Interview: Gregor Kobel talks about fitness, recovery and short summer breaks | OneFootball

The summer break was anything but a break for you – national team duty, Club World Cup and now training has started again. How do you look back over the workload of the past few weeks?“It wasn't really that different for me. Last year, it was even a bit more extreme because we were still in the Champions League up to the final. This year, we had at least a small break of ten days before the Club World Cup, which I didn’t have last year. Nowadays you have more and more games and it is getting more and more demanding. That is definitely a challenge if that is really how it is going to be every year. As a player, you have to see what you can do to cope with it: getting your mind and body to come down as quickly as possible and then ramp back up for the new season.”

So this year you didn't have to adjust anything?“Last year, we played for a long time, then it was the Euros and then I had about three weeks on vacation. Like most players, I rejoined the team later. This year it was almost a nice change because we all came in together. That means you’re not behind other players who may have been training for two or three weeks.”

How can you still manage to recover on the one hand, but also be so fit that you can get started again now?“I also try to really switch off on the days off. I try to switch off in my head, but then of course I have to start training well again on vacation to prepare the body so that you can get through the season well. My mental side is what I need most. Just doing something different – otherwise you’re just training constantly for eleven months. See something different, be with the family, with my wife, with friends. Being able to switch off a little bit is almost the most important thing. And then I try to use the small breaks for the body as well.”

What does your routine look like to stay fit? “Whether it's preseason or during the season, it's exactly the same. You try to sleep and eat well, do your mobility exercises, stretching, stabilisation, training, getting everything in line so that you are ready again every three days and stay healthy and able to perform throughout the season. That starts with the holiday and the preseason, but that's really the work you put in day in, day out during the season."

You said that recovery is just as important as training.“I think you have to do at least as much off the pitch as you do on the pitch. It's just all part of it. In the end, your body has to function in such a way that you can perform on the pitch. If you can’t do that, training on the pitch will not help you. That's why the two go hand in hand.”

What are you paying particular attention to?“Sleep is extremely important, probably the number one thing, although sometimes it’s not that easy with all the evening games and the travel we have to do. On top of that, the right food plays a role, a lot of mobility, physio, sauna, ice baths, all the extra little things you do. You’re hoping that many small things will become something big.”

Are you continuing to learn in this area and looking to improve in that regard?“I work on it a lot. Of course, you do have to be careful, because there is no blueprint that works for everyone. In the end, I'm sure everyone would benefit from sleeping well and eating healthily. But you can add extra support, and get a little something extra out of it. You can watch your food intake, ask yourself if you need probiotics or think about the immune system. In winter, we have very little sun, so you have to look a little more at vitamin D levels. These are all things that have a lot of influence on the body.”

You've now been back in training for over a week. What are your impressions from preseason so far?“Good. We had a very, very good friendly against Lille. Our pressing was incredibly good. It was an excellent first 60 minutes. Of course, it is still early in the season, but I think we are already in relatively good form and are training well.”