Real Madrid training the Pintus way

Sportdaddy:

Changes are afoot to Real Madrid's pre-season preparations following the arrival of Zinedine Zidane's one-time fitness coach Antonio Pintus.The Frenchman worked under the hard-line Italian during his playing days at Juventus and has enlisted his services to shape up the European champions' fitness reigme.Pintus succeeds Bernardo Requena, who remains with Real, and counts Chelsea, Udinese, West Ham and Monaco among his former clubs, as well as working in other sports including judo and athletics.On Saturday, Real's players were put through their paces with a session that saw gym and aerobics sessions sandwiched in between five 1,000 metre runs.Zidane believes that Pintus' higher intensity approach will serve his Los Blancos squad in their efforts to retain their Champions League crown and mount a renewed assault on Barcelona's La Liga title.