Gregory Dupont (Valenciennes, France, 1972) has a litmus test ahead of him in the coming weeks. He is the physical trainer that Zidane chose to replace Pintus last summer. He came backed by his success in the French team, who was world champion with him in 2018 exhibiting great physical power. But in Madrid he has gone through several stages. He started questioned by the accumulation of muscle injuries at the beginning of the course, although the team picked up cruising speed in late 2019 and early 2020 (when he conquered the Spanish Super Cup) and his work began to be valued.
Now, the coronavirus will put you in front of a definitive exam. He has been in charge of keeping the players in shape as much as possible during the break, although there their liability is limited. The players received the tasks, but each was then individually responsible for how to complete them.
With the return to Valdebebas that will take place next Monday, May 11, things change. Players will have to be divided into groups of six and will not have contact with each other. In other words, the work will be largely physical. In preseason, the physical trainers have a lot of responsibility, but they always have to adapt their sessions to combine them with the friendlies and the tactical part organized by the coach. This time Dupont will have full powers: it will be up to him to fine-tune the team.
It is known as The scientist because he is obsessed with data and statistics, something that will be essential in the first weeks. The first thing that white players will do in Valdebebas is undergo different tests to measure the physical state in which each one arrives. Almost all of the staff have personal trainers with whom they have worked by video call these days, always combining these routines with the collective work imposed by Dupont. This will cause each player to arrive at a point differently.
Especially important will be the tests of maximum speed and explosive races. That power is the most difficult to recover after inactivity and varies depending on the type of player. Therefore, the work of the players will be individualized in every way. Apart from doing it alone, Dupont will have to adapt the workloads in a personalized way depending on the moment in which each footballer arrives and the specific conditions of each one. The goal is for everyone to arrive at the same point of form by the time the competition resumes.
With the impossibility of contact between colleagues during this first phase, Zidane’s work will hardly be relevant. All responsibility will be for Dupont, who has the confidence of the coach and full powers to design the plan that will prepare the Madrid team after the break.
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