Real Madrid's Fitness Plan 'damaged' Qatar World Cup, But Pintus Has A Special Strategy

Fitness coach Antonio Pintus (Instagram @realmadrid)

JAKARTA - The World Cup in Qatar has shaken the plans of Real Madrid and some of the big clubs that have a lot of international players.

In the case of Real Madrid, between 10 and 15 players will travel to Doha to play in the World Cup from November to December.

Faced with this unprecedented situation, Real Madrid fitness coach Antonio Pintus has put together a unique plan for all the World Cup players and another one for those who will stay in Valdebebas during this time.

Pintus' role in Real Madrid's success last season was decisive, as the team's physical strength demonstrated at the end of the season, as they won La Liga and the Champions League.

This season, Pintus divides the season into three phases of work. The first phase was from Monday to August 10, when Los Blanos had the UEFA Super Cup final scheduled.

As of this week, he has carried out conditioning and workload exercises to determine the physical condition of each player and he will proceed with individual plans that are ideal for each, based on this information.

"This is a test designed to determine the aerobic and anaerobic thresholds of the players and their current strength," Pintus told Real Madrid's official media, quoted by Marca, Tuesday.

“The mask serves to analyze oxygen and carbohydrates. We need to know the percentage of one another to determine the current state of the player.

"The results help to personalize or at least give direction to the work the team is doing.

"Pre-season training is based on a long-running aerobic base which is then used in conjunction with shorter and faster running directions and goals.

"I can tell from this test if the players still need long, low-intensity runs or if I can start training more intensely and faster."

Then, there are the United States tour matches, which will help the players get into the rhythm of the competition. From 1 to 9 August, there will be special preparations for the UEFA Super Cup against Eintracht Frankfurt, and the start of La Liga and the Champions League.

The second and third phases of the Pintus . plan

The second phase came with the World Cup. From November 21 to December 4, pre-season is effective for players living in Madrid.

From December 4 until the end of the year, there will be a break for returning internationals.

In the third phase, from January 2023 onwards, there will be special conditioning for the players who are most tired upon their return from the World Cup.

"A break in training in November for the World Cup would be good for me, because we can do pre-season again and work a little bit more for the players who stay," added Pintus.

"It will be different for the players who are going to the World Cup. They have to rest 100 per cent when they come back and then work gradually.

"It will be very different for the two groups."