Nutrition is one of the key moments in the life of every athlete, whether experienced or young, and a football player is no exception. To achieve high performance in the game, it is important to take a comprehensive approach to sports training, and devote time not only to training, but also to the correct menu.

In football clubs, nutritionists carefully monitor the nutrition of athletes. Their responsibilities include regularly collecting tests, determining the state of the immune system, metabolic rate, after which a complete diet is developed, which is based on basic concepts of nutrition for all football players. For those who cannot yet afford a personal nutritionist, it would be a good idea to know the basic rules of healthy nutrition.

Proper diet for football players

The optimal diet of a football player, like any other person, should include carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The only difference is that their ratio will be different.

IMPORTANT. As a percentage, the amount of fat in a football player should not exceed 10%-12% of the total body weight. Otherwise, its speed will be slowed down, and additional stress will be placed on the spine and joints .

When calculating the calorie content of food, it is important to take into account that during training, a football player needs to consume about 60-65 kcal per kilogram of his own weight. When introducing dishes into sports nutrition, a professional athlete must know the amount of fats, proteins and carbohydrates required for the body.

The optimal menu that should be followed during the day is as follows:

For breakfast, you should choose porridge, eggs with whole grain bread and natural juice.

For lunch, you should focus on protein foods, to which you can add a vegetable salad.

The afternoon snack should not be neglected, and at this meal you should eat some dairy products with the addition of vegetables or fruits.

Dinner should be light and nutritious, best including whole grains and vegetables.

IMPORTANT. Products such as carbonated drinks, alcohol, sweet and yeast baked goods, fast food and snacks (chips, crackers, etc.) are categorically excluded from the footballer’s diet. It is not recommended to eat fried meat, peas, or overly seasoned dishes.

Meals for football players before and after the game

During training and the game itself, a football player must be able to structure his nutrition in different ways. The nutrition of football players during training and before the game has some differences, because the game is what such a strict regime is followed for. Before the game, it is recommended to avoid heavy consumption of proteins, as it takes a lot of energy to digest them. The food should be light and mainly consist of carbohydrates and a small amount of protein. On the day of the game, a football player can afford the following dishes in his diet: boiled or steamed poultry, chicken or vegetable broth, vegetable salad, whole grains and eggs.

During the match, you can drink a sports drink that can quench your thirst and replenish your mineral balance.

After the end of the game, the football player can afford fish dishes prepared in any way, raw or stewed vegetables and a lot of fruits. This will help you restore your strength as quickly as possible and return to your usual diet.

And this is what Cristiano Ronaldo eats.

Nutrition for a teenage football player

Teenage football player

A teenager from 12 to 16 years old who plays football professionally must monitor his sports nutrition regimen to an even greater extent, since in addition to training loads, the young man’s body still requires strength for the full growth of muscles and bones. A novice football player must be responsible about such aspects of nutrition as proteins, fats, water, vitamins and microelements necessary for growth. The teenager's menu completely excludes all snacks, so-called snacks, carbonated drinks, baked goods and everything that does not satiate the body.

In addition, the approach to nutrition for a 14-15 year old football player includes some more principles:

• An explanation of why and why it is worth sticking to proper nutrition, what will happen if a violation of the regime occurs.
• A teenager should learn to count the protein foods he consumes.
• The menu must include fresh fruits, vegetables and additional vitamins.
• When building a teenager’s diet, it is necessary to rely on training time. Eating a variety of foods 2.5 hours before training and eating fast carbohydrates after physical activity.
• It is necessary to interest the young man in the process of purchasing and preparing food, explaining all the benefits of the products.
• On match days, the young man is advised to stick to his usual diet, without changing his usual diet or experimenting with new foods.

Proper sports nutrition will become a habit that week after week will be fixed in the minds of the young man and move him to new victories.

And finally, a funny video where Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola throws beer to a fan during the championship celebration. Eat right. 🙂

Gastronomic preferences of Gazzaev, Slutsky and Goncharenko, Wagner’s favorite dish and Wernbloom’s hated one – in an interview with the CSKA chef.

People of his profession rarely give interviews and almost never to specialized sports publications. Meanwhile, among them there are real treasure troves of fascinating stories. A living example of this is Nikolay Kosarev, has been feeding football CSKA for a decade and a half.

Having carved out an hour between lunch and dinner for the “army team” at a training camp in Spain, the red-blue chef increased the literacy of the “Championship” special correspondent in the field of sports nutrition, flavoring his story with a generous portion of tasty tales.

"Paulino wants to live 100 years"

By position, I am a consultant nutritionist,” Nikolay introduces himself on the sun-drenched terrace of the Campoamor Golf Resort hotel. – Graduated with honors from the culinary college in his native Lytkarino and the food academy in Taganka. Attended nutrition courses and seminars. I talked a lot with doctors and athletes. So, step by step, I did it myself. In August it will be 15 years since I have been at CSKA. I am in charge of the canteen at the base in Vatutinki.

- Who is involved in creating the team menu?
- Over the years of work, a clear algorithm of actions has been developed: doctors give recommendations to me, I check them with the wishes of the players - and draw up a menu. Our players rarely change, so I know the tastes of the majority well.

- Are coaches or physical training specialists involved in the process?
- Our physical training coach Paulino Granero likes to repeat: “I won’t teach a football player to run fast or jump high if he doesn’t eat right.” Sometimes he comes up and quietly hints: remove this from the diet, or reduce it.

- For example?
- As always – foods containing fat. Paulino really doesn't like cream or butter.

- And he doesn’t eat himself?
- Practically. He says: “I want to live 100 years.”

“When Carvalho brought plus seven kilos to the training camp, Gazzaev was shocked”

- Does the diet depend on the time of year and the location of the training camp?
- It doesn’t depend at all. Only fruits can depend on the season. The rest can be found year-round in any country. We don’t consume anything exclusive – we eat like ordinary people. The difference is in restrictions - athletes must restrain themselves when it comes to food. There is no “traveling model” - the diet, give or take, is the same as at the base in Vatutinki. If there are two training sessions, the team eats heavily, while one training session is in a lighter mode. Everyone on the team is a pro. Everyone knows how much of something is possible and when. Some guys drink water according to a schedule, by the hour and even by the minute. I just give the volume that I can give, and they themselves combine their personal menu. Everything is very individual for everyone. There are things that are prohibited in principle. But sometimes this is allowed. You can’t keep it “strict” all the time.

- Eto'o ordered a Coca-Cola at Anzhi after training.
- And here Carvalho loved cola.

