Luke Shaw offers rare insight into the dressing room’s matchday rituals | OneFootball

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has given a rare glimpse of what happens in the dressing room during matchdays.

Pre-match

Shaw pulled back the curtain in an extensive club-media interview, walking fans through every stage of his matchday routine, from sunrise on game day to the recovery that follows.

He explained that upon waking, he is typically consumed by a mixture of nervousness and excitement. The former born from a burning desire to win, the latter from the simple joy of doing what he loves. The left-back made it clear that it’s ultimately a positive energy, which he relishes and has driven him for the past 12 years that he has been at the club.

Asked what he tends to eat as a pre-match meal, he answered, ” It changes. Sometimes it depends what time the game is, as well. If it’s a later game, an evening game, then I’ll go to my pasta and pesto and chicken.”

The team then sits together, he said, with the mood usually upbeat and cheerful.

“To be fair, it’s quite relaxed. We’re there quite early before kick-off. We’re normally there three-and-a-half hours before the actual game, so I think when we get there it’s more of a relaxed vibe. Everyone’s a bit more chilled and talking normally. I think more of a focus will come once we’ve had a little meeting at Carrington, before we leave. Then we step onto the bus and I think that’s when the focus changes.”

Shaw agreed that Old Trafford feels like a safe haven, shaped by years of playing there in front of the home supporters.

“Yeah, I think so. It also helps knowing you’re at home and we’ve got 70,000 fans behind us, cheering us on, which always gives us a lot of energy. Seeing the passion they have really drives us on and that’s helped us in a lot of games since I’ve been here. We’re very fortunate, for starters, to be able to play at Old Trafford. To be able to call it home, it’s a very special feeling.”

He continued, “Of course, it’s crazy and it shows the support that we have. It’s the best support in the world. Home and away, they’re always with us, always pushing us on. Like you just touched on then, the fans that come so early to see us getting off the bus, it’s a real special feeling and an honour to be at a club like Manchester United.”

On what happens from the moment the players arrive at the ground to heading out for warm-ups, Shaw remarked, “We get off the bus, we go into the changing room and then we have a couple of minutes to get our stuff ready. Then the manager will speak; a really small meeting just picking up on the last few details. He finishes and then it’s more about just preparing to go out for the warm-up.”

“I always have kind of the same routine. I get on the massage beds first, get my massage. I’ll go into another area in the changing room where there’s a mat on the floor. I’ll do my foam roller, my stretches, so it’s quite a long routine in there.”

“If there’s time to jump on with one of the physios for a last-minute stretch, I love to do that. That’s my sort of routine, though, and when it’s done I’m ready to go out for the warm-up.”

The 30-year-old named Noussair Mazraoui and Harry Maguire as the two players he sits next to the most.

In-game and post-match

Shaw further revealed that a bell is rung to alert the squad to begin warm-ups. He then applies a spray of Deep Heat to stimulate his muscles, before participating in the team huddle alongside his teammates and backroom personnel.

“Of course, everyone’s involved in the huddle. At the end of the day, it’s not just about the last that are starting the game. It’s about the whole team. Like I said, it’s not just about the ones on the bench either, it’s about the ones not involved in the squad at all. It’s every staff member that’s in and around the changing room.”

“We’re all in it together and we all want the same thing, which is to win the game. You need everyone, not just the XI going out on the pitch.”

On coming out to a packed Old Trafford, Shaw said, “It’s such a special feeling, which you can’t describe. It just makes you realise how lucky you are to be able to play for this club. Not just walking out on the pitch, but even sometimes when you drive past it at night when you’re going into town. You look at it and just think how lucky we are.”

“There are millions of people around the world that would love to be in my position and I’m one of the lucky ones, to be able to do this week in and week out. It’s a real privilege and, like I said, of course the feeling walking out is always the same. It’s an unbelievable feeling and sometimes you do have that thought in your head of how lucky we are to be in this position.”

“It’s a real privilege to be able to do that and it’s an honour to wear the shirt.”

He went on, “Yeah, it’s amazing. I touched on their support earlier, they’re unbelievable, I think, home and away. Of course there’s always a special feeling at home, especially more this season with the flags and stuff. They bring so much passion and energy, and it really flies through us. We can feel it and it helps us a lot when we’re on the pitch.”

The England international stressed that the “rivalry” games against the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are more special because the intensity of it and the atmosphere.

He pinpointed the home win against City earlier in the season as “one of the best atmospheres” he has ever experienced at the Theatre of Dreams.

Shaw clarified that while his family and friends are frequent visitors to watch him play, he rarely interacts with them before games as he is fully focused on performing well. It’s only after the full-time whistle that he will acknowledge their presence in the stands.

Asked what comes after matches, Shaw told club media, “After the game I always tend to get a recovery rub. Sometimes I’ll get in the ice baths, so get in there, leave and get home. I think my evenings now look a lot different to what they were five or 10 years ago! I’ve got an extremely busy house now, with four kids, so there’s not much I can do now, really, apart from just play and have fun with them.”

“I think especially going back after a good win and being able to enjoy it with my kids and family, it’s really special.”

And if United play on a Saturday? He admitted he’s glued to Match of the Day that night, rewatching his own side’s game and checking out what everyone else got up to.

Featured image by Alex Livesey/Getty Images

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