High intensity and quality make Shakhtar a big club
Monday, February 5, 2024
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Shakhtar fitness coach Jarno De Vleeschauwer gave an extensive interview to the club’s media, talking about his role in the coaching staff and his impressions of the first weeks of the training camp
– Jarno, you joined the coaching staff of Shakhtar at the beginning of the training camp. What are your first impressions of being in the team?
– I heard about Shakhtar, that this club is a family with a lot of nice people. When I arrived here, many people gave me a hug and said “Hello”. I got a feeling that I had at my previous club, and the things I heard about Shakhtar came to mind from day one, so it was very nice.
– How did you get the offer to join Shakhtar and what was the key factor in making this decision?
– Of course, this is a big club that I have known for a long time already – with Brazilian players, with a very nice playing style. It has a long history. I follow football from a very young age, so I know Shakhtar as a really big club in Europe. Of course, it is a big challenge for me to work here and achieve something beautiful with the team. I think all Belgians know Shakhtar, because it is a very popular club.
– You said that Shakhtar is a big club with a big history. And what are your associations with the club?
– Again, it is family. And it is really nice. I see that it is a tight group: the players and the staff are like a big family. They like each other, often joke around and focus on training a lot. During training, I see high intensity, focus, the players strive to work as much as possible, and as a fitness coach, I really like it. They try to do extra exercises individually. It is very nice to see a big club and big ambitions. After ten days here, the ambitions I saw are exactly as I expected.
– Please tell us about your responsibilities.
– They are almost identical to the ones I had in Belgium at Zulte Waregem – the whole physical part. Roel Tambeur asked me to join Shakhtar and the coaches already working here to prepare the physical structure, to bring the players to the highest possible level of intensity, to avoid their injuries – that is job number one. And job number two is to ensure a higher result. It means that preventing players from getting injured is the first task, and the second one is to help them get better every time. Of course, we try to ensure that there are no injuries in the full squad, sometimes it is possible, sometimes it is not. But we try to achieve that and make the players better to prepare them physically and mentally, which is an extra challenge for me as a fitness coach.
– What can you say about the fitness level of the players?
– The championship in Belgium is also very difficult physically, but here I see very high intensity and quality. These two factors make Shakhtar a really big club, and the squad – significant and strong in terms of quality and physical condition. The level is comparable to that in Belgium, but there is extra intensity and quality here.
– You are working with Lassina Traore, who is currently in the last stage of recovery. What can you say about this process and when can we see him on the field?
– Lassina already had two serious injuries during the last season and a half, so we have to be careful. But at the moment he is doing very well, he is preparing perfectly, he is doing what we ask of him. Every day we work for three-four hours with high intensity. I hope to get him in shape in four or five weeks. At this moment, we are trying to achieve this, but you never know in advance. He is doing very well, I am impressed with his level and professionalism, mentally and physically. We are taking big steps to get Lassina in shape before the end of the season. We will try to do something important for the club.
– You played and worked in the Belgian championship. What can you say about the differences between Ukrainian and Belgian football, what are the main ones?
– As for individual qualities, they are better, for sure. A lot of young Belgian players start in Belgium and try to take the next step to another European competition, just like Shakhtar. There are many young players in Belgium, Shakhtar also has many young players with great potential. I think it is a step up for a big club, but the intensity is, for sure, the biggest difference. This is what I saw in the first ten days. I am waiting for the European Cup games, but I think that the intensity is the main difference. The passing quality, decision-making, physical abilities are definitely at a higher level than in Belgium.
– What is the team’s plan for this training camp?
– We have four weeks of the training camp in Turkey. The coach wants to see high intensity during training sessions. It is different from what they had before, so we have to make sure that every player is able to perform at the highest intensity, and that means that we as fitness coaches have to train the muscles and work on the physical shape of the players – those are the things which we have to prepare for the Europa League matches where the intensity is higher. We train twice almost every day, which means that the workload is high. So fitness coaches have to work on recovery, stretching to prevent injuries and so that players can show the high intensity that the coach demands to perform and to achieve the results that we need to achieve.
– You are a very positive person. What is your life principle?
– Whatever job you have, although it is important for a fitness coach, the main thing is to bring positive emotions. If at the beginning of the day, even during breakfast, the player sees that you share energy and positivity, it is already a good start for them. The players mostly start their day with us – with training here in the gym to wake up, get energy and positive emotions. For players, it is always the best option to start training with energy, which is our job. We have to bring positivity, but it is also my personality trait, so I do it gladly.
– We have very positive and active fans. Maybe you can say something to them?