- Did you get fat on it?
- One is not connected with the other. He didn’t drink liters of it. A bottle of cola after the game is not forbidden. This is normal for a quick recovery.

- Why was he so blown away?
- Well, certainly not from my food. 100 percent. Maybe there was something hormonal, maybe there was a problem with metabolism. This is not our topic - medical. When Carvalho brought plus seven kilos to the training camp, Gazzaev was shocked. One day after training Paulo ( Paixao, previous physical training coach for CSKA. – Approx. "Championship") Daniel begged: “It’s better to kill me here, but I won’t run again!” Humanly, I felt sorry for the guy.

“Borsch helps not to forget about home!”

- Do you take food with you to the training camp or do you purchase it on the spot?
- Four years ago I brought a whole bag of groceries with me - and soon regretted it, because I quickly found a Russian store that had absolutely everything. In the mornings, our football players eat the same cheesecakes with the same sour cream as at home.

- Is all the cooking done on the receiving end?
- Practically. I only cook what local chefs, unfortunately, don’t know how to do.

- For example?
- Traditional Russian porridges - oatmeal, rice, jam. They don’t have this in their gastronomic culture. Cottage cheese and sour cream do not exist as a class in Spain - you won’t find anything like it except yoghurts and milk. Soups in Europe are often only creamy, but our people, even in foreign lands, want the usual first course. The guys ask - we cook: chicken soup, meatball soup, cabbage soup, borscht...

- How is borscht useful for an athlete?
- Borsch helps not to forget about home ( smiling). There is such a thing as food habits: what we eat from childhood until retirement. We don’t share the conventional buckwheat, but after a pause it is swept away clean. The guys say thank you.

- What must be included in a football player’s diet at training camp?
- Rice and pasta are the main things. Pasta must be hard. These are so-called complex carbohydrates, which take a long time to break down and provide energy to football players during high physical activity. Foods rich in potassium and magnesium are valued because they are muscle food. The assortment certainly includes meat and fish of the highest quality. Fish oil is involved in metabolic processes and promotes speedy recovery. Seafood and shrimp are also welcome. Moreover, we are in Spain, but here this good stuff is in order.

- Do football players eat porridge at the behest of their hearts or under duress?
- Any porridge, except semolina, must be eaten in the morning. It is easily digested and gives the footballer quick energy. For the first, less intense workout, this is enough. It is important that the player enters the field empty as a barrel. If he eats an omelette with bacon, he will simply fall and die on the lawn. Our people throw strawberries, kiwi, banana into the porridge, mix the whole thing - and, I think, they enjoy it.

- What if a person can’t stand porridge since childhood?
- No problem. Corn flakes, muesli with milk or yogurt are good alternatives. We all find something to eat. An athlete must eat something before training. It could even be banal cookies with sweet tea.

Photo: from the personal archive of Nikolai Kosarev

“Fernandez is the best client! Omnivorous"

- It is generally accepted that Brazilians cannot live without beans.
- The famous feijoada? A very tasty dish. Wagner often brought a container of hot, freshly cooked beans from home and treated everyone to it. Carvalho's friend cooked. At leisure, I served myself a plate of rice, sprinkled beans and sausages on top, sang songs - and felt at home. But our Mario is already more Russian than Brazilian. He says: “If I want something like that, I just go to a restaurant.” Fernandez is our best client! Omnivorous. There were never any difficulties with him.

- What about Wagner?
- Wagner was once late for the pre-game lunch, and we ran out of pasta, rice - it was basically trash. He took everything that was left. I apologize to him, and Wagner replies: “Kolya, don’t worry. At one time in Brazil, I was happy with bread and water.” A man came from the favelas, from the very bottom, he, even having achieved recognition, remained absolutely picky in food.

- Can you give me a reverse example?
- Keisuke Honda sometimes, as if emphasizing his aristocratic origins, looked a little down on us: “You guys have room to grow.” Again, his natural upbringing did not allow him to go further in these conversations. Doumbia took a piece of meat and pasta. The omelette always asked for it to be fried until black. Krasic, Dudu, Ferreira - everyone ate rice and pasta. Foreigners are generally easy to work with. As a rule, they adapt to us, not we to them. And if someone specifically asks for something, I just take it and do it. I have worked with individual clients almost my entire career.

“There’s nowhere to go here, there’s nothing to be tempted by”

- What edibles are strictly prohibited at training camps?
- Anything that contains a large amount of fat - deep fat, cream, mayonnaise. Footballers expend a lot of energy, so they need to eat a lot and varied. But we definitely control the number of calories contained in food.

- Fast food, soda – taboo?
- Players do not leave the territory of the hotel complex - there is nowhere to go, there is nothing to be tempted by.

- There is a bar.
- Nobody buys anything there either. You don’t even have to warn the bartenders about this, because we have professionals on our team who don’t deal with such nonsense.

- How many times a year can a football player go to McDonald’s without it affecting his physical fitness?
- This is purely individual. I think that people who have a desire to stay longer in this business, in big-time sports, simply do not visit such establishments. Our players - some of whom I have known for more than a decade - pay extremely close attention to their diet.

- Were there any comrades in your practice who were not entirely conscious and ate everything?
- There was one guy, Alan Kusov. So he swept away everything like a vacuum cleaner. This happens when a person is malnourished in childhood or adolescence, and then finds himself in abundance. In general, young people often have to be taught how to eat correctly. In such cases, I advise the children to pay attention to their elders, to carefully look at who is putting what on the plate.

Photo: from the personal archive of Nikolai Kosarev

- Are there those who, no matter how much they eat, do not get better?
- I thought Zoran was like that. I was mistaken. In fact, Tosic eats in very measured doses, down to the gram. Novak Djokovic's nutritionist gives him recommendations.

- And how does Tosic, curious, measure portions?
- It comes with experience. You are constantly monitoring your weight. The arrow started to move up and I thought: “So, what did I eat yesterday?” I excluded this ingredient, and the next day the arrow remains in place. So, day after day, year after year, we develop our own individual menu. I know him and try to take into account the interests of everyone or the majority. Sometimes, not finding a favorite dish, the player reproaches: “Nikolai, how can this be?” And I answer: “But in the evening there will be your favorite dish!”

- Is Tosic the most scrupulous player in terms of nutrition?
- In fact, many people are strict about food. Veterans like everything to be top-notch. They give themselves 100 percent, and demand the same from their staff. Still, we work together for results.

