FCBARCELONA.CAT

10.04.2007 12:45

Back to work

After two days off, the FC Barcelona squad was put through its paces in a tough training session on Tuesday morning. Belletti was back, but Eto'o, Motta, Ronaldinho, Thuram and Deco were all absent for different reasons.

La Masia was the venue for the first training session of the week, following a couple of days of welcome rest for Easter. The focus was on fitness as the players started getting ready for an important match at home to Mallorca on Sunday.

Circuit training

Following the usual warm-up drills, two circuits were the main objective for Frank Rijkaard’s players this morning. The squad was divided in two, with one group working on the basis of changes of pace and direction, dribbling and shooting accuracy using small-sized goals. Meanwhile, the other group worked on a smaller circuit, which ended with shots on goals defended by Valdés and Jorquera. The session ended, as usual, with a short practise game.

Belletti back

Juliano Belletti was the welcome returnee this week. The Brazilian full back missed the trip to La Romareda due to pubis problems, but was able to join in with all the exercises along with the rest of his colleagues, although he did sit out the practise match. Eto'o and Motta, meanwhile still have individual treatment programmes to follow, and were absent, while Ronaldinho has picked up a small fever. Thuram has a foot problem called plantar fasciitis and was also missing, while Deco was given special permission by the club to skip today’s training session.