The very best teenage talent in the UAE have come together under the du LaLiga High Performance Centre in a mission to achieve their potential and become professional footballers.
The starlets all have a huge chance in Marbella this month as they aim to impress LaLiga scouts and earn trials at clubs while playing top-class Spanish academies.
Sport360° are there for the first week of the tour – check out the best of Day 3 below.
GETTING COLD IN MARBELLA
The du LaLiga HPC starlets may have already taken the plunge against Cadiz with great success, but they faced an arguably even bigger challenge the following day.
On a jam-packed tour that sees UAE’s finest travel the length and breadth of southern Spain and play five teams in the space of three weeks, recovery is essential.
No stone is left unturned according to strength and conditioning coach Juan Ramon Zambrana – and that meant things got a bit chilly in Marbella.
Coaching team: (l-r) Juan Ramon Zambrana, Rafael Gil, Enrique Gonzalez, Marcos Fernandez
“Ice baths are very important to recover because after the game there is inflammation in the muscles, so with ice we can control it,” said the UEFA-certified coach. “Every top professional team do the same, so we do as well.
“For DOMS – delayed onset muscle soreness after a game – we can do stretches, ice baths, there are many different methods to recover. Ice bath is one of the best ways.”
The squads have also been hitting the gym during their twice-a-day training sessions but the du LaLiga HPC coaches are not looking to sculpt their bodies into Cristiano Ronaldo lookalikes.
For the Spanish management team, technique and tactics always trump physicality in the limited contact time they have with their charges.
“It is not necessary for them to lift heavy weights, even when they are older,” added Zambrana. “If you see Neymar for example, when he arrived to La Liga four or five years ago, he was very thin and needed to have more muscles. But only to compete.
“Right now if you see him, he is still slim but it is not a problem for him. The most important is the speed, velocity. It also depends on the position, a central defender would not lift the same as a right winger.
“The most important point for us is the football training, technically and tactically – the physical training is something else.”
BACK TO REALITY AGAINST SEVILLA
If Sunday for recovery and a team bonding session on the beach, game faces most definitely returned on Monday as the challenge next up in Sevilla sunk in.
Los Rojiblancos – whose first-team finished fourth in LaLiga last season – have produced talents such as Real Madrid superstar Sergio Ramos and recently-returned winger Jesus Navas.
Serve and volley: Under-16s player Omar Taha.
The Under-18s’ tactical meeting was all about how to counter their superb technical skills and in a nice touch, the presentation ended with an inspirational quote from captain Neto: “Hard work pays off.”
The squad has certainly not lacked for that so far in Spain – and they are going to have to raise the bar again.