– I believe that I have a positive influence and we can definitely achieve a good result in terms of physical shape and technique. And I think that we are on the right track to make it to the end of the season with very big achievements. I really believe that. And after ten days here, I already see good things that can lead to great results.
– I heard about Shakhtar, that this club is a family with a lot of nice people. When I arrived here, many people gave me a hug and said “Hello”. I got a feeling that I had at my previous club, and the things I heard about Shakhtar came to mind from day one, so it was very nice.
– How did you get the offer to join Shakhtar and what was the key factor in making this decision?
– Of course, this is a big club that I have known for a long time already – with Brazilian players, with a very nice playing style. It has a long history. I follow football from a very young age, so I know Shakhtar as a really big club in Europe. Of course, it is a big challenge for me to work here and achieve something beautiful with the team. I think all Belgians know Shakhtar, because it is a very popular club.
– You said that Shakhtar is a big club with a big history. And what are your associations with the club?
– Again, it is family. And it is really nice. I see that it is a tight group: the players and the staff are like a big family. They like each other, often joke around and focus on training a lot. During training, I see high intensity, focus, the players strive to work as much as possible, and as a fitness coach, I really like it. They try to do extra exercises individually. It is very nice to see a big club and big ambitions. After ten days here, the ambitions I saw are exactly as I expected.
– Please tell us about your responsibilities.
– They are almost identical to the ones I had in Belgium at Zulte Waregem – the whole physical part. Roel Tambeur asked me to join Shakhtar and the coaches already working here to prepare the physical structure, to bring the players to the highest possible level of intensity, to avoid their injuries – that is job number one. And job number two is to ensure a higher result. It means that preventing players from getting injured is the first task, and the second one is to help them get better every time. Of course, we try to ensure that there are no injuries in the full squad, sometimes it is possible, sometimes it is not. But we try to achieve that and make the players better to prepare them physically and mentally, which is an extra challenge for me as a fitness coach.
– What can you say about the fitness level of the players?
– The championship in Belgium is also very difficult physically, but here I see very high intensity and quality. These two factors make Shakhtar a really big club, and the squad – significant and strong in terms of quality and physical condition. The level is comparable to that in Belgium, but there is extra intensity and quality here.
– You are working with Lassina Traore, who is currently in the last stage of recovery. What can you say about this process and when can we see him on the field?
– Lassina already had two serious injuries during the last season and a half, so we have to be careful. But at the moment he is doing very well, he is preparing perfectly, he is doing what we ask of him. Every day we work for three-four hours with high intensity. I hope to get him in shape in four or five weeks. At this moment, we are trying to achieve this, but you never know in advance. He is doing very well, I am impressed with his level and professionalism, mentally and physically. We are taking big steps to get Lassina in shape before the end of the season. We will try to do something important for the club.
– You played and worked in the Belgian championship. What can you say about the differences between Ukrainian and Belgian football, what are the main ones?
– As for individual qualities, they are better, for sure. A lot of young Belgian players start in Belgium and try to take the next step to another European competition, just like Shakhtar. There are many young players in Belgium, Shakhtar also has many young players with great potential. I think it is a step up for a big club, but the intensity is, for sure, the biggest difference. This is what I saw in the first ten days. I am waiting for the European Cup games, but I think that the intensity is the main difference. The passing quality, decision-making, physical abilities are definitely at a higher level than in Belgium.
– What is the team’s plan for this training camp?
– We have four weeks of the training camp in Turkey. The coach wants to see high intensity during training sessions. It is different from what they had before, so we have to make sure that every player is able to perform at the highest intensity, and that means that we as fitness coaches have to train the muscles and work on the physical shape of the players – those are the things which we have to prepare for the Europa League matches where the intensity is higher. We train twice almost every day, which means that the workload is high. So fitness coaches have to work on recovery, stretching to prevent injuries and so that players can show the high intensity that the coach demands to perform and to achieve the results that we need to achieve.
– You are a very positive person. What is your life principle?
– Whatever job you have, although it is important for a fitness coach, the main thing is to bring positive emotions. If at the beginning of the day, even during breakfast, the player sees that you share energy and positivity, it is already a good start for them. The players mostly start their day with us – with training here in the gym to wake up, get energy and positive emotions. For players, it is always the best option to start training with energy, which is our job. We have to bring positivity, but it is also my personality trait, so I do it gladly.
– We have very positive and active fans. Maybe you can say something to them?
– I believe that I have a positive influence and we can definitely achieve a good result in terms of physical shape and technique. And I think that we are on the right track to make it to the end of the season with very big achievements. I really believe that. And after ten days here, I already see good things that can lead to great results.