13.12.2007 12:53
Back to the league
Berta Brau / Anna Segura
Just hours after their Champions League win over Stuttgart, the senior squad players were back in training on Thursday morning with their sights set on the two vital league matches coming up before the Christmas break.
Boosted by a first place finish in Group E of the Champions League, the players must now focus on
the two important league matches again Valencia, on Saturday, and against Real Madrid the weekend
after. As usual after a match, today’s training session focussed on recovering the tired
muscles of those who played last night while the rest of the squad worked out with greater
intensity.
Oleguer and Ezquerro
The entire squad, minus Oleguer and Ezquerro, were present
at the La Masía training grounds. Henry, who is still recovering from injury, trained separately
from the group. Meanwhile, Puyol, Milito, Sylvinho, Gudjohnsen and Thuram, who all featured in last
night’s starting line-up, skipped the standard ball control exercise and dedicated themselves
to jogging.
Deco, who experienced some discomfort while warming up for last night’s match and
consequently dropped out of the starting line-up, trained today without problems. Touré, who has
recently recovered from sinusitis, also trained without difficulties despite missing out on the
Stuttgart match as a precaution.
Lighter session
As usual, the players that took part in last night’s match returned to the dressing
rooms early while the remainder of the squad continued working. The work focussed on positional
play and shooting followed, finally, by a training match.