The opening day of camp was harmonious.
After reporting back to the team, the players went straight to the medical room for physical examinations. The results were obvious: most of the players, Marcelo included, failed to meet the fitness standards. But that was perfectly normal.
In fact, when summer training camps opened, those who met the fitness standards were always in the minority. Most players fell short.
Of course, very few were as chubby as Marcelo, with his pig-headed look.
The two training sessions on the first day focused mainly on recovery and adjustment. The coaching staff and players were in fairly relaxed moods, and everyone chatted and laughed. Those who did not know any better might have thought that after Zidane took over, he would advocate a beautiful, technical style of football, and that everyone could remain especially relaxed and happy. They had no idea that a nightmare awaited them.
The real devil training began on the second day.
All the players had heard, to some extent, that the team would be focusing heavily on fitness in the new season. The team had suffered from a lack of running last season, and many matches had been lost because of poor fitness, so everyone could understand the decision.
But even with the mental preparation, when they arrived at Valdebebas and saw the fitness-training plan posted by the team, everyone was still stunned.
Was this really fitness training? Wasn't it deliberate abuse?
Who the hell could withstand training of such intensity?
For a time, before training had even begun, the locker room was already seething with resentment.
Yang Yang, Ramos, and Marcelo had reached an understanding beforehand, so they quickly stepped forward to calm their teammates and helped the locker room reach a unified stance: the team had to train hard.