‘Smarter’ Brian Brobbey reveals tweak behind Sunderland surge and Man City hat-trick | OneFootball

Brian Brobbey says a sharper feel for the game, and fewer physical duels, has driven his Sunderland form, capped last week by a Premier League hat-trick at Manchester City, the club’s first since Jermain Defoe.

"Brian hasn’t necessarily become fitter or stronger," said personal coach Patrick Woerst. "For instance, he gets into tackles much less." He told ESPN.

The striker has become a key figure under Régis Le Bris since arriving from Ajax on deadline day last summer. His league form earned a Netherlands recall earlier this year, and he is currently on international duty.

"When he received a ball, during his time at Ajax it was very often from a standstill. He would stop the ball and hang back. Then you get into a fight, because those defenders grab you and you start hanging and wrestling. That takes a lot of energy every time."

"At Ajax, he had I-don't-know-how-many ground duels. So at a certain point, he was already exhausted after an hour. He doesn't have that now, because he has fewer duels. He has mainly started playing smarter. That has an effect on his energy."

"I always try to improve," Brobbey said, speaking before the Germany game earlier this week.

Source: Sunderland Echo

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