Murderball, even the name sounds terrifying. It has become a new topic surrounding those at Elland Road and something that the Yorkshire Evening Post have looked into a little further, however what is this unique brand of training and what do the Leeds United players think about it?
If you’re not a fan of running, the Murderball training might not be for you. Leeds midfielder Mateusz Klich explains in basic terms what the exercise involves: “It’s basically playing 11 v 11 with no stops.” Sounds pretty normal so far. “Constantly running around and sprinting, and you have all the coaches on the pitch basically screaming all the time and basically you can’t stop running.” Now it sounds terrifying, but the training is clearly used to build-up stamina for matchdays, almost making the 90-minute game on the weekend seem like a day off.
Liam Cooper has also spoken about how Murderball helps on matchdays: “The physical output is unbelievable but when you get to the game that’s the easiest part, no other team plays with the intensity we train with.” Backing up our point of the real matches seeming like days off.
Fellow Leeds player Adam Forshaw has praised Marcelo Bielsa’s method when saying: “The manager is on us to really put the effort in. He feels it really sets us up really well for the weekend. We probably moan about it at times but it’s definitely helped.”
Clearly all of the players are on board with this unique tactic, which is good to see as it shows that the players are committed to their manager and are willing to go through hell in order to produce results come matchday.
Marcelo Bielsa must be extremely happy that everyone is willing to listen to his radical ideas, the Argentine is quickly making a name for himself and is almost becoming as big as Leeds United. With Klich recently speaking out about how most of the media ask about Bielsa, while away on international duty.
Verdict
With Leeds United just two points off first place in the Championship, it’s clear to see they’re doing something right. Is that the Murderball effect? It’s very hard to give an answer to that, however, Leeds are currently averaging 59.2% possession each game and attempt 496.4 passes per match, meaning there’s a lot of movement on and off the ball, which would relate back to the non-stop Murderball technique.
The only possible downside to the intense training could be the increased risk of injuries, with five players currently on the sidelines. Obviously you can’t blame every injury on Murderball, but there must be a lot of additional stress put on the body when training at such a high intensity.