Working with data and emphasis on physical fitness. The Danish coaches came to Sparta with a clear vision. The head of physical training is definitely one of the people the players don’t want to upset in the implementation team. However, his demands bring results.
“We went really hard in the beginning. But if you do it well, you get a little more credit. We don’t have to be so strict,” Christian Clarup describes the reality that prevailed at the training camp in Austria.
Sometimes he even jokes with the players, but that doesn’t mean at all that he would make it easy for them. No way, after all, the team is waiting for the defense of the title and qualification for the Champions League.
It is here! Sparta lifted the cup for the league champion. Letná is celebrated wildly Video: Sport.cz
“You don’t have to be as tough, but we still have the same formula that guys work within. When you get out of it, it’s all fun again from my side. So it’s the same as last summer,” emphasizes the 40-year-old Dane, who is not here for fun.
He spent almost a decade at Midtjylland and helped the club, which was founded in 1999, more than 100 years after Sparta, reach the top. He came to Sparta last year together with coach Brian Prisk.
Photo: Vlastimil Vacek, Law
Sparta head coach Brian Priske (left) and conditioning coach Christian Clarup watch over their players as part of the beep test.
“We started by getting knocked out of Europe, losing our first home game, then we had a long run of draws. I think a lot of people didn’t trust the new guys that came in back then. In the end, the year ended with us finally winning the league title,” Clarup looks back on his first season in Sparta.
It is clear to him that just a whip is not enough. “You need an environment where people are happy,” he nods.
His claims are reflected favorably in another respect as well. Letenský used to have big problems with extensive decay in previous seasons. Now the players are not so often injured anymore, the team is almost complete for the new year.
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“It’s not magic. Simply hard work. Collect data and monitor players. We have to make sure that some guys train more and some guys train less. To find out how strong they are, which is a pretty important indicator to avoid muscle injuries,” explains Clarup. “We’ve also added a few more members to the implementation team. The guys are helped by a sports nutritionist, for example.”
Sparta has a certain autumn in cup Europe. She will thus have a much more difficult program than last year, when she immediately crashed on Srtavanger.
“My biggest task will be to prevent the players from getting tired,” advises the head of physical preparation.
He not only trains the players, he also keeps himself in top form. They say he can easily do a hundred push-ups in a row. “Hundred percent. On one or both hands,” Clarup grimaces in an interview for club television.