the essential
Gboho who is already signing autographs through the fence, Bangré back from loan all smiles… The time for the return to school had come on this Monday morning, July 1st for the Toulousains, at the Stadium Technical Center. Responsible for performance, Guillaume Ravé, 40 years old, at the club since January 2020, explains to us the ins and outs of the essential summer preparation.
Have the players been good during the holidays?
I wasn’t with them (laughs). More seriously, they are pros. They had a six-week break. The first three, we left them alone; then, they trained alone, respecting a set of specifications.
Was ?
Individual work on runs, mainly. The goal is to arrive in pre-season having already worked. So that we, the staff, only have a restart in the activity. The objective of our first week is to give the players this ability to play football every day. That’s it. We are very progressive on the amount of ball that we “put” to them each day.
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So the summer program was not on the menu?
Yes. There is always a common framework. Afterwards, depending on their vacation spot, for example, we adjust. Of course. There are some who follow it to the letter, others who want to be accompanied during the period, some still who express other wishes in addition. We stay connected in this way.
There really is a whole battery of tests, right?
That’s why we do a group recovery, since there are medical examinations. In particular those imposed by the League. The players see the cardiologist, our doctor, the dentist, they have a blood test. Then we have our own appointments, here: physiotherapists, dietician, mental trainer. It’s a complete point punctuated by a small aerobic test (effort, editor’s note) on the field, soft, not restrictive, in order to see where they are. We make them run for 5 minutes at 12 km/h and we can evaluate them with regard to reference values that we have.
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What is the menu for the next few days, in more detail?
This year is special: there will be 13 weeks between the last Ligue 1 match of the 2023-24 season and the first of the season that is starting. This is exceptional, jointly linked to the Euro, the Copa America and the Olympics. As a result, our preparation lasts 7 weeks instead of the usual 5-6. We will take advantage of this with, among other things, a week of hyper-progressive recovery. Today and tomorrow, as we said, they are divided into groups: tests in the morning, training in the afternoon and vice versa. Which, by the way, also allows us to reconnect on a human level in a closer way. We take time with each one.
No European Cup, does this impact your work?
Yes and no. It is true that playing twice a week leads to certain things, but on the other hand, with only one match the sessions will be more important… In any case, it is about preparing the players for the marathon of the season.
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When will they be able to touch the ball again?
But from this Monday morning! Slowly, not for long. Because, for three weeks, they only did athletics: they ran. We have to prepare them again to play high-intensity football. And already…
Oui…
Let them play 45 minutes in two weeks. On a real pitch.