- Is beer and wine excluded at the training camp?
- Sashka Tsauni and Zhenya Aldonin have birthdays nearby ( January 19 and 22. – Approx. "Championship"). On this occasion, in previous years, they gathered a team, and we went to the Nautilus restaurant, where we allowed ourselves a glass of wine. But this is only in the middle of the preseason. At the first training camp, when intense training sessions take place twice a day, alcohol is completely excluded. No beer, no wine, nothing. Zero.

- Are the restorative properties of beer a myth?
- Of course it’s a myth. Paulino never tires of repeating: any substance that strains the liver is bad. Psychologists say that after intense stress, a little bit is okay. But this does not apply to athletes - only to ordinary people.

- What about energy drinks?
- In jars? What are you doing? This is poison - why is it needed? I don’t drink myself and I don’t recommend it to anyone. There are safer medical things.

- Is there a special diet for overweight players?
- There are separate training sessions for them. Reinforced. We have enough dietary products on the table to make up our own diet. They themselves understand and know everything.

“Slutsky joked: “We’ll feed the athletes what’s left”

- Are there any sweet tooths on the team?
- Paulino!

- Yah!
- Is it true. He loves sweets very much, but rarely allows himself to eat them. Chocolate covered marshmallows are a favorite dessert. In Spain there is no such thing. Having tried it for the first time, Paulino called marshmallows a drug. I put it on the table - he groans: “Kolya, why?!”

- Does he even allow himself sometimes?
- He allows it, and then he tortures himself with training. One half of a marshmallow - two laps around the stadium. He comes in and the marshmallow lies there. I ask: “Paulo, how long will you run today? Two?". He glances sideways at the marshmallow: “Six!” And he takes three pieces.

- What did Gazzaev like?
- Valery Georgievich loved the pasta sauces I prepared. He said that he had never eaten anything like this in the best Italian restaurants in Moscow.

- What were Slutsky’s preferences?
- Leonid Viktorovich, by and large, is an omnivore. I just didn’t eat the side dishes. I respected sauce dishes more and more - liver, rabbit, boiled tongue, and beef stroganoff. Sometimes I asked him: “Maybe what is needed?” Slutsky joked: “Yes, I’ll feed the athletes what’s left.” It was a pleasure to work with him. Seven years flew by like one day. When they said goodbye in London, the cats scratched their souls. The words of Leonid Viktorovich at a meeting with the staff sunk into my soul: “The team is not only the players, it is everything, including the cleaning lady at the base. Without the coordinated work of the entire team, no result can be achieved.” It was nice because it's fucking true...

- Did he tell you something personally?
- I thanked everyone individually when I first became a champion. Swiss watch, personalized gift - to the staff, management. A total of 35 of these were made. One was for sale on the CSKA website - it went for half a million rubles.

“A man salts his soup, but it gets sweeter and sweeter...”

- Is fasting for Muslims a problem for you as a cook?
- Musa reasoned soberly: “Fast after fast, but if I don’t play, my family will die of hunger.” Therefore, even during Ramadan I ate like everyone else. If I stopped eating, I would stop scoring goals. It’s the same with Doumbia.

- And Maazu?
- Maazu was a strange young man. The guys tried to sell him all the pork. They advised: eat this, it’s very tasty. He takes it and starts cutting. I warn you: pork. Maazu then cursed heavily. Doumbia made fun of Olise in this way: “Sekou, this is beef. I just devoured two pieces!” He was bought...

At first they did not communicate with each other. One is English-speaking, the other is French-speaking. Dumbi once swore in the dining room in his own way, in an African dialect. Sekou told him: “Boom-boom-boom?” Dumby responded: “Boom-boom-boom!” It turned out that they speak the same dialect. So they didn’t spill water afterwards! There was never a dull moment at CSKA. There were always people who made the atmosphere lighter and more relaxed.

- Salt in compote – a classic of the genre?
- It was even more fun when they poured sugar into the salt shaker and salt into the sugar bowl. A man salts his soup, but it gets sweeter and sweeter. They left the table - for a refill or some dish - without taking their eyes off their plate (laughs). As soon as you turn away, three hands are already reaching out - one is pouring sugar, the other is pepper. This is good, normal. Laughter is a release, and it is vital in our business.

- After the change of head coach, was the menu subject to correction?
- Diet - no. The time frame for eating has been narrowed. Now the whole team is in the restaurant at the same time. I think this is a kind of team building. And then, Viktor Mikhailovich and I worked for a whole season. If he were not satisfied with the menu, he probably would have reported it on the very first day after taking over as chief.

- Have you figured out his gastronomic tastes too?
- In this regard, Viktor Mikhailovich is also a very simple person. He refuses side dishes. Lots of vegetables, berries, fruits. Meat, fish, chicken - he eats everything. The chef is delighted with such clients.

“Dumbia loved borscht very much”

- Do legionnaires favor borscht and dumplings?
- At first, Zoran categorically refused to eat soups. And now he eats them for lunch and dinner. I once asked: “What happened, Zoran?” “It turns out that yours is very tasty,” he says. Some foods you have to learn to eat. Not every one of us eats a snail or an oyster, but the French do it once in a while. It's the same here. Doumbia, by the way, was very fond of borscht - however, he never poured the grounds, only the broth. Many foreigners have switched to soups. Pontus just won’t ripen...

- Why?
- Swedes generally have unusual culinary preferences. You've boiled salmon in milk - and here's your soup. Wernbloom categorically rejects our soups.

- Does CSKA have a signature dish?
- I cook very tasty pancakes. Thin, with holes - no one makes those. I guess you could call them my signature dish. I rarely cook them - it’s harmful. But when I do, they fly away instantly! Then I pause again so that the players get bored, remember and order again.

- Do you communicate with colleagues from other clubs?
- Mainly at Champions League matches. I am interested in the nutrition of athletes immediately after a game. This happens differently everywhere. Before the meeting with Bayern, Seryozha Ignashevich addressed me: “I heard that after the match in Krasnodar, the Borussia players washed down their hot pasta with beer. Alcoholic. Look in Munich what they eat.”

- And what?
- Every time it’s different. Then we ate ham and cheese sandwiches. I asked my colleague: “Friend, do you eat pasta after the game?” “We,” he says, “have been eating pasta all week. If I offer them after the match, they will kill me!” I also try to vary the post-match menu: pizza, pies... I still can’t please everyone.

- So, after the match, flour is not harmful?
- On the contrary, it’s useful! The first hour or two after exercise, the protein-carbohydrate window is maximally open, which needs to be filled with anything. At this moment, the body doesn’t care what you put into it. The main thing is that this must happen. Otherwise, the recovery process will drag on for a day. And when the games take place two days later on the third, there are no extra days.

