Real Madrid returned to training this morning after two days of rest that have generated debate among the fans. Arbeloa’s idea was and is to take advantage of the fact that the calendar gives a break with only one game per week to improve, so among the fans and after the bad results or victories without brilliance, as the one achieved against Rayo, it has not gone down very well that the players enjoyed these mini vacations.
“Right now it’s time to work. We have two weeks now in which we are going to be able to work on all levels, and that is what we want, what we wanted and what we were looking for. I’ve been here for 18-19 days, practically with a game every three days, without having much time to work. What we are looking for is to be able to have time with the players to work, improve and every day go further. That’s what we’re going to have ahead of us and that’s what we’re focused on,” said the coach before the match against Rayo.
So Arbeloa gets down to work this morning. Pintus, the physical trainer who has already returned with a questioned Xabi and who has already taken over definitively with the new coach, will also have work to do because one of the aspects that Arbeloa wants to improve is the physical. A little over a week ago, Zidane, who also arrived in January after the dismissal of Rafa Benitez, recalled that the time they had to carry out a training plan was key.
“I remember we had three weeks and we didn’t have the European Cup, we didn’t have the Cup, only the League and we had three weeks to work. For three weeks we could work from Monday to the next game. We had actually realised that they would need to do the cardio, get gas, as we used to say,” Zidane recalled, who then left the physical side to Bernardo Requena and the staff he already had at Castilla. Pintus would not arrive at Madrid until the summer.
In Arbeloa’s case, the counter must be set to zero from today. The next match is on Sunday at Mestalla and then there will be another long break, although somewhat shorter because the match against Real Sociedad is on Saturday, and it remains to be seen whether there will be a rest day on Monday to make the exact count.
Eyes set on Lisbon again
And the results will be seen especially in the following week, with the match on Tuesday 16th against Benfica again at the Estadio Da Luz. The Whites were also outplayed by Mourinho’s side in intensity with the 4-2 defeat that has left Madrid playing the play-off for access to the last 16 again against the Portuguese.
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