• After a failed start to the season, Dimitri Payet is back in shape with three goals and six assists since the arrival of Jorge Sampaoli and his weight loss.

  • Too often taken under the sole prism of nutrition, weight gain in professional footballers is often linked to the mind.

  • Summer breaks and alcohol consumption can have a big impact on weight gain.

A metamorphosis.

Olympique de Marseille striker Dimitri Payet has been unrecognizable since the arrival of new coach Jorge Sampaoli.

Overweight since the start of the season, Dimitri Payet has reportedly lost seven kilos since March.

A physical transformation that translates into three goals, six assists and three man of the match titles on the pitch.

“Given the competition there is, you pay directly for this poor physical condition.

They cannot cheat, they know that it is their working tool and one only has to see the statistics of Payet since his return to form to realize it ”, underlines Emmanuel Vallance, physical trainer at the Valenciennes Football Club.

"Alcohol is an important factor"

His attraction for the evenings, which he would have multiplied during the first confinement, and the long truce due to the stoppage of Ligue 1 with the Covid-19 pandemic, greatly contributed to this weight gain. “We talk very little about it in the community, it's quite taboo, but a lot of players are fond of parties. There is a disruption with less sleep and players will store more easily. Alcohol is also a very important factor, it is nutritionally hot and sweet. This is also one of the major problems during the truce that we do not talk about much. It suffices to consume alcohol twice a week to directly store all the calories, ”explains Bilal Bourazza, physical trainer specializing in sports nutrition, who accompanies several professional players.

A real double penalty for these top athletes.

“These guys make so many sacrifices throughout the season, and even their careers, with a lot of stress, that they have the right to relax a bit.

Except that he pays it directly, ”recalls Emmanuel Vallance.

The importance of nutrition

Other, more traditional factors also come into play, such as the abrupt stopping of training during summer breaks, without necessarily loss of appetite.

This will inevitably distort the balance between hunger and energy expenditure.

If football players are often mocked about the weight gain that would be linked to a lack of professionalism, clubs too often neglect the nutritional aspect. “There is no dietitian in a lot of top clubs. They start from the premise that players don't make it a priority and that they don't need it at first glance. While in reality this aspect interests them, they want to eat well and are customers of this type of information while the clubs are in deficit, ”recalls Bilal Bourazza.

Emmanuel Vallance, on the contrary, notes an awareness.

“I've been in the circuit for 12 years and there is an awareness of the players, and more and more of the clubs.

There are more and more nutritionists, with specifications.

They will offer common breakfasts.

With less weight variation than before.

Now the players come back from the very winter even sharper than when they left, we have gone from high level athlete to very very high level athletes, ”he explains.

The mind has its role

Except that another factor comes into play much more: the mind. Bilal Bourazza, for example, noted that a professional player he accompanies has cravings for sugar in the evenings, since he is less titular. “It's very related to emotions. They are in great demand, in a very popular environment with permanent solicitations. The players can be in phases of less well, during which it is more complicated to take a step back, everything is exacerbated. If you add criticism to that, there can be a form of carelessness, of letting go, ”says Bilal Bourazza.

“The case of Payet is quite revealing of this mental aspect.

Sportingly he was not at the top and he stored directly, he swelled visibly.

Since the arrival of Jorge Sampaoli, the sporting situation has improved and it has changed, ”emphasizes Emmanuel Vallance.

While many believe it was Jorge Sampaoli who put Payet back in shape, the makeover would come from the player himself.

He does not do more than the others, but he is more diligent, with an investment other than that of the start of the season and more rigor.

Old-fashioned merano

The growing attraction for nutrition on the part of players and clubs has gradually relegated to the background the once popular Merano health center. This fitness center has also seen Steve Mandanda pass after his bad 2018/2019 season. “It's quite old-fashioned, the players are more fond of a personalized approach than an intense course. More focused on the long term to go further. I am a player from Porto, a club that has five of the best physical trainers. However, the work I do with him corresponds more to him, with an individual outline, ”explains Bilal Bourazza.

“Merano was not open to everyone, it is still very high end with a substantial budget.

I don't necessarily hear about it anymore, it's more of a thirtysomething thing.

Ten years ago everyone knew, now the kids who come out of the center know less and less.

You hear a lot more talk about nutritional support at club level, with the setting up of cooking classes when the players are alone in their apartment, of cooking recipes.

Everything is much more individualized ”, testifies Emmanuel Vallance.

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  • Dimitri Payet

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