- Have there been any incidents in your practice?
- Million. Southern City. On the eve of the match I come to the kitchen in the hotel, turn on the gas, and it burns with tiny wicks. They explain to me: it’s Saturday, everyone turned on the stoves - the pressure dropped. I put a saucepan with water, but it didn’t even boil. We turn on the electric stove and electric cabinet - it turns out the lights in the entire hotel! As a result, they made a fire outside and boiled water for pasta there. In a cauldron. It was funny and alarming at the same time. The team is about to arrive from the airport, and I’m just starting a fire...

What do football players eat? Agree, in ordinary life this question is of little interest to most people. Most people are much more interested in football players playing football well. This is especially true now, during the World Cup in South Africa. However, without quality nutrition, not a single football player can play normally. “Culinary Eden” decided to find out what professional football players eat.

Something about the team

For obvious reasons, the Russian team did not go to South Africa. The last major tournament in which she participated was the 2008 European Championship. The same European Championship that gave the fans so much hope, which gave them the Holland-Russia match and the victory of our football players in it, which, in the end, became the most successful tournament of this level for our football in many years - the team took third place.

Previously, our team took chefs with them to major tournaments (for example, to the 2002 World Cup, held in Japan and South Korea). However, under Hiddink this practice was abandoned (whether it will be returned again after his departure is not yet clear). So, at Euro 2008, the chef of the hotel where they stayed was responsible for the meals of our football players.

In principle, the menu of the Russian national team players depends on many factors. When compiling it, not only data on medical indicators, but also the taste preferences of the players are always taken into account. At major important tournaments, the menu is always agreed upon with the team management. During Euro 2008, our football players mainly preferred dishes of local (Austrian) cuisine; among Russian dishes, they asked to include only borscht in the menu.

Some details of club menus

The Russians, as already noted, are not participating in the World Cup in South Africa. Therefore, they do not eat anything at this championship. It is still difficult to find information about the menu of football players from other countries. Therefore, so that readers still have an idea of ​​what football players eat, “Culinary Eden” has collected information about what players of domestic clubs are treated to.

If we talk about top division football clubs, then the food here is always good. Usually it is a buffet, and it is plentiful and varied. Our food is better than in many famous European clubs. For example, Roman Pavlyuchenko speaks about the food at Tottenham, where he has played since 2008: “At the Tottenham base, the food is very modest: a small canteen - that’s all. At Spartak both the choice and quality of food was much better.”

Chef of Moscow Spartak Shakir Razzakov believes that a football player should not fill his stomach, but strictly get what he needs. “During training, guys spend a lot of energy, so food should be high-calorie, but low-fat. And after the game, restorative nutrition is a must.”

“We try to ensure that the food is varied, but always homemade,” says the chef. However, everything also depends on the coaching attitude. So, during the time of Nevio Scala, the team’s menu began to include more pasta (pasta made from durum wheat), and a lot of attention was paid to vegetable dishes. Michael Laudrup, who coached Spartak until April 2009, ordered sausages and sausages to be removed from the players’ menu. Spartak football players now have nuts, crackers, omelettes (instead of scrambled eggs), and freshly squeezed juices for breakfast. Laudrup also banned chocolate, and did not welcome baked goods. However, after the game it was sometimes resolved. We hardly cook pork either.” Since then, in general, everything has remained the same. Valery Karpin, the current coach of Spartak, according to chef Razzakov, has not changed anything special in his diet yet.

At Zenit in St. Petersburg, pork was also banned at one time. However, now it has been allowed again. But in small quantities. The club's chef, Kamo Tatevosyan, adds it to the cutlets to make them juicier. Basically, dishes for Zenit players are prepared from Belarusian meat (purchased from special suppliers), because the chef really likes the quality of Belarusian beef and veal. It is curious that cooking meat with blood is strictly prohibited. The degree of frying should be complete, because undercooked meat has a bad effect on the stomach, and professional athletes should avoid such a risk.

During the vegetable season, Zenit cooks always pamper the team with sorrel and spinach soups (however, this is a very healthy pampering). Ukrainian borscht is especially loved by football players from the city on the Neva. The team's chefs prepare it according to all the rules - with real donuts. The menu also includes delicious (according to the players themselves) fruit drinks and compotes made from cranberries and lingonberries. Sweet pastries are also allowed within reasonable limits. Fillings - only fruit (jam, confiture are allowed), but no cream!

The entire diet of the players is agreed upon with the team doctors. It’s interesting that Zenit’s foreign legionnaires eat the same food as Russian players. This was Dick Advocaat's decision, which current head coach Luciano Spalletti left unchanged. However, individual orders are still possible. The same Advocaat, when he was the head coach of the club, always asked for fresh pastries, because in his homeland fresh bread and buns are a common element of the meal.

It takes approximately 13 kg of meat per day to feed Zenit players. Approximately half for first and second courses. The lion's share of meat is chicken and beef. Chicken is generally shown and loved by football players. After all, this is dietary, “light” meat. The day before the game, the menu becomes more “restrained”, for example: tomato and other vegetable salads as an appetizer, the first is broth, the second is fried chicken, the side dish is pasta. A few hours before the game you can only eat chicken and spaghetti. There are also prohibitions in the diet: they relate to fatty, spicy and salty foods. In the pre-game days and on match day, the blue-white-blue coaching staff eats exactly the same as the players. This tradition is one of the manifestations of team solidarity.

Menu of the canteen of the Zenit football club. Footballers' diet:

Snacks
- cucumber rolls with tuna
- ham and cheese rolls
- tiger shrimps with tomatoes, stewed in cream

First meal
- vegetable soup made from cauliflower and champignons

Second courses
- fried trout fillet
- beef stroganoff
- chicken fillet with mushrooms
- chicken schnitzel.
- minced beefsteak

Garnish
- taglioteli (pasta) with tomatoes and garlic
- vegetable ratatouille
- mashed potatoes
- buckwheat

Dessert
- apple strudel
- sweets (cookies, chocolate)

Beverages
- cranberry juice, tea, coffee, water, vitamin drinks

Samara “Wings of the Soviets” is the culinary patrimony of Olga Ruchkina. In the sense that she is the chef at the club. However, even though she is the “chief in charge of food,” all dishes are prepared only in strict accordance with the recommendations of doctors - they always listen to medicine, and, according to the chef, they try to avoid amateur activities. The emphasis, again, is on “homemade” food. For example, for lunch you can have boiled chicken legs, beef chop with mushrooms, pork chop (this is also possible!), and also with a special cheese sauce (chef’s secret). And also a turkey chop, the usual borscht, okroshka in the summer, vegetable salads with the obligatory carrots, beets, cabbage (including sea cabbage). In addition, the chefs’ arsenal includes chicken cutlets and zrazy with mushrooms, which are very popular among the team. Of course, fruits and berries are not forgotten. In summer - seasonal, in winter - citrus fruits, grapes, apples, pomegranates. As for baked goods, they are on the Wings menu only with the permission of the team doctor. Players love meat pies, and they don’t refuse sweets. All meat for the team, according to Olga Ruchkina, is purchased only at the market - fresh.

