Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo has produced an impressive turnaround this season.
Rollercoaster
Mainoo struggled to get into the Manchester United first team under head coach Ruben Amorim and almost joined SSC Napoli on loan.
After the Portuguese head coach Amorim was sacked, Mainoo returned to the starting line-up and has not looked back.
He became a regular again and signed a new deal last month. The elegant midfielder has also been called up to England’s World Cup squad in the United States of America.
Matchday routine
Mainoo has been speaking to the club’s official website and has given fans a sneak peek of what goes on in the United dressing room before a big match.
When asked about what food he likes to take on board before a game, he said, “I don’t have a set thing of ‘I have to eat this’, but just whatever I’m feeling. If I feel I need a bit more energy, or if I think it’s going to be a tough and long game in terms of running volume, then it’s more carby. I’d have more pasta, something like that.”
Mainoo also revealed that he will have a small breakfast on the day of a game, involving eggs, avocado or sourdough bread.
He also revealed that he can eat a lot for breakfast if needed, so he will happily tuck into pasta at 9am if the team has a match with a 12.30 kick-off.
Ride to match
The England midfielder then explained that he liked time to himself on the coach to look at social media or listen to music.
When entering the dressing room, he explained, “as soon as I get to the changing room, usually I’ll get changed pretty quickly. I’ll do some stretching for 20-25 minutes whilst listening to some music, then get a bit of treatment on the bed for a while, then after that my preparation is pretty much done. So I’ll just listen to some more music, if there’s a ball around I’ll have a kickabout, play a bit of two-touch maybe in the changing room, and then get ready to go out.”
Interestingly, he also revealed that he always has a shot of beetroot juice before the match.
He also revealed that many players will be having a kickabout in the dressing room and that Amad, who he sits next to, will always be kicking a ball about.
Rituals
Sports stars have a reputation for being a superstitious bunch, but Mainoo does not believe he falls into this category.
He explained, “I’m not superstitious. I try to stray away from it because even if you’re not superstitious it’ll seep in, like, ‘I’ve done this so many times.’ Say I’ve done something on a matchday so many times in a row, I think: ‘Maybe I should just change it.’ Just to kick any sort of whiff of superstition out of the door.”
Waiting in the tunnel
The 21-year-old then described what it is like waiting to enter the Old Trafford pitch.
He explained, “you can just feel the energy, you feel like you can touch the energy. It feels like the whole place is vibrating. It’s a euphoric feeling. There’s nothing else like it – seventy-plus-thousand people screaming and shouting for you to go and win this game, you’re walking out with your team-mates, your mates. It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe.”
At half-time, he explained that he just tries to relax and get some “energy back into the lungs” ahead of the second half.
After the 90 minutes has ended, Mainoo revealed that the squad is generally just relieved rather than happy that they got a win.
He elaborated, “but I think after the game you’re just happy – relief – if we’ve won. It’s three points in the bag and then everyone’s happy. But we’re not trying to get too happy, we want to make it the normal to win games. The manager will speak after and then we move forward.”
Featured image by Shaun Botterill/Getty
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