Valery Karpin, the head coach of the Russian national team, has shared his thoughts on how football training has changed over the years, comparing the approaches of modern stars like Cristiano Ronaldo with legends like Diego Maradona.
“Ronaldo has his diet, six hours of training, personal chefs, and a team monitoring his health. Meanwhile, Maradona could step onto the pitch with a hangover and still win,” Karpin said in an interview on Nadezhda Strelets’ YouTube channel.
“Life changes. When I was just over 20, I didn’t prepare the way young players do today. I didn’t even know about such things. Now I tell players sugar is not advisable, or even ban it at times. But back then, no one ever told me about nutrition or that I should eat differently. We didn’t have gyms,” Karpin added.
He also reflected on how modern footballers have access to resources that were unthinkable in his playing days, highlighting the stark contrast in training environments between generations.