On the day of the game, the football players of the Samara club are “put on a diet.” For example, they prepare homemade noodles, chicken broth with meatballs, and boiled chicken legs. Side dish - only rice, without any seasonings, clean. Also included is a sandwich with red caviar and bananas. But after the match, the diet is canceled.

In Kazan, Galiyaban Samigullina is responsible for the football players’ diet. She is the chef at Rubin. There is no buffet, so common in many other clubs. The proven principle of the Soviet canteen has been implemented - trays, distribution. The players choose first, second, third. Of course, the similarity with the Soviet canteen ends there. The quality of the dishes is excellent. Undoubtedly, the fact that the Rubin football club has become the champion of Russia among the Top Division teams for two years in a row (2008, 2009) is due in no small part to Galiyaban Samigullina and the other chefs of the team.

In Dynamo Moscow, the nutrition principle has been changed since 2008. Highly professional chefs prepare dishes not only for the players of the main team, as was the case before, but also for the reserve players, as well as for the football players completing their studies (the last two years) at the Dynamo sports school. For lunch, as a rule, several types of salads are prepared (buffet), and second and first courses are made to order.

Their morals

Patrick Gordon is a famous chef. He has cooked for many celebrities. Among them are Samantha Fox (a big lover of seafood), Dmitry Hvorostovsky (a fan of freshly squeezed carrot juice), as well as Thomas Anders, the Bonnie M group, Sergei Penkin. He also delighted football stars with his art. Including from Shakhtar, Manchester United and Barcelona.

The Barça football players, according to Gordon, devoured Italian pasta for their sweet souls, and in large quantities (instead of the standard 100 grams of pasta per serving, the football players were given 200). And also a salad with tomatoes and a lot of herbs, chicken. Pasta, of course, was not eaten right before the game - the day before it, a few hours at most. Because you can’t eat enough before a match to avoid heaviness in your stomach. Football stars especially liked the tomato sauce with basil, proposed by Patrick Gordon.

There is an opinion that athletes should not eat flour. But it can be called erroneous, Gordon argues. “The fact is that the same paste gives the body energy that is stored in it for a long time. Sweets (sugar) also give energy, but after sweets you will experience an energy surge, followed by a decline. However, even sweets within reasonable limits are not prohibited for athletes. Thus, the menu for Barcelona football players included caramel-vanilla desserts and fruit salads. Vegetables and fruits, of course, are an essential element of sports nutrition - they are a storehouse of vitamins. But it’s better for athletes not to eat very fatty foods, cream, salt. Salt, for example, takes water out of the body in large quantities. Spanish players drank mostly mineral water; after a game (especially after a victory) they could afford a glass of wine.”

By the way, as for wine, its use by football players, and with the approval of coaches, is not so uncommon. Thus, the Italian Roberto Mancini, who coaches Manchester City, announced changes in the nutrition of football players at the beginning of the year. In particular, he said that he allows players to drink wine. Mancini ordered the addition of several Italian dishes to the menu, including pizza. It is with this that wine will be served - a glass per person; the Italian claims that alcohol is healthy in small doses.

“I'm going to slightly change the food that players eat before matches. You need to consume more chicken, pizza, carbohydrates. The same goes for a glass of wine, which didn’t happen before,” Mancini said.

Actually, Roberto Mancini is not the only Italian in English football, and he is not the only one who practices such culinary experiments. The coach of the English national team, Fabio Capello, for example, in 2009 forbade his players to eat French fries and ketchup, recommending replacing them with healthy foods.

Football menu

The finale includes several recipes from Zenit chef Kamo Tatevosyan.

Mexican salad

Ingredients (for 5 servings):
100 g celery root;
100 g, fried chicken fillet;
75 g, red pepper;
1 boiled egg;
50 g onions;
100 g iceberg lettuce;
50 g olive oil - 50 g,
10 g vinegar;
100 g mayonnaise (optional).

Preparation:
Chop the vegetables and fillets, stir, add vinegar, olive oil or mayonnaise to taste.

Tiger prawns with tomatoes, melted in cream

Ingredients (per serving):
300 g shrimp;
1 lemon;
1 tomato;
25 g olive oil;
100 g cream (10%);
salt to taste.

Preparation:
Peel raw shrimp from the shell and marinate them in lemon juice for five minutes. Then fry in a hot frying pan. Transfer to a saucepan. Fry a diced tomato, combine them with shrimp, add cream and simmer in a saucepan for 3-4 minutes. Once cooked, let simmer for a few minutes. When serving, sprinkle with herbs.

Vegetable soup made from cauliflower and fresh champignons

Ingredients (for 5 servings):
100 g cauliflower;
1 carrot;
1 onion;
25 g leek;
1 tomato;
50 g champignons;
25 celery root;
1 potato;
400 g beef.

Preparation:
Make beef broth. Cut all vegetables into cubes. Fry onions, carrots, celery root in oil. Divide the cauliflower into florets and add to the broth. Fry the potatoes in a frying pan for 10 minutes, add the champignons cut into slices. Place the roast in the broth, add fried vegetables, leeks and fresh tomatoes. Cook everything together for no more than 10 minutes. Before serving, stir in the beef from the broth. Sprinkle with herbs. If desired, you can eat it with sour cream.

11.4.2 Pre-game carbohydrate intake

Players should eat carbohydrate-rich foods (pasta, rice, potatoes) in the evening 2-3 days before the match. This stimulates glycogen storage. On game day, you should be careful with your carbohydrate intake - the player should not have any undigested food in his stomach when he takes the field. It should also be taken into account that immediately after consuming carbohydrates, blood sugar levels drop and are restored only after 60-90 minutes. If he does not have time to recover by the start of the game, the players will quickly get tired. Hence, it is extremely important to plan your pre-match nutrition. The so-called “sports lunch”, consumed 2-4 hours before the game, should provide players with additional energy.

