LaLiga
Barcelona revelations made: no training, Ronaldinho vs Messi...
Former Barça player Mario Abrante has made some surprising claims about what used to go in in that period when he was there.
In the summer of 2003, Barcelona launched a revolution within the team. The Blaugrana club needed to inspire fans and get back to winning ways, prompting them to enter the transfer market to sign Ronaldinho, Quaresma, Rafa Márquez, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and Mario Abrante. The latter arrived from Valladolid and was one of the most unexpected signings. He joined on loan.
When Barça came calling for Abrante
Now, the former Barça player reflects on his transfer and arrival at the club in the Offsiders podcast:
“That summer, the president of Valladolid calls me and says: ‘Look, Mario, a big Spanish team wants you. Barça wants to sign you, but you can’t tell anyone. If you say anything to anyone, the deal’s off.’ At that time, my friends would tell me: ‘Come on, let’s go out and party,’ and I’d say: ‘I’m not going anywhere.’ I was eating well and taking care of myself. They’d ask: ‘What’s wrong with you, man?’ because on vacation, I’d normally gain five kilos. Barça paid three million for me.
That year, Ronaldinho, Quaresma, and Márquez signed too, plus players like Xavi, Iniesta, Luis Enrique, Cocu, and Kluivert were already there. I felt so small. Everything was so big – it was like another world.”
No training at Barcelona
The former player also described what training sessions were like:
“They didn’t even go to the gym. It was a completely different philosophy. In Barcelona, training was all about the ball – 45 minutes of rondos, a couple of runs. Basically, they didn’t train. I came from Valladolid, where I was running like crazy, and suddenly I arrived there, and it was just half an hour of rondo. I swear.
Every day I’d finish thinking, ‘Again with the rondo tomorrow.’ Supposedly, it was fun, but I was exhausted. And then it was a lot of ball work, but no physical conditioning. I guess with the players they had back then, it wasn’t really necessary.”
‘Ronaldinho better than Messi if...’
Mario also recalled what it was like training with Ronaldinho:
“Ronaldinho, in my opinion, if he had taken better care of himself, not even Messi would compare. And that’s saying something, considering he trained at only 50–70%. He played with a smile – it was amazing to watch him play and train. For me, during Barça’s golden years, he was the best in the world by far. It was impossible to take the ball away from him; it was crazy. He was on another level, superior to everyone.
“And with us, he was fantastic. There were others who wouldn’t even say good morning, but Ronaldinho was absolutely spectacular.”
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