Manchester United’s pre-season tour of the United States of America is drawing to a close this weekend and things are feeling very positive.
What a difference three months can make, with Ruben Amorim working miracles to make Manchester United feel like a football club again after last season was so miserable for all involved.
15th place in the league means no European football, and also the reputation as the worst United side of the Premier League era, which is a feat nobody wants.
At the end of last season, Amorim promised the good days were coming, and so far this summer, his promise is coming true.
United have drastically improved during pre-season, winning two on the bounce against Premier League opposition, including a 4-1 thumping of Bournemouth earlier this week.
Amorim has his team pressing excellently, winning physical battles and playing a good brand of football with quick transitions coming after the ball is won high up the pitch.
All of this starts in training, with the latest session now catching Rio Ferdinand’s eye.
Rio Ferdinand impressed by Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro
Hard work on the training ground is the foundation for any success achieved in football, and this summer has seen plenty of work done by United. This has included United players doing extra workout sessions following games.
Amorim has had a huge job on his hands to implement his style of play, which now appears to have been achieved at least at a basic level with plenty of work yet to come.
One area which needed to improve from last season was ball retention in the middle of the park, where too often stray passes would leave the team in trouble.
Well on Friday, during United’s training session ahead of the tour finale, Ferdinand was watching closely and was impressed by the performance of two players during a rondo session.
Ferdinand wrote on X: “The boys up close doing the ‘Rondos’, Mood in the camp looks strong!”
He then added praise for two in particular: “Bruno x Casemiro putting on a clinic…”
This is an excellent sign, as the pair are likely to play together in the pivot during some games and if they are able to pass between eachother with ease it will make the team function a whole lot better.
What is a ‘rondo’ session in football?
Any avid football fan will have heard the term ‘rondo’ before in regards to the training drill which is effectively a game of ‘piggy in the middle’. It entails a group of players in a circle who have to pass to each other, but where it gets complicated is that there will be two players in the middle who aim to touch the ball and get out of the middle.
A rondo can countless variations, with the size of circle, touches allowed and number of players all subjective and valuable for working on different skills.
While it is impossible to pinpoint the exact origin of the drill, it became popular across Europe during the 1990s at Barcelona with Johan Cruyff said to have learned it from Laureano Ruiz.
The rondo is useful for working on high intensity passing, decision making and composure, while for the players it is an enjoyable drill within which they can build relationships on the ball.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
