Adama Traore’s debut for Spain has brought into sharper focus the debate between footballing talent and muscular strength.
The Wolverhampton Wanderers winger featured in La Roja’s friendly against Portugal on October 8, and that appearance has generated a wider debate about this trend towards extreme physical conditioning in footballers.
The questions being posed are such: Is his body designed for football? Does he represent a trend or an exception? And is this the way the sport is going?
Conditioning and footballing experts have given us their view, with the first being Javier Vidal, Getafe’s strength and conditioning coach.
“It’s the latest step of a trend,” he said.
“Everyone has a certain build, but there needs to be a lot of work put in behind that. The benefit of that gym work is increased speed and power. Before you might have thought all that bulk would make him [Traore] less agile, but it doesn’t seem to have done.”
Vicente Calvo is the physical trainer of tennis player Feliciano Lopez, and he is well-placed to offer his opinion.
“It’s unusual to see such a physical profile in that position [winger],” he stated.
“We’ve not seen that before. Romelu Lukaku would be something similar but he is a centre forward, and others we’ve seen with that sort of frame have been centre backs. But it does work.
“If a player had that sort of physique in central midfield, they just wouldn’t be able to last the game.”
Vidal has been surprised by Adama’s sheer size.
“We haven’t seen players with his bulk in Spain so much,” he said.
“But it’s part of a trend in the last few years, that players are trying to eke the absolute maximum out of themselves. Cristiano Ronaldo is one who has done a lot of work, but his build is slimmer. There are many more like him.”