Malmo. MFF had an unexpected number of injuries during the spring.
Now they are changing their approach to avoid a new damage mess.
– Now I know the players a little better, says Milos Milojevic.
The Golden Cup was saved, but in the Svenskans Malmo FF Five just after spring.
One explanation for the Allsvenskan’s poor results was the chaos of injuries, not least on older key players, which prevailed at the end of the spring season. For a while, the MFF had a full-eleven start.
Training resumed on Monday after a two-week hiatus.
During the break, the MFF had time to plan how to avoid a new hell when this summer’s Champions League qualifier heated up in parallel with the Allsvenskan match.
After Tuesday’s training, Milos Milojevic tells us how to change the plan.
“Get to know the players better”
It will adapt more to the individual and allow individual players additional days.
– Now I know the players a little better and their problems. If a player needs an extra day off to perform, they get it. This is a part we must accept. If you’ve trained for two days and then played a match, you usually need a 48-hour recovery period. Some of our players may need 60 hours, Milojevic says.
You will also rotate more.
– This is a learning process for me. In previous clubs, I always walked 14-15 players without problems. But it’s about team composition. In terms of quality, we have the best team, but not many can play for 90 minutes in 6-7 games in a row. Well, now we know. If you can’t play for 90 minutes, you’ll play 60.
Older players need longer rehabilitation
One theory, at least from the outside, as to why the MFF has had so many injuries this spring has been the increased intensity of training under Milojevic.
We will not lower our intensity target. We should instead increase the intensity, but it may not be possible to do it in three months but in 1-1.5 years.
Can you also imagine that when you come in as a new coach, everyone wants to show off their best side and maybe they don’t always listen to the body?
– exactly. This is always the case. Then I’m a coach who trains at a high intensity, without giving up the responsibility for it. But if you have no feeling, drive.
The accumulation of injured players at the same time can also be linked to the aging team.
“We have a lot of older players, and they often need a little bit longer rehabilitation when they get injured,” Milojevic says.