Luis Suarez had to be hauled off the training ground at Liverpool, reveals former Reds fitness coach

Workaholic: Suarez was always striving to better himself during his time at Liverpool

Darren Burgess admits Liverpool’s first ever visit to South Australia will be cherished for years to come.
The Reds’ former head of fitness and conditioning relished welcoming his former club to his adopted city of Adelaide.
Burgess, a boyhood fan himself, knew Liverpool commanded massive support Down Under but even he was stunned by the scenes at the Adelaide Oval on Monday night.
The passionate 53,000 sell-out crowd smashed the previous record for the highest attendance for a football match in South Australia – beating the 33,000 who watched Adelaide and Melbourne Victory draw 1-1 last year.
“The reaction has been staggering,” Burgess told the Liverpool Echo.
In pictures - Liverpool 2-0 Adelaide United:

 

  

“There was such a buzz around the city on matchday and the sea of red on the streets just showed what a massive club it is.
“I lost count of the number of ticket requests I had over the past six months.
“Everyone was saying they wanted to be there to hear ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’ It didn’t disappoint. People will be talking about this for a long time.”
These days Burgess is the high performance manager for Aussie Rules side Port Adelaide.
The Sydney-born internationally acclaimed fitness specialist took on the role after deciding to leave Liverpool in September 2012.
“It’s coming up to three years now since I came back to Australia and things are good,” he said.

Liverpool Echo

Former coach: Darren Burgess left Liverpool for Australia in 2012

“I look after the fitness, nutritional side and the medical side of things – co-ordinating the rehab of players with the doctors and physios.
“We’ve got have 45 players so there’s a lot more to look after than in football.
“There’s a salary cap for players in the AFL so you can’t just go and poach the best players.
“What that means is clubs spend a bit more money on sports science as you need to get the very best out of what you’ve got.

“We only play 22 games a season – one game a week – and there’s a 16-week pre-season so there’s a long time to prepare players.
“In a normal game the players will run on average around 16km each.

Liverpool Echo

New job: Burgess is the high performance manager for Aussie Rules side Port Adelaide

“There’s also around 100 what we call stoppages, when players wrestle and fight for the ball.
“Plus, when you’ve got the ball, you can be tackled from any angle – there’s no protection.
“They have cleaned the game up a bit in the last few years but there’s still a lot more injuries than in soccer because there’s more contact.

“You get a lot of shoulder injuries and ankle injuries from twisting in the contact. That’s probably why we only play 22 games per season because it takes that much out of you.”
Burgess started out as a fitness coach with Sydney Swans before spells with Parramatta Power and Port Adelaide.
As his reputation soared, his skills were acquired by the Socceroos as head of sports science and he went with them to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Liverpool Echo

Reputable: Burgess' standing as a fitness coach grew during his time in Australia

By then Liverpool had already made their move and he jumped at the opportunity to join the backroom staff following the tournament.
It proved to be a turbulent period as over the space of his two-and-a-half year stint the Reds had four different managers.

“Being a football person and a Liverpool fan, I loved working for the club,” he said.
“It had been one of my goals to work in the EPL from a long way back, but unfortunately it wasn’t a very successful period.
“Rafa Benitez appointed me with Christian Purslow actually offering me the job.
“But by the time I arrived at Melwood, Rafa had been sacked and it was just Sammy Lee and me running the programme.

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Appointed: Rafa Benitez was impressed by Burgess but was sacked by the time he arrived at Anfield

“Roy Hodgson then came in and I also worked under Kenny Dalglish and Brendan Rodgers.”
Burgess admits the attitude of the players to his work varied considerably with Steven Gerrard and Maxi Rodriguez at opposite ends of the spectrum.
“Stevie was obsessive about every detail,” he said.
“He showed his attention to detail on and off the field. His commitment to the club was total.
“If he saw something was happening around the club that was affecting performance he would intervene.
“He always wanted to know how far he had run and his speed.

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“Maxi, in contrast, just wanted to play. Maxi was probably my favourite player because of what he could do with a ball but he didn’t want to run much.
“There were different types. Luis Suarez had never been to the gym before he joined from Ajax so it was a case of educating him about the benefits.
“There were times in pre-season with Luis when you’d have to take him out of training. He wanted to do too much – he lives and breathes football.
“Him, Maxi, (Fabio) Aurelio and (Sebastian) Coates would then go into the indoor area and just have shots on goal for the next hour and a half. I’d then have to go there to stop them from doing that.”
When Rodgers replaced Dalglish three years ago and brought in Glen Driscoll as head of performance, Burgess’ role changed.

The prospect of returning Down Under with his wife Kristy and children Harry and Millie became more appealing.

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“It was around that time that I started to get offers to come back,” he said.
“Both Adelaide clubs offered me a deal. I had travelled for four years with the Australian national team and then worked for Liverpool.
“My wife had two kids in Liverpool – I love the fact I’ve got two Scousers for kids – but having been away a lot it felt like the time was right to come home.
“But I’ve never stopped being a fan. I still watch all the games and keep in touch with some of the guys.”

Liverpool’s tour enabled him to catch up with the likes of Lucas Leiva, Martin Skrtel and Jordan Henderson, who he worked with at Melwood.

Liverpool Echo

New skipper: Burgess enjoyed a good catchup with Jordan Henderson in Adelaide

Burgess also set up the Reds’ visit to the Oval to watch the AFL derby between Port Adelaide and Adelaide Crows.
Rodgers and assistant Sean O’Driscoll sat in Port’s coaching box, while Driscoll and Liverpool’s rehab fitness coach Jordan Milsom shadowed Burgess and his team of specialists.
“In the AFL every player wears GPS and we sit there analysing how far they are running, walking and sprinting,” he said.
“It means we know when they are buggered and need to get them off the ground.
“We can make 120 changes over four 30-minute quarters.
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“A key part of the game is making the necessary changes,
“Jordan and Glen took a look at how we use GPS to make on the spot decisions.
“We have about eight coaches who coach on game day from a box and are constantly sending messages down. Brendan and Sean were in there and they will have seen how it’s a constant flow of stats and discussion like the NFL.
“It’s coaching a different way, rather than by feel on the sideline.
“When I came back from the Premier League, there were things I implemented that I thought would work in the AFL and I’m sure there are things Liverpool will take away from this experience. Hopefully they’ll have a great season."