TRAINING
the modern age has to consider the
possibilities offered by technology, laying
on individual training drills, adapting to
a footballing blueprint, spending more
time on the training pitch than in the gym,
injury prevention and the overall influence
of a range of medical and biological
disciplines. All of this calls for more human
resources within the clubs' departments
and a seamless coordination between them.
Fitness training is no longer just a case of
running for the sake of running and seeing
how fast we can get heartbeats pumping.
In terms of the future, things show no signs
of slowing down. Javier Miñano, whose
three decades of experience make him one
of the most skilled fitness coaches in the
Spanish game, is now back in LaLiga with
Valencia CF and is in no doubt that "the
future is all about technology and, more
specifically, the use of big data. We have
to look to something more scientific in
terms of investigation in order to simplify
the data. The key to the future is also all
about individual training and tailoring the
workloads to individual players to a greater
extent." Or, in other words, and as the
slogan that inspires the Granada coaching
staff puts it: "We have to be experts in 21
players."
To return to our question, is it actually
possible to mould the physically perfect
footballer in the short to medium term?
LaLiga clubs certainly think so and they're
definitely going the right way about it.
The presence of world-renowned fitness
coaches, including the guru Paco Seirul·lo
(head of the Methodology Department at
FC Barcelona) and Real Madrid's Gregory
Dupont, who was part of the backroom
staff in France's 2018 World Cup-winning
set-up, adds real value to the Spanish top
flight. Meanwhile, the following seasoned
campaigners do a convincing job of
deceiving onlookers into thinking that
they're fresh out of their clubs' academies:
Joaquin Sanchez (Real Betis, 38), Diego
Lopez (RCD Espanyol, 38), Aritz Aduriz
(Athletic Club, 38), Jorge Molina (Getafe
CF, 37), Salva Sevilla (RCD Mallorca, 35),
amongst others. A number of LaLiga clubs
have welcomed us in to offer us an insight
into their efforts to mould that perfect
footballer, as they reveal the secrets behind
the fitness training of some of the greatest
footballers on the planet.
GRANADA CF:
Local muscle vibration gives Andalusians
best injury record in Spanish football
Victor Lafuente was appointed as the
fitness coach at Granada in the 2018/19
season as a member of Diego Martinez's
coaching staff and proved instrumental
in the club's promotion from LaLiga
SmartBank last time round. Granada has the
third lowest salary limit in LaLiga and are
still in a restructuring process initiated by
the arrival of Chinese owner Jian Lizhang
in 2016. They’re doing things the right way,
though, even spending time as LaLiga
Santander leaders following promotion
from the second tier this summer and only
having spent 6 seasons in the top flight in
the last 44. Well, amongst other feats, the
Andalusian outfit promoted cause they
registered the best injury record in the
professional ranks of the Spanish game
last term, picking up just five muscular
injuries throughout the whole campaign
(and just a single hamstring injury). This
record is partly down to the revolutionary
local muscle vibration treatment, which was
introduced into the club's fitness regime by
Lafuente, a pioneer and visionary fitness
expert within the European game.
"It all started back in 2016," recalls
Lafuente. "I was looking for a muscle
activation training course and came across
Neuromecánica LAB, who looked at things
from a neurological approach. My dad had
Alzheimer's and that was what initially
prompted me to look at how the brain
works. Another reason behind it was my
interest in finding out why many players
suffer injury relapses. And I discovered
that injuries not only affect the body on
a musculoskeletal level but that they also
impact on neurological mechanisms. Whilst
you might recover physically from an injury,
there are still neurological changes which
can end up causing a recurrence of that
injury."
"We tend to think it's a case of just
improving your strength, but really
everything goes through a primary process
where the brain dictates and organises
things," tells Lafuente. "Any kind of
neurodegenerative illness ultimately means
that, even when your muscles can be
healthy, if your brain doesn't coordinate the
signals received that it has to send to the
muscles, then the muscles aren’t activated
as the context demands. An injury causes
a neurological change because there's an
interruption to the process that carries
the signal to the sensor and motor cortex
and on to the muscle. This whole circuit is
affected."
Local muscle vibration, which is achieved
using various different devices, works a
particular muscle, helping to reorganise
and reconnect the neurological circuits.
It's not enough for the muscle to be
healthy; the brain also has to be aware
that it's healthy. The team's injury record
from last season speaks volumes of the
therapy’s effectiveness. Indeed, the system
is beginning to take root across Spanish
and European football, both to assist injury
recovery and activation prior to training
sessions and matches. At Granada, where
everything is done with meticulous detail,
the technique is used on a daily basis.
Grounded on a similar theory, another
neuropriming tool being employed at
Granada involves visualisation, which is
very much on-trend due to the recent rise
of virtual reality. The club turned to the
technique when treating long-term injury
victim, Quini. It involves getting the player
to imagine himself back out on the pitch
and in tip-top condition. The technique
is producing good results, with the club
recognising the role it’s playing in the
defender's recovery.
One vital ingredient in all of this is the
collaboration between departments. One
of the major programmes rolled out at
Granada, again relating to neurological
processes, is how the club studies players'
sleep. Led by Manuel Arroyo, a member
of the medical department and an expert
in what’s called ‘Sleep-Fit’, the guidelines
offered to all squad members to improve
the quality of their sleep sparked dressing
room competitions to see who got the best
night's sleep, even despite these guidelines
including factors like "the temperature, the
light in the room and the use of mobiles
before sleeping." It's all in the name of
optimising player performance.
RCD MALLORCA:
Heart rate variability to measure fatigue
& GPS to monitor performance, even in
training games
Mallorca are the exception to the rule in
the world of football. Just two seasons
ago, the Islanders were competing in the
Spanish third tier and now they're mixing
it with the country's big boys in LaLiga
Santander, even managing to get the better
of powerhouses such as Real Madrid and
Valencia. One man who has had a big hand
in the club's meteoritic rise, which involved
back-to-back promotions, is former Sevilla
FC and Zenit St Petersburg fitness coach,
Dani Pastor, who boasts 20 years of
Valencia CF player Geoffrey Kondogbia,
during an individual training session
Valencia CF assistant fitness coach placing
the GPS system on Jose Luis Gaya
