FCBARCELONA.CAT

15.03.2007 14:06

At full strength

Frank Rijkaard had the full squad at his disposal for training on Thursday morning.

The players went through their paces in the Miniestadi on Thursday morning as part of their preparations for Saturday’s league clash against Recreativo de Huelva. In common with the rest of the training sessions this week, the main emphasis was on the physical aspect.

Warm-up

Despite the focus on physical exercises, the session – marked by an upbeat mood amongst players and coaches - started as usual with warm-ups and ball control activities, including passing with the feet and with the head.

Fitness coaches to the fore

After the warm-up, the players reported to the fitness coaches, who had prepared a number of ball-centred circuits. The team divided up into two groups to practise first-touch passing, which then developed into passing and shooting practice. The coaches were on hand to demand speed and concentration in the passing of the ball.

Practice match

For the second half of the session, the players split into three groups: the blue group - Puyol, Zambrotta, Gio, Iniesta, Motta, Eto'o and Saviola; the yellow group -Thuram, Belletti, Edmílson, Messi, Xavi, Gudjohnsen and fitness coach Albert Roca; and the green group - Márquez, Oleguer, Sylvinho, Deco, Ronaldinho, Giuly and Ezquerro.

While two of the groups played each other, the third waited for either a goal or for two minutes to pass before taking over from one of the original two groups. The ‘green’ group run out clear winners in the contest.

At the end of the session, the players posed for photos with a number of handicapped fans who had followed the whole session with great interest.