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On Thursday, Ronaldo remained apart from the team while he ran laps. Meanwhile,
Zidane did train with the team but abandoned López Caro's rigorous workout
several minutes early. It was the team's first practice since Tuesday's match
against Arsenal. Guti has a strained left quadricep and, therefore, did not
participate in any of the training session for the second consecutive day.
The days workout began with a
continuous five minute run to loosen up the player's muscles on what was a cold
morning at Real Madrid City.
The 17 available men were then divided into three groups to do some
piggy-in-the-middle drills and were supervised by López Caro, Juanjo Maqueda and
Pau Alberti. Meanwhile, Casillas and Cobeño started their training together with
goalkeeper coach Pedro Luis Jaro.
Rapid ball distribution
Then the tactical training began. López Caro handed
out bibs and stressed the importance of rapid ball distribution. They were
divided into four goups and were instructed to quickly pass the ball beginning
from their own areas and ending with a shot on what would be the opponent's goal.
Group 1 (green bibs): Cassano, Ramos, Salgado and Bravo.
Group 2 (orange bibs): Raúl, Cicinho, Zidane, Gravesen and Roberto Carlos.
Group 3 (yellow bibs): Mejía, Ronaldo, Helguera and Robinho.
Group 4 (blue bibs): Baptista, Pavón, Diogo and Beckham.
Thirty minutes after tactical
drills, training continued with a six-on-six scrimmage where the players rotated
in and out. López Caro's rules were clear: no offsides and no player could keep
the ball for more than three seconds. The day ended with Cassano, Raúl and
Baptista taking shots on goal with Roberto Carlos, Robinho and Ronaldo crossing
passes from the left and Salgado and Beckham from the right.
Gym and field work for the rest
The Valdebebas gym also saw a good amount of attention on Friday. Pablo García,
Guti and Woodgate had appointments with the equipment to continue recuperating
from their respective injuries while Miñambres took to the pitch. Along with
José Luis San Martín, Miñambres did some jogging and various exercises while
supervised by the physio. He finished off his day with some ball exercises,
showing he's one step closer to being fully recovered. |
