Guardiola’s new team of assistants
Sandra Sarmiento
FC Barcelona’s first team coach already has his team of assistants in place: Tito Vilanova, Juan Carlos Unzué and Lorenzo Buenaventura.
This new team has four major goals for the 2008/09 season. They are to drive excellence and professionalism in the dressing room; to stress player performance and what impacts on it; provide more scientific parameterisation to monitor the players’ physical condition and health; and new training and fitness routines.
Coaching staff
unzue_3.jpgJosep Guardiola will be head coach and will have three assistants: Tito Vilanova as assistant coach, Juan Carlos Unzué as goalkeeping coach among other duties, and Lorenzo Buenaventura in charge of physical fitness and performance.
Lorenzo Buenaventura
Born in Seville, the physical fitness coach has come to FC Barcelona after a spell at Cadiz CF. Buenaventura has also worked at RCD Espanyol, Atlético de Madrid and for Argentina. He will be in charge of the team’s physical preparation with three aims:
- Tactical physical fitness work to make training more intense
- Planning individual and group physical training, scientific measurement and continuous assessment of levels of strength, stamina and speed of players.
- Managing all the variables which affect a player’s performance: performance on the field, individual physical preparation, diets, rest, avoiding injury, and sports physiology and psychology.
Fitness coaches
The first team will have three fitness coaches working under Lorenzo Buenaventura: Paco Seirul•lo as lead fitness coach; Aureli Altimira, who last season was with Josep Guardiola at Barça B, will be in charge of field work; and Francesc Cos will be in charge of strength work.
the doctors
Ricard Pruna and Daniel Medina will look after the footballers’ health. Medina was with Barça B and the indoor football team last season. New this season is the setting up of the physiology applied to top level sport department, led by physiologist Esteban Gorostiaga’s team. With extensive experience in professional football (Liverpool, Valencia, Osasuna, etc.), Gorostiaga is also a member of the Spanish Olympic Committee’s Medical Commission.
All the doctors, physiotherapists and chiropodists in the medical section will work closely with the physical fitness department to maximise physical performance and reduce injury rates.
this jus shows how well organised and thought out these programs are do our national players even have special diets?