Pre pre-season explained
The new must-do training sessions for the world's top footballers have been bringing rivals together this summer...
Phil Foden cushions the ball up for Marcus Rashford to lash a shot into the top corner.
Declan Rice hugs a laughing Bruno Fernandes after seeing him crash a volley in off the post.
Rafael Leao chests the ball across the box for Joao Cancelo to flick it beyond the goalkeeper.
This isn't some kind of fantasy football or computer game. This is pre pre-season, the new must-do summer sessions for the world's elite players.
The days of footballers returning to their clubs after an off-season of over-indulgence have long been confined to history but now players are taking preparations for the campaign ahead to new levels.
At specialist training camps players from different club sides have been coming together to make sure they are approaching peak fitness and feeling sharp with the ball before the hectic schedule of summer tours and pre-season friendlies ramps up.
Across Instagram there have been images and videos of players usually on rival sides laughing, joking but mainly working hard together.
Image: Ash Narod (@icapturedaily)
Image: Ash Narod (@icapturedaily)
One of several popular destinations for these players is Quinta do Lago in Portugal's Algarve.
Sat within the Ria Formosa Natural Park, the resort's high-end facilities combine with secure surroundings and privacy to make 'The Campus' an ideal base. Its three 18-hole golf courses are another attraction.
The Campus at Quinta do Lago
The Campus at Quinta do Lago
"The Campus, through its design and development stage, was built to target and provide a location for the world’s best athletes to train," says Sean Moriarty, the resort's CEO. "Seeing more and more top-level sporting stars take to The Campus is very rewarding.
"The biggest pull for the players is our Desso Grassmaster hybrid (1.5) pitch – the world's number one stadium surface that is featured in some of the most renowned sporting venues.
"The pitches have their own private changing rooms and recovery rooms built to mirror those found in top class stadiums and the players love nothing more than being able to train in our high performance gym, walk straight out on to a top quality pitch and then recover in the cold plunge pool."
The Campus at Quinta do Lago
The Campus at Quinta do Lago
'The Campus' has routinely hosted club sides on pre-season or mid-season training camps in the past - Paris Saint-Germain, West Ham, Rangers, Celtic and Ajax included - but now elite individual athletes are signing up for sessions in the sunshine.
Orchestrating their training programmes when they are there are specialist performance coaches.
Julerson Dias and Christian Witkowski of Apex Football Performance put Man Utd's Fernandes, Arsenal's Rice, AC Milan's Leao and Man City's Cancelo through their paces in a special four-man group there, as well as at Browns Sports Resort - the site of the images of them in action in this piece.
They have also trained Harry Maguire, Diogo Dalot and a number of other international players over the past month.
"You're starting to see a lot of athletes realise, if there are other athletes doing it, 'I'm behind'," says Witkowski. "'If that player is playing in the same league as me and he's already started training, I have to get going because he’s already a week ahead'.
"We do the ball work. We bring in our partners where they do the physical aspect, going to the gym, the runs, or sometimes the athletes already have their personal trainers, strength and conditioning coaches. But we specialize in touches on the ball, working on specific things. Maybe those players have been doing the strength and conditioning for the last few years but they want to come back in nice and fresh and fit with the ball."
Image: Ash Narod (@icapturedaily)
Image: Ash Narod (@icapturedaily)
Image: Ash Narod (@icapturedaily)
Image: Ash Narod (@icapturedaily)
Image: Ash Narod (@icapturedaily)
Image: Ash Narod (@icapturedaily)
Image: Ash Narod (@icapturedaily)
Image: Ash Narod (@icapturedaily)
The cross-club collaborations have predictably drawn some criticism online from more cynical supporters but there are benefits to training with players who are normally rivals.
"There were a few jokes that Roy Keane wouldn’t be happy with that sort of thing," laughs Witkowski. "I was a bit shocked because it’s completely normal back in the States, where I’m from, because the off season is bigger.
"A lot of these athletes, they want to compete in a friendly environment, maybe learn off each other. That dynamic is friendly competition."
"If you’re a smart player you can always learn with other players. So it's good to have these experiences," adds Julerson.
Christian Witkowski of Apex Football Performance working with Joao Cancelo, Rafael Leao and Declan Rice. Image: Ash Narod (@icapturedaily)
Christian Witkowski of Apex Football Performance working with Joao Cancelo, Rafael Leao and Declan Rice. Image: Ash Narod (@icapturedaily)
Rice worked with the coaches for four days after an off-season holiday, squeezing the two-hour sessions in around the admin for his £105m transfer to Arsenal. Getting the tone of these sessions right is important, given the headspace the players are in at the time.
"These players are still on vacation, believe it or not," says Witkowski. "They're taking time away from their family to come and spend those one and a half, two hours with us. We not only want them to get their work in but also be in an environment that they enjoy."
As any top coach will tell you, though, progress takes time. James Ralph from Athletes Edge works with Premier League players year-round, providing the intense, individualised sessions not always available from their clubs.
He recently returned from a trip to Argentina with Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez, where the midfielder was keen to continue his additional physical programme.
Given their relationship, the load of that pre pre-season trip could be carefully managed by Ralph, but the fact Fernandez used the extra time off he received from Chelsea in this way is testament to his approach and also illustrates the amount of work it takes for players to reach the top - and then stay there.
"The fact that less than a year ago he won the World Cup with Argentina and came away with the young player of the tournament trophy, yet he’s still hungry to improve tells you a lot about his elite mentality," Ralph tells Sky Sports.
"It's extremely impressive, especially from somebody so young to have such an amazing attitude. This is also coming from a player who has barely had any time off in the last two seasons.
"A one-on-one environment is vital for many players to push their own ceilings. There are many players who will go on to be elite no matter what, but I feel that the more support players get from a network that they trust can only be a good thing.
"Everything about the modern-day game involves fine margins. Players are getting faster, stronger, more powerful and the game is getting more intense. Some players need to work harder than others to be able to compete, while others can get the edge over the rest by constantly improving, which takes time."
Pre pre-season is a building block before players take the next steps with their clubs. Come the first whistle of the first game, every session will have counted.
"It's all love until the season starts," Foden captioned a post of pictures showing him and Rashford training together.
With the help of these extra sessions, when rivalries renew, these players will be ready for action.
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