Lee Kang-in (22, PSG) and Kim Min-jae (27, Munich) breathed heavily during the ‘dreaded shuttle run’.
Jürgen Klinsmann’s men’s national team will open their October qualifying campaign against Tunisia at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sept. 13. They will then move to Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 17th to face Vietnam in the second round.
On the third day of training, only Son Heung-min, who has a groin injury, stayed indoors to recover by cycling and getting a massage. The rest of the players showed up for the team’s 4 p.m. training session to get back in the game.
The players were in high spirits as they stretched and warmed up. Kim Min-jae and Hwang Hee-chan sat side by side and joked with each other. The youngest players, including Lee Kang-in and Seol Young-woo, were also joking around. “The youngest members have been smiling ever since they won the gold medal at the Asian Games,” said Kim Tae-hwan. Thanks to them, the atmosphere in the national team is very bright.”
A whopping 13 of the 24 players are overseas. They come from different time zones and have to be in top shape in a short period of time. This requires an objective assessment of each player’s physical condition. The national team has a scientific approach to managing their players.카지노
Twenty players, excluding the three goalkeepers and Son Heung-min, lined up on the field. They were given a ‘shuttle run’ to cover a distance of 20 meters in a set time. At first, it seems easy, but even professional athletes have their tongues stuck out in horror.
It was the national soccer team. No one was left behind, regardless of position. All the players crossed the finish line with time to spare. However, as the number of repetitions increased, the players’ breathing became more and more labored. Soon, their backs were drenched in sweat. After 25 shuttle runs, the players walked to test their recovery.
“Shuttle runs are supposed to be done to the point of exhaustion, but since we had a game coming up, we did them lightly. The players are all wearing vests with sensors on their chests. During the shuttle run, information such as heart rate, speed, activity, and recovery are recorded on a computer in real time. Based on this, the coaching staff can evaluate the players’ condition and make changes to the starting lineup.”
Sports science has come a long way from the days of the naked eye. Players wear sensors during games to measure how many kilometers they’ve covered and at what speed. Their location is also transmitted in real time, so tactics can be planned much faster. It’s now possible to see what the players did wrong in the first half and make changes in the second half.