Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti hopes to use the techniques learned at AC Milan to extend the careers of his veteran players.
The Daily Mail says the new Stamford Bridge manager is due to meet Glen Driscoll, Chelsea’s physical conditioning coach, to talk him through a pre-season training programme designed to extend the careers of an ageing squad.
Originally formulated inside the closely guarded MilanLab, buried deep inside Milan’s training ground near Lake Como, a team of technicians used the programme to extend the careers of Alessandro Costacurta, who retired at 41, and Paolo Maldini, who quit at the end of this season aged 40.
The secrets of the age-defying process are in Ancelotti’s briefcase, perfect for a club with nine players over the age of 30 - the team Sir Alex Ferguson famously predicted had peaked under Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea’s pre-season programme, which begins when Ancelotti addresses the squad for the first time on July 1, will involve rigorous testing of the players’ physical condition, their ability with the ball and a psychological analysis.
It is the programme used on Andriy Shevchenko when Milan agreed to sell him to Chelsea for £31million, and correctly identified that the striker was past his best.
David Beckham spent three hours in the MilanLab with Dr Jean-Pierre Meersseman, Milan’s head of medical science, when he joined on loan from LA Galaxy in January.
Beckham passed the three hour ordeal, which also involved tests on eyesight and teeth and a thorough examination of his medical records, before his loan was approved.
One test showed he had a higher VO2 max - the volume of oxygen that can be absorbed at maximum capacity - than many younger players.
That session convinced Beckham that he could prolong his career beyond his predicted retirement age of 35, having been told by Dr Meersseman that it is possible to emulate the achievements of Maldini or even Costacurta if he followed their procedures.
Chelsea’s players will undergo similarly thorough tests.
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