An ideal sports lunch should consist of mostly carbohydrates and minimal amounts of fat, fiber and protein. If food is taken too late, players may enter the field with undigested food in their stomachs, which can cause problems. To digest food, blood flows to the digestive organs, and during play, blood is needed for active muscles and organs. Products containing polysaccharides (for example, cereals) are also not recommended - they contain too much fiber, which slows down digestion. You should also avoid fatty foods because fats take a long time to digest. Of the meat products, only very lean ones are allowed, such as chicken. Fatty sauces are absolutely unacceptable for a sports lunch.

Table 11.5 The amount of liquid that should be drunk between the warm-up and the start of the game and during the break, depending on the air temperature.

It's good to eat carbohydrates again because warming up releases hormones that keep your blood sugar levels from dropping. The most acceptable form of carbohydrates immediately before and during a match is a hypotonic or isotonic energy drink.

Eating solid foods has major disadvantages. The amount of liquid that should be consumed depends on the temperature (Table 11.5). In warmer weather, players sweat more and must drink more. At the same time, carbohydrate intake remains unchanged. If the weather is hot, then carbohydrates should dissolve in

Table 11.6. The amount of carbohydrates per liter of liquid at different temperatures. This takes into account increased fluid consumption at high temperatures.

more liquid, that is, the concentration of carbohydrates will be lower (Table 11.6).

11.4.3 Carbohydrate intake during play

Football rules do not allow players to regularly consume carbohydrates during the game. During the game, players cannot carry drinks or food, cannot leave the field to replenish their energy reserves, and there are no special pauses in the game for this purpose. Therefore, players should take advantage of every opportunity to replenish their carbohydrate stores. Energy drinks consumed during a match can produce amazing results. Towards the end of the game, players' glycogen stores are depleted and need to use energy from fat. Research shows that if a person drinks energy drinks at the beginning of exercise, the moment of switching to fat energy is delayed.

In this case, after the match, players feel that they have used up less glycogen. The overall consumption of glycogen is reduced, which allows its reserves to be restored more quickly. This allows players to perform explosive moves even in the second half of the match. Fatigue caused by glycogen consumption is expressed, among other things, in a decrease in speed and an increase in rest time between fast movements.

Table 11.7. Amount of fluid that should be consumed every 15 minutes during a match

dehydration with all the negative consequences. Therefore, players should aim to drink the amount of fluid indicated in Table 11.7 every 15 minutes during a match. While drinking while playing is necessary, it should not interfere with the game itself. You should drink only when the game situation allows it. Small bottles of energy drink can be placed around the side of the pitch so that players can regularly take advantage of breaks in play and drink without going to the bench. At the same time, players do not risk being out of the field when the game resumes. Even in cool weather, it is recommended to use this strategy - of course, placing the bottles so that they do not pose any inconvenience or tripping hazard to the players.

11.4.4 Post-match carbohydrate intake

After a match, players' glycogen stores are very low (especially when playing at a high level). They should be replenished as quickly as possible. To do this, it is not enough to eat a lot of carbohydrates - this must be done at the appropriate moment. Research shows that a specific method can be used to restore glycogen stores in the first two hours after a match. There is a special enzyme responsible for recovery processes in the body. The lower the glycogen supply, the more active this enzyme is. Its activity, therefore, is maximum within 2 hours after the match, and then drops sharply. Therefore, the best way to recover is to start consuming carbohydrates immediately after finishing the game. It is recommended to consume 100 grams of carbohydrates at this time, and another 25 grams per hour thereafter. In general, you should consume 10 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight in the 24 hours after playing. Since soccer players typically do not feel hungry after a game, they should be encouraged to consume energy drinks to replenish glycogen stores and restore fluid balance in the body.

• Carbohydrate intake before, after and during exercise

Soccer players also use up glycogen during training and their diet should be adjusted to suit their training schedule. Here too, a real match serves as the model, and the nutritional guidelines for playing should be applied to training. We must not forget that the frequency and intensity of training per week varies significantly. Football players should not eat too much before training. Undigested food in the stomach causes the same problems during training as during the game. The benefit of training is that drinking breaks are readily available and it is the trainer's responsibility to take advantage of this opportunity. At the end of a workout, players should consume carbohydrates to fully replenish glycogen stores before the next workout. In Figure 11.8. depicts fluctuations in the glycogen reserves of players who consume additional carbohydrates and do not eat in accordance with recommendations.

Figure 11.8. An example of glycogen storage fluctuations over a week. A player who follows carbohydrate intake guidelines begins each game and practice with almost a full supply. If your carbohydrate intake is insufficient, your supply will not be replenished for the next game or training session.

• The importance of fluids for football players

During prolonged physical activity, fluid loss occurs due to the heating of the body, which is compensated by cooling through sweating. The amount of fluid lost depends on the ambient temperature, atmospheric humidity and type of clothing. The level of training of the athlete and the intensity of the game or training also play a role.

It is extremely important to maintain fluid balance in the body by drinking enough fluids. It was indicated above how much fluid an athlete should consume at different temperatures. It has been shown that a fluid loss equal to 1% of body weight (that is, 800 ml for a person weighing 80 kg) begins to negatively affect the performance of an athlete. Most of the fluid lost through sweat comes from the blood. Thus, the amount of blood circulating in the body is reduced, which reduces the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles (and the removal of waste from them). The only way to avoid this is to balance the intake and loss of fluids.

An energy drink is a solution of carbohydrates in water. It is quickly absorbed and has a lower risk of gastrointestinal problems. Another benefit of energy drinks is that their consumption maintains the balance of fluids in the body. As indicated, a football player, depending on the temperature and intensity of the load, can lose from 2 to 5 liters of fluid per game or training. This has a negative effect on your performance and to avoid this you should drink regularly during a match. At the same time, not all players can play well when they have a significant amount of liquid in their stomach. For these reasons, experimentation should be done during the training season to determine the best hydration regimen for the player and to train the player to be active with the fluid in the stomach. This can usually be achieved fairly quickly and will train the athlete to perform on the field immediately after drinking.

• Energy balance

The contributions of various nutrients to total energy intake were mentioned above. How can you measure how much energy should enter the human body? It is clear that the energy supply must correspond to its costs. If this is not the case, a positive or negative energy balance occurs (Figure 11.9). Table 11.10 shows a well-balanced diet for a top league player in the Dutch Football Association.

