New Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has said personalised training plans will help his players have a "fresh start", using Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Raheem Sterling has different examples for how these individually-focused training regimes will benefit his squad.
Pochettino officially began work on Monday and the Argentine is tasked with returning Chelsea to the top of English and European football after a shambolic season, which saw the Blues finish 12th in the Premier League.
Chelsea will fly to the United States for their pre-season tour on July 17, and Pochettino said the early days of training will allow him the chance to imprint on his players that last season must be consigned to the past.
"Different players arrived in different circumstances but of course now is an opportunity," he told the Chelsea website. "We all go together to the USA and I hope we can help them to achieve their best level and try to perform for Chelsea in the way that people expect.
"After the last season, now is a fresh start, and I think they need to show their real quality. But we need to create this platform for them to feel comfortable for them to perform and improve. We are really focused on that."
Crucial to creating that platform is the individualised fitness and training programmes designed for each player, based on a variety of factors. Pochettino uses the examples of Fernandez, Mudryk, and Sterling as three players whose programmes will be quite different.
Fernandez, who joined Chelsea in January for a British club record fee, entered the summer break after a gruelling season in which the 22-year-old midfielder starred in Argentina's World Cup triumph before playing every game for the Blues while also adapting to a new league and country.
"For him it was important now to rest a little bit because he was for one year and a half playing, playing, playing because of the seasons when he moved from Argentina to Portugal and then Portugal to England and the World Cup and he never stopped," Pochettino said.
"He’s young and energetic, but the young also need to rest. He arrived at Chelsea not in the best circumstances for a player that won the World Cup. It’s always difficult because he’s still young and of course he needs to learn about the Premier League. The Premier League is a really tough competition and he changes everything – culture, language, everything – and it is always difficult to adapt.
"But I think now he knows what it means to be a Chelsea player and knows London, and here he is improving to communicate better. I think we are going to help this aspect for him to give the team his best."
Murdyk is the same age as Fernandez and also moved to Chelsea in January but under vastly different circumstances. The winger hadn't played since the end of the Ukrainian league in November and lacked sharpness. As a result, he was limited to seven starts and only completed 90 minutes once.
Chelsea 2023/23 season ratings
However, Mudryk has been building his sharpness this summer having starred for Ukraine at the Under-21 European Championships, helping his team reach the semi-finals.
"I think it’s not the same mindset and everything is different in the life of Mudryk than Enzo. That is why for us it is really important to spend time to talk," Pochettino said.
"We were talking with Mudryk, I’m going to meet him before he comes to start pre-season, because he was in the Under-21 Euros and will join us when we fly to America. I really like to know him to try to decide with the staff the best strategy to help him to be at the level that I think Chelsea expect him to be."
Sterling, meanwhile, represents a different player profile and set of circumstances. The England forward joined Chelsea last summer but struggled to replicate his Manchester City form. The 28-year-old is one of the most experienced players in the Chelsea squad and has proven his ability over several seasons, so for Pochettino it's all about helping Sterling rediscover his best form.
"With Raheem we are talking about a really good player but after the circumstances of landing at a football club that is having some changes, sometimes it is not easy for the player to adapt quick and show the same performance that he maybe had at another club," the Argentine said.
"We cannot blame the player. First of all we need to see what is going on and why they are not performing in the way that we expect and then, when all is clear, we cannot give excuses to them to not perform. We need to clear everything and say: 'come on, now it is up to you, show me you are ready to play for this football club'."
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Results
Stage 5:
1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Jumbo-Visma 04:19:08
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:03
3. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Sergio Higuita (COL) EF Education-Nippo 00:00:05
5. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:06
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 17:09:26
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:45
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:01:12
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Team Jumbo-Visma 00:01:54
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo 00:01:56
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law