It’s 2016 and professional footballers are now, more than ever, treating their bodies like temples to get the most out of them come matchday.
Gone are the days of drinking sessions, late nights and junk food. Well, for the most part.
Not in the slightest bit surprised Wayne Rooney turned up to a wedding in an England kit pic.twitter.com/c2Hwae5S8H
— Reigning and Defending (@SproIes) November 15, 2016
And while the reaction to Wayne Rooney’s wedding revelry was undoubtedly over the top, it became a news story just due to the fact that it’s so rare for professional athletes to be seen in that condition nowadays.
Granted, Rooney is a throwback to a different era but even he would not go boozing in the day or two leading up to a game because everyone’s fully aware of the importance of nutrition. If not, they should be.
Jurgen Klopp certainly is and he’s making moves to ensure that his players have nothing but the best facilities and most respected advisers when it comes to their diet.
Liverpool have recently joined forces with a company called Science in Sport, who offer their dietary expertise to a who’s who of sports stars including Andy Murray, Chris Hoy and several members of Team GB who competed at Rio 2016.
Ted Munson, a performance nutritionist at SiS who is working with the Reds, has revealed what his job entails and highlighted the different nutritional needs of players, depending on their position.
“There are positional differences that will make a different to a diet,” Munson explained to the Telegraph. “With GPS tracking you can now highlight differences in the metabolic needs of a player. A full-back will use more energy than a player in another position, for example. It’s a completely different role and needs a different type of athlete. Full-backs who are sprinting up and down more than others will burn most energy.
“Strikers might need more power to challenge centre-halves, so you would increase their protein intake to strengthen muscles to hold the ball up. Those who cover more of the pitch, like midfielders, might take more carbohydrates.
“That kind of data takes time to collect and a huge buy-in from the club. Nutrition is marginal gains. Players can coast by without thinking about nutrition – I’ve seen that – but they’re missing out in particular on maybe five to 10 per cent, particularly at a time where a game could be won or lost in the last 10 minutes.
“A lot of clubs have now gone into creating food stations – protein stations, hydration stations, etc. Psychologically, when you’re hungry you will pile on your plate more of what you see first. A day before a game you will see more carbs available.”
The nutrition plans for each Liverpool player is detailed and formulated often based on how close they are to a game.
Munson has enforced “no egg days” which coincide with days on which Liverpool are playing and he had this by way of an explanation for banning that particular food in the hours leading up to a game.
“Broadly, research suggests protein and fat takes a lot of time digest and you don’t want too much volume in a player before a match day,” Munson said. “It’s about educating players as to the decisions they take ahead of games”
So eggs are, quite literally, off the table on matchdays.
Then what are the players expected to eat in the build-up to kick-off and in the hours after the final whistle so that they’re operating at an optimal level?
Munson was kind enough to outline a typical matchday meal plan.
9am: Breakfast
Eat: Carb-based, usually cereal, porridge or toast.
Drink: 500-1,000ml of fluid, which include electrolytes to help absorb and retain fluids
1.45pm: Warm-up
Eat: An energy gel
Drink: 500ml sports drink.
3.45pm: Half-time
Eat: An energy gel, preferably one containing caffeine
5.15pm: Post-match
Drink: 500-1,000ml of water and a tablet to boost the immunity system
6pm: Post-match meal
Eat: Should be eaten within an hour of the game, with a nutritional format of 60% carbohydrate, 20% protein, 20% fat.
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