Unzue has worked closely with Barcelona over the years, even sharing his time there with Lionel Messi too.
Unzue has discussed how Diego Maradona prepared for the match against Real Madrid
Juan Carlos Unzue has revealed about some of the legends he worked closely with over during of his career, and the Spaniard even told how Diego Maradona prepared for the match against Real Madrid, losing eight kilos in the space of the week, eating only raw meat. Unzue has worked closely with Barcelona over the years, even sharing his time there with Lionel Messi too. “We had to play against Real Madrid around Christmas, Maradona went on vacation with his family. And when we saw him seven days later, he lost eight kilograms,” explained Unzue in an interview. “Can you believe what he told us that all he ate was raw meat for those seven or eight days?”
The Spaniard is diagnosed with ALS
“We used to talk to him about his personal life. And he warned us that he was only telling us that he made a mistake and he didn’t want us to fall victim to the same mistakes”. Having been diagnosed with ALS, Unzue is aware of the changing dynamics of his life and physical health. “The type of life that I had helped me to accept it,” he added. “I think this is the key word that it’s a part of my life, just like a lot of my successes have been. There are many things that we can enjoy. I have led a very ambitious, materialistic life where you can only feel pleasure in the case of victory. But it showed me that I could enjoy many things that have no material cost.”
After watching Messi transform into one of the greatest players ever to play the game, Unzue believes his ambition is what holds him back. “What held Messi back was ambition, and that brings with it moments of stress,” he confirmed. “He demands that he continues to be the best and, as a result, always wants the most from those around him. It doesn’t matter if this is teammates, coach, physiologist or whatever. It causes a lot of stress for some colleagues who are not able to shoulder it.”