SLNA players: Must eat well to play football well!

Young SLNA players are excited with the delicious dishes. Photo: PV

When players are taken care of from meals

Over the years,SLNAhas always been the leading youth football training center in the country. Through tournaments at the youth team level, the clubNghe Anhas achieved many encouraging results. In particular, in 2020, the yellow youth teams have added many prestigious trophies to the club's tradition room. These include the Gold Cup for U11, U13, U17; U21 won the Silver Cup; U15, U19 won the Bronze Cup. These are achievements that many major football academies across the country must admire.

To achieve these achievements, SLNA has systematically organized training for youth football classes. The club has built a full range of classes from U10 to U21. Each class is led by coaches with expertise and teaching experience. Thereby, the players are trained systematically, according to the curriculum of modern football. However, according to experts, the strikers of Nghe An Club do not have the same physique and physical strength as those of major football academies such as Viettel, PVF, HAGL... The proof is that in the small U-classes, SLNA always has the advantage when participating in competitions, but from U19 and above, Nghe An Club often runs out of steam. The reason for that is that the players have not been able to meet their nutritional needs in the best way.

According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Nghia - Director of SLNA Youth Football Training Center, “In previous years, the basic techniques of SLNA players were always at the top compared to the leading football academies in Vietnam. However, in some wealthy clubs, their players have better physical strength than SLNA. Because the nutritional regime for their players is very good, their players' physical strength is improved. Meanwhile, the nutritional regime of SLNA young players is somewhat limited, because at that time the province's investment in players' meals was not high. Therefore, the physical strength of the children is somewhat worse than that of major football academies in the country.”

Realizing the important issue: The need to improve the quality of meals, the leaders of the Nghe An football team have made a detailed plan to build a nutritional regimen for each player, in order to improve the physique and physical strength of each athlete. The club has invited doctors who are leading experts in nutrition, good and experienced chefs, along with the meal allowance for each athlete being raised. With the above budget and a methodical implementation method, the SLNA Club is building a nutritional regimen for players that is almost equal to that of the leading football academies in the country.

How should players eat?

At Nghe An Football Club, there are about 200 athletes, each player has different height, weight, body shape, physical condition and age. Therefore, the doctornutritionThe club has established nutritional data for each player to include in each meal. Specifically, before and after each match, players will have completely different diets. Each player will be weighed and checked for obesity every week and every month, so that nutrition can be provided appropriately. This is to avoid the situation where there are overweight players who eat too much fat, or players who are too thin and do not get enough energy. Each normal player will be fed 4 meals a day, along with milk and various fruits... In addition, in the past, players were used to buying snacks from outside to eat more, but now the club has a team of managers who closely monitor this and thoroughly prevent that from happening.

SLNA chef prepares desserts for the players. Photo: PV

Along with establishing nutritional data for each player, the club has emphasized the creation of dishes that are both palatable and delicious for each athlete. To do this, the club has invited many good chefs to serve meals for the players. Currently, the club has about 8 chefs, of which the head chef is Mr. Nguyen Tien Long, who has spent a lot of time as a head chef at major hotel systems across the country.

Mr. Long said: “We discussed and came up with a diverse menu based on the criteria that no dish should be the same for 1 week, and after 7 days, the menu must be changed. Regarding the details of the dishes, we have consulted and created many different dishes, mainly bearing the regional identity of Nghe An, so that they always suit the taste of the children. In addition, we have combined European and American dishes such as beef steak, salad... to create a new taste for the athletes in each meal.”

The dishes at SLNA Club are diverse and prepared by skilled chefs. Photo: PV

Mr. Long expressed his wish that in the coming time, every month, he will try to organize a small party and make a buffet for the players. By organizing such buffets, there will be many dishes prepared, through which the children will have many choices of their favorite dishes. This also helps the kitchen team to recognize which dishes are most attractive to the players, so that the kitchen team can create daily dishes. From building such a scientific menu, it has created excitement for the players, helping to improve their physical strength, creating deliciousness, and making it easier to absorb nutrients.

After more than 6 months of the new nutrition regime, although the time is not long enough to make an accurate assessment, but according to the assessment, the physical strength of the athletes at SLNA has had many positive changes. According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Nghia - Director of SLNA Youth Football Training Center, "With the new nutrition regime, the physical strength of the athletes has gradually improved. The children have completed well the lesson plans given by the coaching staff at the youth teams. Through the survey, it was found that all the children feel more delicious and absorb better after each meal. Families can be completely assured when sending their children here to practice."