Former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega believes that Antonio Conte’s demanding pre-season regime might be the reason why Son Heung-min has not started the season sharply.
Conte and his coaching staff worked the Tottenham squad extremely hard during pre-season, with the players reportedly even being made to run 42 pitch lengths after two hours of training in the 30-degree heat of Seoul earlier this month (Daily Mail).
The Italian and his fitness coaches have built a reputation for pushing players’ bodies to the limit with high-intensity drills and extreme fitness work ahead of the campaign (Football.London).
Vega revealed that he has endured a similar type of pre-season regime during his time in Italy and suggested it can burn out players who are not used to that volume of work.
The former Swiss international suggested that Son might have been fatigued from the workload, which could be the reason behind his lacklustre start to the campaign.
Vega told the Football Show on Sky Sports: “I played in Serie A, when Conte also played there. I went through the regime in terms of pre-season, in terms of from an Italian mentality. I know the Italians are extremely concentrated on the physical and mental side of training camps.”
When asked if that could be the reason behind Son’s poor star, the former Spurs defender responded: “I think so, it could be a possibility. I think Son, and all these guys, I am not too sure they are used to, during the last two or three seasons, to be like that.
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“Son has been on the back-burner, but let’s be frank, he has been carrying the team for a long, long time. He is a very loyal servant to the club. When Kane was injured, he was the one who really leads that team and scores.
“Now, it’s the first time we see Son underperforming. Not scoring. I am not worried. I think, from Son’s point of view, he might be in a period where he’s not potentially fit because it’s one of the parts I might see into it.”
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All coaches (across sports) have a different philosophy in terms of training volume, and so, the jury is out on how much is too much.
Even critics of Conte’s methods will suggest that the problem would come in the latter part of the season, with players potentially picking up muscle injuries.
To suggest that Son is somehow less fit at the start of the season because he did more fitness work in pre-season, is ridiculous.
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