Real Madrid fitness coach astounded by star midfielder’s performance against Villarreal: ‘Incredible’ | OneFootball

Real Madrid fitness coach astounded by star midfielder’s performance against Villarreal: ‘Incredible’ | OneFootball

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Madrid Universal

·25 January 2026

Real Madrid fitness coach astounded by star midfielder’s performance against Villarreal: ‘Incredible’

Article image:Real Madrid fitness coach astounded by star midfielder’s performance against Villarreal: ‘Incredible’

Real Madrid have shown a lot more heart on the field under Alvaro Arbeloa, and the result is evident in their performances they have produced in recent games.

The club are now on three straight wins, and last night’s win over Villarreal was perhaps the hardest-fought of them all.


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The team’s improvement, while indeed linked to Arbeloa’s arrival, also has a massive credit due to Antonio Pintus who has come in as the team’s fitness coach once more and the intensity on the field may well be him working his magic.

Shocked by a player

Article image:Real Madrid fitness coach astounded by star midfielder’s performance against Villarreal: ‘Incredible’

Pintus was impressed by Bellingham’s shift. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

As relayed by Defensa Central in a recent update, Real Madrid’s long-standing and recently re-appointed fitness coach Pintus was astounded by Jude Bellingham’s performance against Villarreal.

Technical quality aside, he was impressed by the Englishman’s shift in a physical sense and how he was all over the park on the night.

“He has run for 90 minutes at an incredible pace,” Pintus reportedly told the coaching staff, conveying his satisfaction.

Needless to say, this comes as a massive positive for Real Madrid who have lacked in intensity all season and were heavily criticised for being lazy and sloppy on the field.

While Bellingham was the one who stood out, the team has worked together as a group in recent games with even forwards putting in a shift off the ball. The manager and players, in fact, highlighted the same in their post-match press conferences.

Last night, Bellingham completed the 90 minutes with two key passes, 90% passes competed and 100% accurate long balls. He also made eight defensive contributions, won ten duels, and completed three dribbles against the Yellow Submarines.

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