Lukaku, more strength for Inter: this is how he wants to start at the top

This time Romelu took a run. This time, as never in the last three seasons, he is calibrating his body to start at a thousand per hour. We are almost to the dress rehearsal before the wedding, not long after. The tailor, Simone Inzaghi, is building a brand new suit around him. But Lukaku, the groom, is doing everything to wear that suit as best he can. To be found polished. And there is no mention of pounds on the scale here, although the nutritional aspect in his career has always counted a lot. Here there are a desire and a need that coincide: to arrive already close to the top of form on August 13, the day of the debut in the league in Lecce, to leave without the handbrake on. And to write the first new chapter with the pen of the best of times.

The sessions

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The plan is clear, development is taking place in these days of (heavy) work in Eppan. Inzaghi’s technical staff, as usual, thinks on two levels. Most of the work is identical for all footballers. Then there is an additional section, mainly aimed at prevention, which is managed individually. Perisic, to quote a player who is no longer Nerazzurri, made this part of his job almost a religion. Dzeko is more or less on the same level. Attention, it is a key step. This is where Lukaku is trying to make a difference, with pre and post training sessions aimed at minimizing the risk of injuries. Practical example. Recently, between Chelsea and Belgium, the striker had suffered from some ankle problems. Here, Inter are working both to prevent those troubles from happening again, and to circumvent the possibility of muscular mishaps that an incorrect posture would make concrete. The goal is clear and is specifically designed for an unprecedented season like this: starting strong is important, but so will never stop, have a high and constant pace until mid-November, when the championship will stop for the World Championship. Running into an injury in such a season would automatically mean missing lots of games. And it would be a problem: for Inter of course, but above all for the player, who needs to play as much as possible because of his body (101 kg is his ideal weight), without ever stopping.

Every other day

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There is an unprecedented fact, at least as far as the last four seasons are concerned. For the first time, Lukaku has the opportunity to carry out a complete preparation before the start of the championship. In 2019, the year he joined Inter, it did not happen. In 2020, the start of the championship was anomalous due to Covid. A year ago, needless to say, with the farewell to Inter and the arrival at Chelsea. This time Roma even left early. Inter followed him to Sardinia with a dedicated trainer. In Appiano, in these days, he is working on elasticity, speed and explosiveness, alternating aerobic exercises with others aimed at improving strength depending on the day. In this sense, Lukaku is helped by the type of championship he has ahead of him. Inzaghi’s Inter – but probably this is how all teams think, at least the big ones – have the ambition to start strong, without thinking too much about a condition that must be lasting. There will also be time during the World Cup to re-calibrate a new preparation that will lead to the end of the season. That’s why we are working more on speed than on the bottom, at Inter. And this thing cannot fail to facilitate Romelu, who – net of the goals that do not always measure performance – has never taken off in the last few seasons between Milan and London.

At the top

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This is why in the next two friendlies against Lyon and Villarreal (but perhaps also in today’s Eppan test with Pro Sesto) a step forward in terms of the general condition by the Belgian, so far naturally appeared a little ‘rusty. In Appiano Lukaku he no longer found Antonio Pintus, the trainer with whom he established a great feeling at the time of Antonio Conte. But for sure he embraced Matteo Pincella again, the club nutritionist thought up a tailor-made diet for him, made of chicken, sweet potatoes and shirataki, a kind of “pasta” with konjac flour. Lukaku is a Formula 1 car, he bases his football on speed and explosiveness. The physical aspect, even more for him than for others, is decisive. Antonio Conte once compared him to an American football player. The parallel gives the idea. That’s why the Belgian is working harder than his teammates. And the responses of the physical tests of these days are exalting the staff of Inzaghi: on August 13 – it is the conviction of the technician’s working group – Romelu will be at the top.