's Head Coach, Yang Yang had no way to rest, because he still had many important things to do.
For example, he had to arrange the team's training and matches after the holiday.
Because the Copa del Rey had changed its format from the original two-legged ties to the current single-match knockout system, the number of matches had been greatly reduced. Moreover, teams participating in the Champions League, such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Valencia, did not have to take part in the first two knockout rounds, giving them more time to rest and recuperate.
Therefore, after the Christmas holiday, Real Madrid only needed to play the nineteenth round of La Liga on January 3, away against Getafe. After that, they would have another two weeks to rest before welcoming their twentieth-round opponents, Sevilla, at home.
Another obvious advantage was that Getafe was a Madrid-based team, while the match against Sevilla would be played at home.
In other words, Real Madrid had a full three weeks to prepare.
Even before the schedule was released, Yang Yang had discussed it with the coaching staff, especially Antonio Pintus, and had drawn up a preliminary plan. As the season progressed, they continued to improve and refine it, particularly according to the current condition of the players.
Now, the coaching staff needed to finalize the training plan and match arrangements for after the Christmas holiday.
Without a doubt, Yang Yang was the only person who could make that decision.
Yang Yang's attitude was very clear: he wanted to use this period to recharge the players properly and prepare for the second half of the season, with particular emphasis on their fitness.
Without sufficient fitness, nothing else would matter.