Since it is practically impossible to directly measure daily energy intake and expenditure, it is necessary to use other methods, for example using body weight as a criterion. It is known that a positive energy balance leads to an increase in body weight, and a negative one leads to a decrease. If the weight does not change, the energy balance is considered to be balanced. This is not always fair. If a player is injured and does not train for a long time, he will lose some muscle mass. If his weight has not changed, it means that the lost muscle weight has been replaced by the increased weight of fatty tissue. In addition, it has not been finally decided what weight should be considered ideal for a person.

Figure 11.9 Overview of the relationships between energy input and consumption and the associated energy balance

• Ideal body weight based on height

There are a number of methods for calculating ideal body weight based on height. The presence of multiple methods indicates that none of them is ideal. The most widely used methods are Broca's and Lorenz's.

Broca's method

For men: ideal weight = height (cm) – 100

For women: ideal weight = (height (cm) -100) -10%

Lorentz method

Ideal weight = (height (cm) – 100) height (cm) – 150

In practice, very few people have the ideal weight calculated by these methods.

The Quetele Index (Q.I.) uses both height and weight. Q.I. calculated by dividing weight in pounds by the square of height in feet and inches.

Q.I.= weight (lb) / height (ft, in) x height (ft, in)

Q.I. should be from 18.5 to 24.9, regardless of height, age and gender. Table 11.11 shows the ideal weight limits for each height. However, this is also an indirect method. It does not directly measure the amount of fat, and so another method is usually used, listed below, which shows the amount of fat stored in the body.

Table 11.10 Diet of a top amateur league player in the Dutch Football Association.

	Carbohydrates gr.		Squirrels, gr.
Breakfast
3 slices of wheat bread,
and thinly spread:
1 of them with apple syrup
1 of them with honey
1 of them with jam
Morning snacks:
2 cookies
2 cups of coffee
Afternoon snack
5 slices of wheat bread
spread with low-calorie margarine 2 of them are thinly spread:
1 jam
1 apple syrup
1 piece of cheese
2 pieces of sandwich meat (medium fat)
2 cups skim milk
1 medium serving of fruit
5 medium boiled potatoes
300 grams of winter vegetables, no salt
10 grams of meat (medium fat content, no more than 5 grams of raw fat)
15 grams margarine
100 grams low-fat cottage cheese
100 grams vanilla cake
1 medium serving of fruit
Evening snacks
2 glasses of tea
2 cookies
After training/match
2 slices wheat bread
1 of them with apple syrup
1 of them with honey
During training/match
1 bottle of water
100 ml. soft drink
2 multivitamin tablets

* Note translator - 10 grams of meat cannot contain 22 grams of protein. The source should be checked.

11.5.3 Body fat percentage

There is a negative attitude towards fat. Most people associate fat with being overweight, but the body cannot exist without it. However, like most substances, fat is harmful in excess. The problems caused by excess fat are listed above. Most of the excess incoming energy is stored in the form of fat. Fat is found in special fat cells located mainly under the skin. Thus, if the subcutaneous fat layer increases, this is a sign of excess energy intake. In general, we can consider that the human body consists of fat and non-fat (skeleton, muscles and other organs) mass. By measuring the percentage of fat, this mass can be calculated. This method has advantages over simply measuring body weight. It has already been said that the scale indicator can give a distorted picture of what is happening in the body. A person who exercises to lose weight gets rid of fat, but builds muscle mass.

Table 11.11. To meet the ideal weight of the Q.I. should be between 18 and 24.9. This table shows the minimum and maximum weights for different heights.

Since muscle is heavier than fat, your overall body weight may even increase. Such errors can be prevented by using a fat percentage measurement.

Skinfold measurement

Skinfold measurements should be taken on the left side for right-handed people, and on the right side for left-handed people. The person being measured must be in a standing position. The skin fold should be grasped by placing the thumb and index finger 4 centimeters apart at the measurement site and in accordance with the location of the elastic fibers of the skin. You can't grab a muscle. If in doubt, it is better to first tense the muscle. Then the measuring forceps are applied to the skin at a distance of about 2 cm from the fingers holding the fold. After a few seconds, the readings can be read. Each fold must be measured three times and the average value recorded. In Holland, the Durnin measurement method is used, in which four skin folds are measured, and the indicator is calculated using tables in accordance with gender and age.		Measuring the skin fold allows you to determine your body fat percentage Different types of skinfold measuring devices
1. Front of the shoulder (front biceps fold) The relaxed hand should hang palm forward. The center of the shoulder is determined as the middle of the distance between the acromion and olecranon. The acromion is the bony process on the shoulder blade, felt at the top of the shoulder, and the olecranon is the end of the elbow. Using a tape measure, the distance is measured and the middle is found. The fold is placed along the shoulder. 2. Back of the shoulder (back biceps fold) This fold is located directly above the olecranon, exactly in the middle of the shoulder. This fold should also be located along the shoulder.	Measuring the skin fold on the back of the biceps

3. Subscapular fold

Feel the lower point of the shoulder blade. Grab a fold of skin about 2 cm in this place and measure at a distance of 2 cm from your fingers. The elastic fibers of the skin in this place run from top to bottom obliquely at an angle of 45 degrees towards the arm. The fold should run parallel to these fibers.

4. Above the edge of the pelvis (siliac fold)

If you draw a vertical line down from the center of the armpit, the measurement point will be at the intersection of this line and the upper edge of the pelvis. The elastic fibers in this area run down from the back to the abdomen. The fold should run parallel to these lines.

When the thickness of each fold is measured, the four numbers are added together. The number in Table 11.12 indicates the percentage of body fat. The table shows data for men and women aged 17 years and over, since for children aged 12-16 years only very rough estimates are possible (Table 11.13), since the growth processes of children can allow significant differences.

11.6. Nutrition and health

The basis for effective performance of an athlete is a healthy body. Nutrition is important not only for sports exercises - during rest, a variety of active processes also occur in the body.

Lack of vitamins, minerals and trace elements can disrupt these processes, reduce an athlete's performance and compromise health.

In terms of nutrition, carbohydrates, fats and proteins are the most important, but the absorption, transport and storage of these substances depends on vitamins, minerals and trace elements.

