Last Monday, Eric Bedouet joined the staff of Jean-Louis Gasset to take care of the physical preparation of the Girondins de Bordeaux, a club where he has served for several decades. He assesses the athletic strength of the two French clubs in this Final 8 of the Champions League after their historic qualification in the semi-finals.
How long does it take before the resumption of a season to reach peak form?
ERIC BEDOUET. It takes five to six weeks before the start of the championship. But we are rarely in good shape right away. The first matches allow us to approach it. Containment has disrupted everything, changed everything, modified everything. It is difficult to assess. The stress of the Covid may have played a role, the physiological changes linked to the lack of collective training disrupt everything. Normally, playing allows you to polish your physical preparation. A professional player cannot stop otherwise he is not well. From what I see, no player has stopped, neither in Paris nor in Lyon. It's impossible.
Do Ligue 1 players have more ants in their legs, frustrated by the cessation of competitions?
It is a real possibility. Paris and Lyon have an additional freshness. It's a liberation to play football again. In addition, it is to play in the Champions League, which is not nothing. The players are over-motivated and manage to set the pace. The advantage is that the Lisbon tournament does not last too long. This suits PSG and Lyon well. Over a month, that would have been a problem. This is the right format. But maybe OL and PSG will have a physical backlash during the season.
How did you judge their athletic level?
I see a lot of power emerging in this Final 8. I find that the last four is very strong physically. The commitment that I see in the matches in Lisbon, the aerial duels, impress me. French clubs are great, but Leipzig also impressed me in this area. They are an extraordinary team in this regard. At this level, all have a very fine technique. But to go to the end, it must be associated with an athletic quality. For the physical trainer that I am, it's very pleasant to see. I loved it. I love that.
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Is France famous for athletic preparation?
But of course ! It annoys me ! We must stop with that! All the players that I have welcomed in France for years, in Bordeaux in this case, tell me the same thing: the French Championship is very hard physically. It is very relieved from this point of view. I know the French coaches, the trainers, the trainers, they are people of very high quality. I have the impression that we have complexes in France. There are things to improve obviously, such as knowing how to sell abroad, but the quality of French training does exist. In the content of the sessions, we have nothing to envy anyone. France is world champion with an entirely French staff, damn it!