“First day I saw Lamine, I had to rub my eyes”

Julio Tous is a world reference in physical preparation. He’s currently the head of the department at Barça under Hansi Flick, a manager with a style of play that relies heavily on being in peak form. Tous, who was born in Barcelona, previously worked for a decade with Antonio Conte, another coach known for especially valuing physical preparation, at Juventus, Chelsea, Inter, and the Italian national team. in a recent interview with Flashscore, Julio Tous talked about Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Flick, and many other topics related to Barça.

Tous speaksvery highly about Robert Lewandowski, who scored more than 40 goals this season, despite turning 37 in a few weeks, “it’s not normal for a striker, a goalscorer, to have that kind of discipline and character over the years, but Lewandowski at that level is an example”, as he continues “”We always said, especially during my time in Italy of course, the defenders could be the physical trainers, because they have such a good training culture and such a predisposition that I could go and say: ‘Guys, I don’t know, Chiellini, Bonucci, Barzagli and so on, you run the session and I’m going for a coffee'”.

The key to such longevity is “the neuromuscular. That’s your power, your start and so on. Then, of course, that is related and you can, in some way, take the neuromuscular towards the metabolic, towards being resistant over time, the resistance to power. But the basis is the neuromuscular.”

The fitness coach was amazed by Lamine Yamal, “first day I saw him, I had to rub my eyes. Because, all of a sudden, I saw a sort of, I don’t know if I should call it something between a panther and a snake, moving at a very fast speed. And I said: ‘I’ve seen what I’ve seen, if it’s the first training session and he’s already like that, and he’s coming from doing nothing in theory, the quality this kid has is incredible’.”

Julio Tous admires the way Barça works with La Masia talents, “I think Barca and La Masia have done an incredible job in terms of education, because he is a polite, respectful boy, and you never see him in the dressing room doing anything out of place. Like all the boys at La Masia, Lamine has a very nice sporting culture. So, from that point on, it’s very easy for us, because if you already have that base, you have no problem doing what you have to do.”

Tous explains the importance of resting the players, and also talks about Fermín, as he got injured after not resting properly last summer, “Fermin got the injuries from the start because he hadn’t really rested, and this was talked about because he played, if I remember correctly, in the Olympics and was in the European Championships that they (Spain) won. The accumulation was brutal, and when he came to realise it, we had already started the season.”

Those problems can happen to the teams playing the Clubs World Cup, “we can’t deny that there has to be an influence because the number of matches accumulated this season for these two teams (Real Madrid and Atlético) is going to be much higher. To that we have to add the games that the national team has. The two games they might have to play, at least. And it’s going to be, I don’t know whether to call it a drama, but it’s going to be very complex to be able to regenerate all that accumulated competitive load in as little time as they have. Because LaLiga, if I’m not mistaken, starts in mid-August.”