This is Profe Ortega, Atlético's preseason sergeant

Oscar Ezequiel Ortega del Río (Montevideo, March 29, 1958), this is the full name of, possibly, best known physical trainer of LaLiga, the Profe Ortega. At 63 years of age, the Uruguayan begins a new season under the physical direction of Atlético de Madrid, being the tenth in a row accompanying Diego Pablo Simeone on the rojiblanco bench.

The Uruguayan's relationship with the club dates back years before of these, already mentioned, last ten consecutive. We are in the season 2003/04, Gregorio Manzano is the coach of Atlético de Madrid and decides to have Profe Ortega as a physical trainer. This is when matches for the first time with Simeone, who was in his second stage with the red and white shirt.

But the Ortega's beginnings as a physical trainer in Spain go back to the year 1999, when it reaches the Seville hand in hand with the coach, and former player, Marcos Alonso. This stage opened the doors to Atlético de Madrid in the year 2003, where it only lasted a season. On 2004 he left with Manzano to Malaga, but they did not have the expected success and were dismissed, so their paths parted forever.

In the 2006, the Uruguayan goes to Argentina to work in Simeone's coaching staff and, from that moment, a joint career began on the benches of Racing de Avellaneda, San Lorenzo de Almagro, Estudiantes de La Plata, Catania and, finally, Atlético de Madrid.

Profe Ortega stands out for its intensity and physical demand that he asks the players during training sessions. Tenacity, sacrifice and believing in what you doThis is the ABC of a physical trainer who, with his way of working, makes each player give his best in each training session.

In everyone's head are the images of players having to stop to rest because their legs did not give for more, but has never received bad words from footballers once they have left the club, since they recognize that effort is the only way to achieve goals.

It is true that, on several occasions over the last few seasons, the fans have charged against Profe Ortega for the number of injured in the middle of the season, something that they attribute to the extreme level of physical demand of the preseason and some training in the middle of the competition.

It is clear that, put yourself at the orders of the Uruguayan, it is not suitable for all audiences. When a player arrives at Atlético de Madrid he knows that he will be able to play more or less minutes, but what is certain is that he will leave in a better state of form than when he arrived. Profe Ortega is tough, but Atlético de Madrid's results support him on the pitch.