An inside look at a Real Madrid training session
Goal.com's Knowles Adkisson took notes as Jose Mourinho conducted a practice prior to the team's World Football Challenge opener in L.A.
Jose Mourinho stopped in mid-stride, a look of annoyance crossing his face. As his players cycled through shooting drills, he marched to the edge of the field and picked up a white practice cone, took three paces, and carefully replaced it. A row of cameras the size of toy cannons clicked from steps away as he realigned three other cones, capturing the singular neurosis of “The Special One” for posterity.
Real Madrid’s cadre of global superstars touched down in Los Angeles this week for preseason training, and while the arrival of household names like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka has justifiably grabbed headlines, club officials know names alone will not win them trophies this year. Madridistas are counting on the organizational genius of Mourinho to make a dent in the dominance of hated rivals Barcelona, and that journey begins here, on the campus of UCLA in Westwood.
Mourinho’s practices are legendary for their precision, and Goal.com was able to observe the entirety of one of his 90-minute training sessions earlier this week. What follows is a breakdown of the session with commentary.
10 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
The players jog around, then circle up at midfield. There is not much talking, other than from Brazilian defender Marcelo, who chatters away happily while his teammates go about their stretching.
10:15 – 10:39
Players break into groups of five by position and do shooting drills for a few minutes, then small-sided games of keep-away in a 10 ft. x 10 ft. box. Then repeat.
In the shooting drills, the players high-step cones, weave through two flags, and receive a pass from an assistant. After passing it back, they high-step more cones, receive the backpass and shoot on goal.
Ronaldo and Marcelo are by far the most vocal players on the pitch. Marcelo is goofy, bumping into teammates playfully and making faces. It’s quickly apparent that Ronaldo is the alpha dog on this team. He goes through the drills with a bounce in his step and a certain “big kid on the playground” swagger. He’s also very competitive, and probably the hardest worker on the pitch.
Up close, his athleticism is truly impressive. Bouncing through the flags like a jackhammer, he clangs a hard low shot off the post. He lets out a deep, frustrated yell that sounds like “Bluuu!” He scores his next three times through the drill, each one followed by a happier “Bluuu!”
A pair of goalkeepers try to stop this target practice, but not the starters. Iker Casillas and his backup are working off in the corner with a pair of goalkeeping coaches. No cannon fodder for Saint Iker.
Mesut Ozil is just like he appears on TV, trotting around almost nonchalantly. In the small-sided games, his touch in tight places is exquisite. New signing Fabio Controao is not hard to spot with his bleached blond hair.
10:39 a.m. – 10:42 a.m.
The players take a water break and circle again at midfield to stretch. Xabi Alonso walks across the field with a team official, smiling. He is not in cleats or shin pads. As he exits through the gates, one starts to hear high pitched shouts. “Xa-BIII! Xa-BIII!” a throng of fans screams outside. These guys are rockstars.
Until now, Mourinho has mostly allowed his assistants to run players through the drills. That’s about to change though.
10:45 a.m. - 10:57 a.m.
The 20 players at practice cluster into a coned-in rectangular area (having met Mourinho’s approval), which measures about 40 ft x 20 ft. The rules of this exercise are unclear, but it appears to be a larger version of keep-away, with Mourinho barking at his players and keeping score. Ronaldo, on the white team, sticks close to his buddy Marcelo at one end. When Ronaldo gets the ball, Mourinho will shout in a hoarse voice “Crish!” followed by instructions in Portugese.
Ten players in blue bibs are matched up against six players in white shirts, with four extra white shirts stationed on the edges of the box as outlets. Mourinho roots the players on, shouting in Portugese, “Vai! Vai!” Ronaldo, in white, also shouts it, pushing his teammates as they interchange passes.
Kaka floats around, playing neat one-touch passes, always making himself available to teammates. He’s not very demonstrative, and has been something a forgotten man since his arrival two years ago. Hampered by injuries, the strong play of Ozil has consigned the Brazilian star to something of a supporting role.
At one point, the white team strings together an impressive combination through six players from one end of the box to the other. Ronaldo pumps his fist as the ball moves through. “Vai! Vai!”
10:57 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Mourinho blows his whistle. “Agua! Buena Buena Buena!” He’s been very involved in this session.
11:00 a.m. - 11:11 a.m.
The players move to another coned-in rectangle, this one slightly larger than the previous drill. Mourinho is in the middle of the players, shouting instructions. This time the players are divided into three groups. It is still six players in white shirts and ten in blue bibs, but now four players have donned orange bibs. The two goalkeepers who were earlier manning the goals during shooting drills stand at opposite sides of the box to serve as outlets for the field players.
Mourinho is hovering at the edge of the box, inciting the players and keeping score. 6-2, he shouts at one point. It’s unclear how the points are won. At one point, Ronaldo takes two quick touches and spins in the middle with the ball, weaving the length of the crowded box.
Alvaro Arbeloa takes a deflected ball to the crowned jewels, and limps out of the box while an assistant looks on in concern.
11:11 a.m. - 11:12 a.m.
Mourinho blows the whistle again. “Agua!”
11:12 a.m. - 11:14 a.m.
As the players wander to midfield for the water break, the sound of a group of singing fans drifts over the green-canvassed walls which block the view of the practice to outsiders. Their meaning is clear. “Vii-a via Barceloooona! Vii-a via Barcelooona!”
Karim Benzema and Kaka look up from their water bottles in the direction of the singing. They can’t escape their Catalan rivals even in California.
11:14 a.m. - 11:17 a.m.
Mourinho begins giving instructions for a new drill. The players break into two groups of nine. Each group has a goalkeeper, four defenders and five attackers, and they play in short fields with 2 goals each about 40 feet apart.
11:17 a.m. - 11:21 a.m.
Kaka overlaps Ronaldo on the left flank in one of the shortened fields, and Kaka’s cross is blocked by a sliding defender. Mourinho stashes his clipboard under his armpit and yells at his defenders, motioning his arms together as if to say, “Stay tighter!”
11:21 a.m.
Mourinho blows the whistle. The players head to the center circle to stretch again and wind down. Ozil and Sami Kedhira stretch next to each other on the grass, talking in German. Mourinho stalks away from the wide circle of players at midfield and stops about 20 yards away. He lies down on his back, as if no one is looking, and starts to do some crunches, apparently out of boredom.
While Ronaldo is the undisputed leader of this team on the field, Mourinho’s body language makes it apparent that there are two alpha figures at the club. Each seems to give the other his domain, though.
Soon, the players exit the field to awaiting golf carts to ferry them past the John Wooden Center and across campus to their waiting bus. As they pass through the gates, the crowd outside starts shouting for autographs from the players. “Iker! Kaka! Ronaldo!” Yes, it’s good to be a Galactico.
Ko hoce da procita kako izgleda jedan trening Real Madrida.
