According to informed journalists, Real Madrid insiders have attributed the 2-4 loss to Benfica to fitness problems, an issue that has plagued the team since Xabi Alonso’s tenure as head coach.
In fact, Real Madrid is firmly convinced that this situation, as well as their fortunes in the UEFA Champions League, will change as the work of Rafael Pintus, who has returned to take up the post of first-team fitness coach, begins to bear fruit in the coming weeks.
It has been less than two weeks since Pintus and Alvaro Arbeloa took charge of Real Madrid following the departure of Xabi Alonso and his entire coaching staff.
Now the team has two weeks of regular training ahead, having been eliminated from the Copa del Rey. The first and second weeks were originally scheduled for the Copa del Rey quarter-finals and the first leg of the semi-finals respectively. With only La Liga fixtures against Rayo Vallecano, Valencia and Real Sociedad to fulfil before the first leg of the UEFA Champions League knockout play-offs, the club is hoping that the midweek breaks will allow the team to get back to peak condition.
