Pintus, Florentino's 'obsession'

Real Madrid have announced three additions since the end of the season: Alaba's, free from Bayern Munich; that of Carlo Ancelotti to replace Zidane; and that of the new head of physical preparation at the White House, Antonio Pintus, who returns after having already been at the club between 2016 and 2019. A historically unremarkable position announced as yet another signing, symbol of the importance that Florentino Pérez gives that plot so that Madrid can continue to compete at the highest level. It is the obsession of the white president.

It already happened in 2016, when he arrived from Olympique de Lyon to reinforce the coaching staff, at the express request of Zinedine Zidane. And there was also an announcement in 2019 when the white club signed Grégory Dupont, another request from Zidane, who had ended badly with Pintus and decided to replace him with the one who had been the physical trainer of the world champion France. And now again, announcement of bluebells and full powers for Pintus, who will not only be in charge of the physical preparation of the first team, but will coordinate all the templates of the Madrid organization chart.

And it is that physical preparation has always been a weighty factor for Florentino Pérez, a reflection of the work in training and how it is transferred to the games. Along these lines, Pintus has offered him the best results in all his years of presidency: With the Italian they won eight titles in three years, including two Champions League and a League-Champions double in 2016-17, the point at which Zizou's Madrid reached its maximum expression.

Last year, 2019-20, Dupont's role ended with a high pass: the course started badly, with many injuries, but the team ended up like a shot after confinement, winning ten games in a row thanks largely to the physical power they displayed, far superior to their rivals. However, this season That confidence faded due to the 62 injuries that Madrid have suffered during the season, COVID aside. Zidane's departure is the perfect excuse to encourage Dupont's departure, although it is very likely that he would have remained at the club in the event that the Marseillais had not left the bench.

But it was not like that, Zidane left and Dupont also leaves Madrid, an absence that Florentino covers by resorting to a Pintus in which he has full confidence. The Italian has also left Inter Milan after winning the Scudetto due to the departure of Antonio Conte. All the circumstances came together for Pintus to end up in Madrid.

Ancelotti, Pintus and Mauri

Pintus will work with Ancelotti, in whose first stage in Madrid (2013-2015) physical preparation was already a source of conflict. At that time, their head coach was Giovanni Mauri, whom Madrid pointed out as part of the fall that the team suffered in the second part of the 2014-15 season; to the point that the option of keeping Ancelotti in the position was studied, but forcing him to assume a new face in physical preparation.

Mauri is gone, he retired after the departure of Ancelotti from Bayern and since then, in Naples and Everton, Carletto's physical trainer has been his son, Francesco Mauri, who was already in the white coaching staff between 2013 and 2015 as a rehabilitator. However, with the arrival of Pintus with Ancelotti, Mauri Junior will assume a secondary role to work alongside one of the greatest experts on the subject in current football.