Real Madrid had a forgettable 2020-21 season as they failed to secure a solitary trophy for the first time in the last ten years. As the season came to an abrupt end with Zinedine Zidane taking a long walk of exit and Ramos and Varane not willing to extend their contracts at the end of the year, the management chose to resort to their old pillars of success.
After picking up Carlo Ancelotti for the calling of the preceptor to fill in the massive boots that Zizou left behind, they also chose to bring two more personnel whose names stoked up the interest in fans.
One of them was Luis Campos, the erstwhile sporting director of Lille, who was also previously linked to Los Merengues but will be finally be making a footfall at the Santiago Bernabeu after persistent coaxing from club president, Fiorentino Perez.
The other moniker in the ranks that came as a surprise to the fans was that of Antonio Pintus, the man who was previously the fitness coach of Real Madrid. He is also touted as one of the best in the business and his return to the club will signal the emphasis that the club is planning to put on fitness.
Antonio Pintus – The fitness coach you don’t want to train under
Antonio Pintus was first appointed as the club’s conditioning coach in 2016 and had a brilliant stint with the club. He also continued after Zidane’s departure and kept the outfit in a piece. His bond with the players was a treat for the management to witness. In fact, he shared a very special relationship with CR7 who according to him had an unreal work ethic.
However, Pintus left Madrid in 2019 after Zidane was reinstated, Pintus took a route to Internazionale to join forces with Antonio Conte. Canards had in them that he left the club because of a supposed dispute with Zidane who didn’t share a good bond with him. The man who succeeded Pintus at Madrid was Gregory Dupont who had an abysmal stint in the following years.
In fact, things started aggravating so bad for this man that injuries started skyrocketing and set a new benchmark in the clouded sky of Madrid. During the season where Dupont administered the fitness training, there were a total of 114 staggering injuries which was 25 percent more than their rivals, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Injuries to players like Ramos, Carvajal and Valverde led to the dampening of the spirits and Zidane pointed fingers at the Sanitas Medical facilities, however, it was the French fitness coach who was also shown the exit alongside Zidane.
Meanwhile, Pintus showed exemplary discipline at Inter with the Nerazzuri winning the Scudetto in 2020-21. His magnum opus was to set Lukaku into fitness who struggled a lot at his former club, Manchester United. The Belgian beast turned into an absolute slayer in the Italian league and set it ablaze with an aggressive brand of display.
However, with Conte parting ways with Inter, Pintus also had to take an exit and finally was able to manifest the speculations when Fabrizio Romano confirmed that he will be reinstated at Real Madrid.
Pintus has so far secured a top-notch level of performance with all the clubs that he has worked for now and his trophy cabinet reads 21 silverwares which make him indeed the best in business.
In an interview with MARCA, erstwhile Real Madrid striker, Fernando Morientis said, “He’s like an uncle. Nice, kind, but a bit of a bastard. My competitive weight was 83 kilos and Pintus made me go down to 79 kilos in three weeks when I was in Monaco. I have never been as hungry as I was with him.”