Men Age, years Age, years

						17-29 30-39 40-49 50+
Sum of 4 skin folds, mm.	% fat of total body weight				Sum of 4 skin folds, mm.	% fat of total body weight
						21.8 24.1 27.8 30.0
						22.0 24.2 28.0 30.2
						22.2 24.3 28.2 30.4
						22.4 24.5 28.5 30.7
						22.6 24.7 28.7 31.0
						22.8 24.9 28.9 31.2
						23.0 25.0 29.1 31.4
						23.1 25.1 29.3 31.6
						23.3 25.3 29.5 31.9
						23.5 25.5 29.7 32.1
						23.7 25.7 29.9 32.3
						23.9 25.8 30.1 32.5
						24.0 25.9 30.3 32.7
						24.2 26.1 30.5 33.0
						24.4 26.3 30.7 33.2
						24.6 26.4 30.9 33.4
						24.7 26.5 31.1 33.6
						24.8 26.6 31.2 33.8
						25.0 26.8 31.4 34.0
						25.2 26.9 31.6 34.2
						25.3 27.0 31.8 34.3
						25.4 27.1 32.0 34.6
						25.5 27.2 32.1 34.8
						26.2 27.8 33.0 35.8
						26.9 28.4 33.7 36.6
						27.6 29.0 34.4 37.4
						28.2 29.6 35.1 38.2
						28.8 30.1 35.8 39.0
						29.4 30.6 36.4 39.7
						30.0 31.1 37.0 40.4
						30.5 31.5 37.6 41.1
						31.0 31.9 38.2 41.8
						31.5 32.3 38.7 42.4
						32.0 32.7 39.2 43.0
						32.5 33.1 39.7 43.6
						32.9 33.5 40.2 44.1
						33.3 33.9 40.7 44.6
						33.7 34.3 41.2 45.1
						34.1 34.6 41.6 45.6
						34.5 34.8 42.0 46.1

Table 11.12 Overview of body fat percentage by various skinfold measurement amounts.

Women Age, years Age, years

17-29 30-39 40-49 50+					17-29 30-39 40-49 50+
Sum of 4 skin folds, mm.	% fat of total body weight				Sum of 4 skin folds, mm.	% fat of total body weight

Table 11.13 General fat content guidelines for children 12-16 years of age.

		Below the average		Above average
Boys
Boys
Boys
Boys
Boys

The head doctor of the Russian national team, Eduard Bezuglov, spoke about the players’ ideal nutrition and commented on Fabio Capello’s words about McDonalds.

Former Russian national team coach Fabio Capello said that after his dismissal, the players ordered food from McDonalds. Who could the mentor be talking about? We decided to talk with the head doctor of the Russian national team, Eduard Bezuglov, not only about this, but also about the diet of football players in general.

– Who could Capello talk about in the interview? I can't even imagine. There were no fast food fans in the team,” says Bezuglov. - If players eat there, it’s very rare. I don't remember any particular problems with this.

- How bad is food from McDonalds for a football player?
“There is nothing healthy in such food, although if a number of conditions are met, there is no phenomenal harm either.

- Is there non-phenomenal harm?
- A lot of fat and clearly not an example of freshness - it’s hard to digest. I would definitely not recommend going to these food outlets more than once a month. And this is provided that you constantly get physical activity. As a rule, athletes go to fast food establishments even less often - once every 2-3 months. Some people don't walk at all. Usually everyone eats great both at home and at club bases.

- To what extent are doctors in clubs and the national team able to control the nutrition of football players?
- Being at the national team’s location and away, the team is completely under control. Football players eat according to a specially designed menu throughout the day and have no desire to eat extra, especially in fast food. In addition, we constantly conduct educational work regarding proper nutrition. Especially among young guys. And in most cases, the wives of our football players are excellent cooks - I don’t see any particular problem with nutrition at the moment.

- What products do football players need before a match?
- First of all, foods rich in long carbohydrates are included in the diet - this is necessary to create glycogen reserves, which are used as energy during matches. Products should be familiar to the athlete in order to avoid digestive disorders and allergies, and also be well digestible, so seafood, mushrooms, exotic fruits and vegetables are excluded.

- What foods should football players eat after a match?
- Again, we are talking about long carbohydrates and easily digestible proteins. In our work, we use both regular food products (pizza, for example) and sports nutrition (gainers, protein isolates, special jellies). It is important to remember that replenishment should begin within the first half hour after the end of the load and carbohydrate loading should continue for another three hours.

- The ideal breakfast for a football player?
- Tea or coffee, oatmeal porridge with water and honey, toast with jam or honey.

- Ideal lunch?
- Spaghetti, grilled chicken breast or salmon steak, grilled vegetables in small quantities. You can season everything with olive oil.

- Ideal dinner?
- If dinner is after the game, then, in principle, the same lunch, but supplemented with vegetable salads and fruits. Well, a glass of beer or wine is not prohibited.

- What foods should football players exclude from their diet?
- If there is no excess adipose tissue, then two days before the game it is necessary to exclude animal refractory fats (butter, lamb, pork). The liver must be ready for intensive work, and loading it with fats in advance is simply impractical. Carbonated sweet drinks are also excluded. And already within a day you need to limit dairy products and things rich in fiber.

- Are there any differences in nutrition between football players and other athletes?
- The principles of nutrition are the same. The same energy sources are used. Proportions may vary. For example, carbohydrates predominate among long-distance runners, while representatives of strength sports have more animal protein in their diet. Most often, differences occur in the schemes for using sports nutrition, but this is a topic for another discussion.

- The most striking example when a football player had serious problems due to poor nutrition?
- The textbook examples are, perhaps, Diego Maradona and Ronaldo. In Russia, probably Zaza Janashia. Although this did not stop them from shining on the field.

- After the New Year holidays, how many extra pounds does a football player have the right to gain before training camp?
- Ideally - none. It will be easier for him at the training camp. Although with an initial weight of 75-80 kg there should be no problems with three extra kilograms. With proper nutrition and exercise, everything will burn off in a week.

- In Germany, football players as a team go to drink beer after the match. They say it may even be useful.
- There is no particular benefit for recovery, but it can be used as a means of psychological relief. Especially after a hard game, but no more than a liter. By the way, a glass of beer was never banned in the national team, even during the preparation cycle for a match. Another thing is that the guys themselves don’t drink anything alcoholic before the game.

- If a football player gets really drunk in the evening, how will this affect his morning training?
- Firstly, he will be in a bad mood and there may be problems with the coach or partners. Secondly, intoxication can lead to interruptions in the functioning of the heart and arrhythmias, especially during exercise. Third, dehydration causes cramps and muscle tissue damage. Fourthly, the joint-muscular feeling is disrupted, which leads to a deterioration in the performance of technical actions on the field. And fifthly, the specific smell from the mouth leaves few people indifferent.