The answer to Real Madrid’s intense physical training involves two central elements: the physical trainer Antonio Pintus and the use of K5 masks, equipment that is more reminiscent of deep-sea diving accessories than common items in professional football.
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According to The Athletic, the masks are part of the so-called “Pintus Method”, already consolidated at the Spanish club. It is not the first time that the squad has gone through sessions of this type and, as long as the Italian coach is in charge of the physical preparation, it will hardly be the last. In 2023, a player even joked, calling Pintus a “devil”, in reference to the extreme demands of training.
Cutting-edge technology to measure the physical limit
Real Madrid uses K5 masks, produced by Italian company Cosmed, to collect detailed data on athletes’ aerobic capacity during high-intensity exercise. The equipment has an anatomical design, precise sealing and is fixed to the head with straps. During testing, players also wear a small backpack that transmits, in real time, the data collected to the coaching staff’s computers or tablets.
Each set — mask and transmission system — costs around US$35,000, the equivalent of R$184,800, considering the dollar exchange rate at R$5.28. The club has several units at its training center, but, when evaluating the entire squad simultaneously, it usually resorts to loaning equipment from specialized companies.
Although more common in sports such as swimming, athletics, rowing and cycling, these masks have already been adopted by some football clubs, such as Bayern Munich, São Paulo and Tigres.
The masks allow players to accurately measure the power and maximum aerobic capacity of players during resistance tests carried out on the pitch. Athletes run from one side of the field to the other, with the pace increasing at programmed intervals until they reach their physical limit.
While many clubs prefer laboratory tests or treadmills, Pintus opts for the game environment. The data collected guides the physical programming of the following months, allowing individual and collective adjustments to the training load.
Pintus, now 63 years old, has worked with this type of methodology since the 1990s, when he played for Monaco. At Real Madrid, under the command of Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti, the squad carried out these tests twice a season. After evaluations in 2021-22, there was greater focus on physical explosiveness — and the club ended the season as European champions.
— It is a reliable and very interesting method for evaluating the physical condition of players, a club source told The Athletic, on condition of anonymity.
Under the command of Xabi Alonso, the use of masks was more punctual. The technical committee at the time considered the application of the method limited to a team that plays twice a week, prioritizing training with the ball, game simulations and specific movements, such as acceleration, deceleration and changes of direction.
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