Mystery surrounds Madrid's enigmatic physical coach - so who really is Pintus and what are his methods?
But some point to the slump often experienced by Madrid after January and attribute it to Pintus’ intense sessions. So what exactly is the ‘Pintus method’? And who is the cult figure behind it?Pintus, the key to getting Madrid’s players in shape in pre-season, is one of the most important figures on head coach Carlo Ancelotti’s staff, along with his son and assistant Davide and Luis Llopis, his goalkeeping coach.
Pintus, who is also Italian, had always repeated to his trusted people how much he loved working at Real, in Spain, and especially in the city of Madrid, so he did not hesitate to return.With very few individual exceptions, under Pintus’ watch, the Madrid squad has arrived in great shape for pre-season, ready to hit the ground running.
One of the tools used this pre-season is a CPAP mask that helps staff judge the physical condition of players. The mask is used to record and analyse their oxygen and carbon dioxide levels and, based on their percentages, he can personalise their training programmes. Real posted images of players wearing the masks on their social media channels last month.For Pintus, the focus of early pre-season training is aerobic preparation. The group does a lot of long runs.