We like to think we know a lot about the players in our teams. How they play, their strengths, weaknesses, temperament, etc. But as fans, we only ever see the results of all the work that goes on behind the scenes. We see what happens on the pitch, but we don’t see what goes on during the rest of the week.
Typically, a footballer will work 6 days out of 7. In a game week with only one match, they will train for 5 days, play on one, and rest at home on the other.
Clubs are understandably secretive about the specifics of what goes on in training because they need to protect their tactical information, but we know enough to broadly explain the sorts of exercises, classes, and training that goes on.
So if you have ever wondered what football players do in training this is the article for you.
No Such Thing as an Average Day
I know. I hate cliches too, but it’s true.
Exactly what goes on during training can depend on so many things. Everything from the day of the week to the weather can have an impact on what happens. The team’s performance in the last match can influence what goes on in early in the week, while the opposition they are due to come up against next will have a bearing on their focus in training towards the end of the week.
The manager’s philosophy will be a big influence on how hard the training is and how long it goes on for, as well as the frequency of classroom based sessions for analysis as opposed to set piece drills. A team which plays on the counter or with a high press, for example, might need to work more on sprint training and incorporate lots of explosive functional exercises.
Then there are the players themselves, who will all have their own individual skills or weaknesses to perfect or improve on.
In pre-season the focus will be on getting the players back up to peak fitness, so it would be a much more physical and longer day than a Thursday session mid-way through the season. So as you can see there are so many elements to consider when planning training sessions that there really is no such thing as an average day.
What I will do here, is break down the sorts of things football players do in training into categories, and explain them. That way, even though the exact make up of a week in training will be unique to each club, you know it will be made up of some combination of the following.
Analysis
This is a classroom based element of a day’s training.
Players will be shown clips of games to review, with the manager and perhaps the lead analyst providing feedback on what is happening in each video and why.
These clips will be chosen for specific reasons, targetted to improve the player’s understanding of what is going on on the pitch during transitions, or in terms of their positioning, or in set pieces, or in dealing with a particularly tricky opponent, etc.
The videos might be about a specific player and their job in certain situations, to point out pockets of space to be exploited, or it might be to highlight how an opposing team employ their tactics. It can be for any purpose really, but it is all backed up with data and statistics that explain why one approach is better than another.
Some elements of sports science can also be integrated into these sessions.
Players can use this information to their advantage next time they play.
HIIT and Fitness
General fitness sessions vary perhaps more than anything else in training.
Pre-season sessions will be intensive and gruelling as they aim to bring players back to match fitness before the new season. After the season has begun it will be more about maintaining fitness levels, but the clubs have to be careful not to train their players too hard as they need them well rested for the actual games.
The exact type of training that goes on will again depends on what is necessary for the team and each individual player. A player with known injuries will be working specifically on strengthening those areas of their body, while the team as a whole will probably do a lot of functional explosive exercises to improve the muscles they use most often and strengthen the joints to allow them to quickly pivot, stop and start, jump, change direction, etc.
Lots of the time the training will include fewer reps but more targeted exercises that can be given the player’s maximum effort on each rep. They aren’t looking to exhaust players during these sessions, but to gradually strengthen and improve.
Set Pieces and Tactical Work
At the start of the week this might focus on things that went wrong during the game at the weekend. Any ongoing structural issues such as problems in the defensive line, for example, will also be worked on.
In the middle or end of the week this will transition to work on areas necessary for the next game. So if something needs to change because the next opposition play a low block the team will work on how to best address this, perhaps with a slightly different formation, or by giving certain players different jobs.
Whatever the situation, it will have been talked about first in analysis sessions so everyone is on the same page, but on the training pitch they will put this into practice.
There might also be work on more generic set pieces, testing out new ways of defending corners to allow the team to turn them into a counter attack, or whatever.
There may well be 9 a side games during these sessions where each side is told to work on something different during the game. Or they could be given different scenarios, such as team A must play like they are 1-0 down in a semi-final, and team b are 3-1 up in a league game but everyone is on a yellow card.
While a lot of this takes place with the whole team present, there are individual sessions too where players get one-on-one time with coaches to discuss and work on their specific role within these set pieces and tactical frameworks.
Recovery Session
Most important after a game, but crucial too after training sessions, are short recovery sessions.
If players went straight from an intense match to a day of rest, the lactic acid build up in their legs would do them no favours. Instead, light exercise such as a short session on the exercise bike get the muscles moving again without stressing them, speeding recovery.
After training the muscles that have been worked on will be stretched to stop them shortening and maintain their elasticity.
This is all tied in with diet and nutrition too.
This obviously runs throughout the week, but after exercise players must replace water and salts they have lost through sweat, and they need to make sure they eat enough protein throughout the day at strategic points for their bodies to take it on and aid recovery.
Individual Work
Once training is over, many players will hang around a little longer to work on their own skills.
Whether it be dribbling, skills, free kicks, penalties, or anything else, they will drill these skills until they become second nature. They may still work with coaches but it will be a “Do you mind hanging around after work to help me with…” situation rather than something on the schedule. So a player who keeps missing chances might ask a coach to throw balls at them for half an hour after training to practice shooting first time and getting it on target.
This is totally optional (unless perhaps a player is really struggling in which case they may be asked to stay behind – embarrassing), but you will often find the very best players put in extra work.
David Beckham was well known for hanging around to practice his free kick taking and really pinpoint his accuracy. Wayne Rooney was missing chances in the air so stayed after training to work on his heading, then went on to score 15 goals in the air the next season. Any player you can think of that is classed as the elite of the elite will have a similar story.