Questions with Morata.

Our Spanish striker Alvaro Morata answers a selection of questions about the work players do behind the scenes at Cobham on a daily basis.

HOW LONG DO YOU GET TO COBHAM BEFORE TRAINING AND WHAT WORK DO YOU DO PRIOR TO THE SESSION?

We need to be at Cobham an hour before training and I normally arrive about an hour and a half early. The first thing I do is eat breakfast with some of my team-mates and after that I do some stretching, or have treatment, with the physios. Then I go and brush my teeth, wash my face and start preparing my boots and kit to go out onto the pitch. Sometimes we will have a team meeting before we go outside, where we look at videos and movements of the other teams. Once we are out on the pitch we train very hard.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST?

It depends. Sometimes I have yoghurt with fruit, or avocado on toast, but I just see how I feel on the day. I usually have some coffee and maybe cereal as well.

WHAT KIT DO YOU WEAR FOR TRAINING?

It always depends on the weather. For example, if the sun is out I always just wear shorts and a t-shirt, but if the rain comes you might put a jumper on.

HOW MANY PAIRS OF BOOTS DO YOU GO THROUGH IN A SEASON?

It’s hard to say because I don’t count but I would say around 20. I always like to wear the same boots, whether it’s for training or a match, but with the brand there are four or five different options in terms of the colour. I have around 12 to 15 different types of boots. Sometimes I wear a pair for a match and then somebody asks for them, so I give a lot away that way.

OPTIMUM CONDITIONS FOR TRAINING WEATHER-WISE?

I like it to be bright with blue skies, but not too much sun as it’s hard to play in the heat.

DO YOU DO EXTRA WORK IN THE GYM EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER TRAINING?

Yes. Before training, if I don’t go to see the physio then I will spend some time in the gym working on stability or my abs, something like that.

DO YOU DO YOGA OR HAVE MASSAGES?

Yes, here we have one of the best yoga instructors in the world and after training I sometimes go to visit him. It can be good to do these type of things.

WHAT DO YOU NORMALLY HAVE FOR LUNCH?

For sure, after training I normally have pasta. Pasta is very important for us in terms of recovery. Then, for power I have meat or fish. If we’ve done a lot of work in the gym I’ll probably have meat as it has a lot of properties which help after the gym, and if we’ve been doing a lot of running I will normally have fish, but it all depends on the training. We have a lot of different foods at Cobham.

DOES YOUR DIET CHANGE AS A MATCH APPROACHES?

Yes, for sure. Probably two days after a game you might be able to eat a small piece of chocolate or something like that, but you definitely cannot do that leading up to a game. Before a match you have to be on top fitness, make sure you are powerful and eat healthily.