The invisible training of the national team in Qatar: nutrition, kinesiology and medicine, all at the service of Scaleneta

When in the Argentina just a couple of hours after midnight, more than 13,000 kilometers away, on the edge of the Arabian peninsula, the companion of Lionel Messi receives the first barley of the day. Here, in Qatar, it is eight in the morning and the captain of the Selection He leaves his room (he has been sleeping alone since Sergio Agüero, his roommate in every albiceleste adventure, retired) to meet Rodrigo De Paul Y Alejandro Gomez. They start each day with this unchanging ritual.

They are the first to share the round of bitter. Then the others are added. And the breakfast is assembled. The sequence is repeated every dawn inside the national team bunker, where everything is organized and coordinated. The silver suit of the captain and his companions serves as a pretext to describe just the beginning of each day in which the Lazio delegation is preparing for the World Cup that is about to begin. But it’s not just physically. There is an invisible, meticulously controlled workout that interweaves nutrition, kinesiology and medical check-ups..

Although there is a more rigorous set-up before and during every important, large and intense event such as a World Cup or an America’s Cup, Qatar 2022 requires different attention because it is a a different World Cup, for its climate and for the time of year (it falls in the middle of the European season). The calendar has been compressed to the limit and this has had consequences.

The increase in injuries ahead of this competition has brought more than one big name in football on the planet under control. The latest is none other than the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner, Karim Benzema. In the selection they took note of this because the way each player gets to their respective selection due to the hustle and bustle of this semester’s games, obliges a special individualized follow-up.

Medical care, with the doctor Daniel Martinez Above all, kinesics and nutrition are part of the daily strategy implemented by the professionals responsible for these areas who work together. The historian Louis Garcia coordinates the team of kinesiologists in Argentina and is a vital arm for the players’ recovery match after match, as happened in the last Copa América, won in Brazil.

But a very special emphasis is also placed on powering the entire campus. What, how and when do national team players eat? All of this is schematized by Luciano Spenathe highly experienced nutritionist who has been incorporated in recent years and who has joined the work of the team of chefs: Diego Iacovone Y Antonia Farias.

Tracking what eats the Argentina team is fussy. They brought all kinds of local foods to Qatar, partly to make a stay in a country that has a very different culinary culture more bearable. That’s why they got on the plane more than a thousand kilos of meat in its various lean cuts, by the way, like Grass and the caramel sauce. Meals are planned according to the needs of the competition.

How do you plan a day in the Scaloneta bunker? Between 8 and 8.30 we have breakfast. At 10 there is an activation and movements in the gym, followed by kinesiology work for those who need it. Lunch is served at 1.00pm. The players all eat at the same table.. At 14:30 it’s time for a siesta until 16:30, when it’s time for a snack.

At 6pm there is the daily formal practice. After the showers, dinner is eaten at 21:00. The after meal is part of the moment of Relax which combines free time after the last meal of the day and time to go to sleep in the rooms.

It all has to do with a global effort between doctors, kinesiologists and food managers. Everything has to do with the other formation, the invisible, which is at the same level of technical-tactical preparation.

From Doha, Qatar. Special envoys.