Chelsea managed to bring the Premier League title back to Stamford Bridge last season. But next year will prove to be an even bigger challenge as they look to retain the league title for the first time since 2006. They the team to beat and every game they play will be like a cup final for their opponents. This will require them to work even harder and will need the energy to perform at such a high level.
No doubt Jose Mourinho will have a vigorous training schedule in place during the pre season to get his players in shape. But what is now playing an important role in football is the diet of the players. Every club has a dietician that will draw up a careful plan for every player based on their performance levels.
We wanted to find out a bit more about the diet of Premier League players and used a new interactive tool to do it. The tool was able to break down for us what the Chelsea players would be typically eating to get in top condition for the new season.
What may surprise many people is the amount of calories that footballers are consuming. On an average day they will eat a whopping 3800 calories. This is 800 more than the average man. Yet they seem to keep their athletic physique which shows the intensity of the training sessions and matches.
The large pitch means players run 6.5 miles in an average game. Midfielders run the most and can run up to 9.5 miles during a match. When you consider that this will also involve a lot of sprinting, cutting and tackling it will use an enormous amount of energy. The players that run the most can burn up to 300 calories in a game.
This highlights how important it is for players to have a large intake of energy, and eat the right foods. It’s not just the amount of calories though, the source of the calories is also important. The World Sports Food Fight breaks down each meal to show how footballers achieve their desired shape and are able to perform at such a high level.
The educational piece can be used by young players to discover how to increase their performance levels through their diet. It also features the diet from a range of sports including Rugby, Swimming and NFL. Check the interactive out for yourself to see which athletes are eating the most.