Real Madrid is smiling again. After a start to the season marked by a few questions, the Madrid team now displays a much more convincing face and seems to have found its cruising speed under the orders of José Mourinho. But if the results are there, the Portuguese technician knows that the hardest part is yet to come. Engaged in a particularly demanding season, the Merengues will have to string together meetings on several levels, with the objective of arriving in the best possible condition when approaching the decisive deadlines. And to avoid seeing his squad run out of steam, the former coach of Chelsea and Inter Milan decided to take the lead. According to information from Marcaa real physical management plan has been put in place at Valdebebas, where each minute played and each recovery period are now studied with particular attention.
The objective is simple: preserve organisms without compromising sporting performance. To do this, Mourinho works closely with the club’s various departments in order to individualize the workload of his players. A strategy that is not limited to rotations during matches, since additional rest periods can also be granted to certain particularly stressed elements. Arda Güler and Aurélien Tchouameni recently benefited from this, after accumulating significant playing time. The Madrid staff want to allow their players to recover physically, but also mentally, before returning to competition. A method which could gradually be extended to other staff members depending on their state of fitness and their use.
Mourinho draws inspiration from the Luis Enrique method
And to implement this strategy, José Mourinho does not need to look far. Always according to MarcaReal Madrid is particularly observing what is being done at Paris Saint-Germain, where Luis Enrique has made playing time management one of the pillars of his method. For several seasons, the Spanish coach has not hesitated to rotate his squad in Ligue 1 in order to preserve his executives for major European events. Since the start of the season, the Spanish coach has not hesitated to send Ousmane Dembélé to rest twice, for example. Latest example, the case of Achraf Hakimi. The Moroccan, who has been playing a series of matches since the start of the season, was left to rest for the match against Troyes this Saturday.
But Mourinho must deal with a different reality. Unlike PSG, which according to the Spanish media benefits from a less demanding national championship, Real Madrid has less room to relax its executives in La Liga. The Portuguese technician must therefore find the right balance between the need to string together victories and that of preserving his players over time. An equation all the more important as the Madrilenians aim to play the leading roles on all counts. At Valdebebas, the idea is now to push the individualization of work even further, with targeted rotations, adapted recovery periods and permanent monitoring of the players’ physical condition. It remains to be seen whether copying PSG will be the best way for Kylian Mbappé’s Real Madrid to achieve its objectives.
