Sunderland's Brobbey now plays much more efficiently than at Ajax
On a cold evening in Sunderland, Brian Brobbey watched the replay footage of his hat‑trick against Manchester City, while performance coach Patrick Woerst had already early on delved deeper into the reason why the striker now plays much more efficiently than during his spell at Ajax.
Woerst emphasizes that Brobbey has not necessarily become fitter or stronger, but that he, through smarter play, ends up in duels less often. According to the coach, every ground battle costs a lot of energy, causing the striker to become fatigued more quickly. Brian has himself indicated that he moves more consciously and seeks fewer duels.
After every two duels they review the match footage together to analyse the viewing behaviour, a method that Woerst also applies with Denzel Dumfries and Ryan Gravenberch. This way Brobbey can immediately see where he can receive and avoid the ball better.
Because of the Premier League schedule they sometimes have four contact moments per month, while Brobbey, when he is in the Netherlands, travels to Rotterdam for an individual training session.
Smarter play reduces duels
Woerst explains that people often think Brobbey is extra fit, but the real gain lies in avoiding duels. He now moves while already in motion, dribbles past the defender and chooses a position more quickly, meaning he has to engage in fewer ground battles.
During his Ajax period he often received the ball from a standstill, stopped it and hung on, which led to fights and a lot of power loss. Now he often lets the ball fall or stays in motion, which significantly reduces the energy demand.
This saves energy and gives the impression that he is fitter, while he simply uses less energy during a match. Therefore he can perform at a high level for longer without additional physical strain.
Premier League intensity versus Dutch competition
The intensity difference between the Premier League and the Dutch competition is clear according to Woerst; he confirms that the intensity is many times higher. He states that every move to a foreign competition automatically brings an increase in intensity.
At Ajax Brobbey, according to himself, had “I‑don’t‑know‑how‑many” ground duels, causing him to be exhausted after one hour. At Sunderland he now has far fewer duels, plays smarter and notices that this positively affects his energy level.
Brobbey’s example shows that Dutch forwards can adapt to the physical demands of the Premier League by playing tactically smarter, a lesson that other clubs may well follow. Thus efficiency can become a more important factor than pure strength in the modern top competition.