Jules Koundé (25) spoke at length to Le Parisien regarding his career and his routines that have enabled him to improve as a right-back for his club FC Barcelona, and also for Les Bleus.
Jules Koundé’s hard work pays off
Three times a day. That’s how much the Frenchman trains, determined to improve all aspects of his game as well as his physical fitness. He explained his routine to the French daily:
” I get up at 7am. I work out before going to training, I then go to the training ground and have a massage when I arrive, then I train with my teammates and then have another massage. I go home around 3pm, have a nap and then do a session with my personal trainer.
I trained twice a day for two years but since January, after a bit of a down period in terms of form, I decided why not add a third session to see if I could improve my performances? Now, it has become a routine.”
The old mantra is that hard work pays off, and with Koundé it appears to be true. After some initial difficulty in transitioning from his original position of centre-back, the former Girondins de Bordeaux man is now a mainstay at right-back:
“I hated it for a while. When you’ve played centre half for 15 years, playing right-back requires a completely different skillset. I learnt to accept it, I think we block ourselves by being negative, which I may have been in the past.
Nowadays, I feel more comfortable and take pleasure and working on the specific details of the role. I’m trying to improve, to be the best version of myself. It takes time, but I think people have already noticed improvement. I see it every day.
Having played the second-most minutes of any Barcelona player this season behind Ilkay Gundogan, Koundé takes pleasure in being considered one of the dressing room’s senior players:
“I am proud to be part of the senior group, of this group of leaders and also to be a reliable player, that is maybe the thing that makes me most proud. This season was one without injuries apart from a small knock from a Gavi tackle, I am very proud of that, because it’s a result of alot of hard work.”
Koundé is a confident man, not afraid to express himself on and off the field. Perhaps his most endearing quality is his self-awareness, being conscient of his limits as well as his strengths, perhaps to a fault:
“I am a talented player but I don’t have much margin for growth. My margin is not enormous, so it’s a pleasure to see my efforts pay off.”
France will be hoping to see those efforts pay off this summer. Jules Koundé is likely to start for France on the right-hand side and will hope to see the work he has put in translate into tangible success on the field.
