Camavinga, the 'X' of Madrid and the miracle of the ligaments: "It's all genetic"
In the Sports City of Valdebebas they still do not understand how it is possible that Eduardo Camavinga (Cabinda, Angola, 2002) does not have a torn lateral ligament in his left knee. In the 81st minute of the match against Getafe, Juan Iglesias stepped on the Frenchman's left ankle, who remained stuck on the grass performing “a strange twist” with his knee. He fell to the ground and got up after a few seconds, but the pain gestures were so evident that the Frenchman, capable of playing 200 consecutive minutes without getting tired, asked for the change and limped to the bench, almost unable to support his leg. The Bernabéu, with the tie against Manchester City in mind, trembled.
“It's all genetics. A special genetics”, reflect from the offices of Real Madrid. The club's medical services, which at the time of the knee twist applied ice to prevent inflammation, breathed a sigh of relief when the MRI ruled out any seriousness on Sunday morning: “A slight sprain. Without problems for Manchester”, announced the club. “That action would have destroyed the ligaments of 99% of the footballers, but his tendon protected him,” they analyze, still incredulous, in Chamartín.
Your preparers, key
But obviously, it's not all genetics.. At 20, Camavinga is obsessed with training, following a path shared in the Madrid dressing room: the first one to spend the day in the gym is Benzema, more lazy in his youth. Youngsters like the Frenchman, Vinicius or Rodrygo do double or triple gym sessions every day. In the case of Camavinga, the key is his physical trainer, Johan Franchequin, who lives in France but controls him remotely through an application in which the footballer tells how he feels. Franchequin, who also trains Thomas Lemar, travels to Spain once a month and is a fan of 'core' exercises, the core of muscles in the central part of the body, vital for a footballer. Along with Franchequin, the other important trainer in Camavinga's life is Thomas Serafin, a physio and osteopath with whom he works every day in Madrid and responsible for the massages and recovery sessions.
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In addition, Camavinga has added to his training exercises to improve the reaction capacity. Mixing it with functional training in which he simulates the actions of a football match, the Frenchman works with a series of lights that turn on and off at certain times.. With or without the ball, you must go to them when they light up. “We work on vivacity, with cognitive things at the same time to work the senses and improve reactivity. Also to assimilate information. In the center of the field, the players come from anywhere. The player's position varies every second, so you have to always be moving your head,” the midfielder explained in an interview.. In short: the Frenchman has not been injured all season.
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From the band, everything
That stroke of genetics, training and luck that Camavinga experienced after the entry of Iglesias keeps Madrid alive for Manchester emotionally and footballingly. The Frenchman is, together with Vinicius, the most fit player for the white team this part of the season, capital for an Ancelotti who has made him the 'X' of his team from the left side. Nobody knows how to 'clear' Camavinga.
The Frenchman can appear on the left wing when the ball is released, as a midfielder just behind Benzema, bending Vinicius to the bottom line, pivoting in midfield and leaving the left free for Toni Kroos to organize the game. .. In defense, nobody has been able to beat him one on one. Raphinha, Salah, Reece James and Bernardo Silva. His only flaw may be that, not being used to the position, sometimes he leaves some space behind him, but he usually remedies it with his physical ability.
Deschamps is pointed out as a great promoter of the new position of Camavinga, who played there in the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar after Lucas Hernández's injury, but before, in November, in a Madrid – Sheriff, Ancelotti had already displaced to the band to the Frenchman to add more troops in attack.
The French footballer insists that his favorite position is still “the center of the field”, both pivot and inside, but his game has reached the world elite from the left wing, causing Madrid not to remember Ferland Mendy. He still makes mistakes, unnecessary losses like the one before De Bruyne's goal at the Bernabéu, but he has become untouchable in the current European champion from minute 0 of the games. A year ago, he unblocked Madrid and started the comeback against City from the bench. Not anymore. At the Etihad he is expected from the initial whistle, we will see if he is on the wing or as a midfielder, Ancelotti trusting in Carvajal, Militao, Rüdiger and Alaba in defense. “The position gives him equal,” they say of Camavinga. Pues eso: la ‘X’.