Good Kompany interview on fitness and physicallity
Posted: Sat May 14, 2011 8:35 amhttp://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail ... 110513_122
Rough translation from Flemish:
Kompany: I feel like I'm eighteen again.
Is England still more physical than Germany?
"There's a world of difference. The players are heavier, faster, stronger. You have to one hundred percent trained and mentally prepared to race and deal with the physicality. That I happen to have developed an upper body is really funny because I never specifically train my upper body. Every day I do trunk stabilization, but I just go to the gym for my legs.
I think my body has only now matured. I also see the difference with a few years ago and I also feel how the other players compete against me, get me down, but I have done nothing special for it. I weigh 95 kilograms (I was 84 at Anderlecht) and am 1m 93 and feel on top of my ability. "
You're faster, making it easier to win matches.
"After I had an Achilles tendon operation I lost a half-yard of pace, but I've adapted to that, and come back from it. I've played matches where I felt physically very bad, but I've stepped up my gameplay simultaneously. My second year in England I had just the same when I broke my toe: again i was a bit slow when compared with the past. I never thought that I physically could reach this level again. At eighteen, I was still playing without ever having received a major injury, that's the difference. Suddenly everything has come back, my legs, my speed. I am eighteen again. Yes, my body has surprised me, but I'm not surprised about how I perform. "
My translation may not be 100% accurate, so maybe someone else could double-check? Seems as if he's put his injury problems totally behind himself. There's a fuller interview which I'll try to get hold of once I'm back in Belgium.
Rough translation from Flemish:
Kompany: I feel like I'm eighteen again.
Is England still more physical than Germany?
"There's a world of difference. The players are heavier, faster, stronger. You have to one hundred percent trained and mentally prepared to race and deal with the physicality. That I happen to have developed an upper body is really funny because I never specifically train my upper body. Every day I do trunk stabilization, but I just go to the gym for my legs.
I think my body has only now matured. I also see the difference with a few years ago and I also feel how the other players compete against me, get me down, but I have done nothing special for it. I weigh 95 kilograms (I was 84 at Anderlecht) and am 1m 93 and feel on top of my ability. "
You're faster, making it easier to win matches.
"After I had an Achilles tendon operation I lost a half-yard of pace, but I've adapted to that, and come back from it. I've played matches where I felt physically very bad, but I've stepped up my gameplay simultaneously. My second year in England I had just the same when I broke my toe: again i was a bit slow when compared with the past. I never thought that I physically could reach this level again. At eighteen, I was still playing without ever having received a major injury, that's the difference. Suddenly everything has come back, my legs, my speed. I am eighteen again. Yes, my body has surprised me, but I'm not surprised about how I perform. "
My translation may not be 100% accurate, so maybe someone else could double-check? Seems as if he's put his injury problems totally behind himself. There's a fuller interview which I'll try to get hold of once I'm back in Belgium.