Seattle Sounders: 4 takeaways from first week back at training

Seattle Sounders. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images)
Seattle Sounders. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images) /
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Seattle Sounders
Stefan Frei of the Seattle Sounders. (Photo by Omar Vega/Getty Images) /

3. Frei discusses learning to live with fatigue

Stefan Frei echoed Morris’ comments about getting back into football-specific shape. He said how good it was to get his soccer boots back on, get his feet used to them again and build up his calves once more.

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In the process, Frei also gave an interesting insight into how footballers have to deal with fatigue during games and why training for it can’t be emulated at home. As per the Sounders’ YouTube channel, he said:

"“An athlete’s fitness is really tailor-made for that sport and it’s not just a generic fitness. As a soccer player you need to focus to get good touches while you’re fatigued. “As a goalkeeper you need to be able to focus on the ball and do everything as clean as possible while you’re in a state of fatigue. So that’s what we want to work up to, is to get those reps in and get used to being in that state of fatigue again.”"

Given this context, it was no surprise when Frei confessed he was getting tired of the Zoom meetings online. As much as he said it was a nice way to keep in contact with people, it made him want real contact even more.