Usually, at 8:10 a.m., Fabrice Gaυtier (Paris, 49 years old) receives this newspaper, the day after his last meeting with Aυrélieп Tchoυameпi, who once again took advantage of the fact that Real Madrid stayed in Los Angeles, as he did last summer, to get ready with his trusted chiropractor.

Less than a 10-minute walk from The Maybourge, Real Madrid’s operational headquarters in its first US stop, at South Beverly Drive, this pinnacle of LA-loving Parisian at 18 has the traces of an individual. At the stadium, three framed, signed jerseys greeted visitors: Rudy Gobert, Carmelo Anthony, and Boris Diaw. “Here is my office.” On the left, add some elastic bands. Of course, there are words. Nico Batυm, Joakim Noah, Rony Tυriaf, Tony Parker… All the basketball stars, υtil Jules Koυdé and Aυrélieп Tchoυameпi appeared. It is the typical portfolio of ‘body mechanics’, fans of the Lakers and Magic Johnson, of the NBA, and chiropractors, and complements all those convened here, of the team French basket. But what brought υs to his door were the stars of Madrid and Barça.

How did his relationship with Tchoυameпi and Koυпdé come about?

About five years ago, Joпathaп Kebe, who was the same age as Jules, Aυrélieп, and Mike (Maignпan), whom he knew from basketball, came up with the idea of bringing the boys to meet him. At that time, Aurélieп will be 17 years old. They are still Bordeaux. “They like America, they like the NBA,” he said. Why don’t they come to Los Angeles and work with you today with your team and enjoy the city afterward?” Because it’s not just me, we have a group of people who are very willing to work with professional athletes.

At that time Aυrélieп broke her ankle because they came, at first we solved the problem for them, but we also tried to humbly teach her how to be a professional, how to build a kitchen, how to hire a chef professional… That kind of thing is about trying to be as professional as possible with her body. In the United States, we always say that ‘the best quality of an athlete must be available’. Before thinking about dreams and goals, you must be healthy.

It is to swell your chest when you see his evolution.

Unbelievable. I met them for a long time, although I was not surprised. They have a great background. This organization has a lot at their fingertips that they can learn. They look at stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Lindsay Vonпп. They are like sponges and have a good foundation. His work ethic is already very good at 17. If the replay isn’t good, they’ll want to do it again. I always say that what we do is like putting gas in a Formula 1 car. Of course we help. Of course, we have all the right people, but they have special stories.

“Their work ethic is already very good at 17, if the repetition is not good, they will want to do it again” – Fabrice Gaυtier, on Tchoυameпi and Koυпdé

– Your job is more than just massage, right?

It is part, it is the foundation of the process. Barrece Baytos, my partner, and I started from the beginning. He was with Kobe Bryant for 20 years, working behind the scenes. He does deep work between the two of us trying to remove all the difficulties, all the restrictions on mobility, all the unpleasant sensations from the muscles, from the muscles, from hamstring tears… Once you have the foυпdationп created, then we start to rebuild. We begin teaching athletes how to reprogram their brains and how to move with their newly acquired range of motion. It’s very important to recover to the point where they can take on a full season because they’re playing more and more games did you see Tchoυameпi in his last class?

We did a few exercises, mainly chiropractic. Not so much because he’s preparing for the season. We mainly recover. We work on reprogramming the brain, trying to achieve stability and stability with balance exercises. The idea is to build greater stability and mobility.

-Are the workouts the same as last summer when he signed for Madrid?

More or less. At that time we had a kid who had to build muscle so we did a little weight training, squats, deadlifts… And when you have it all, you have good fitness.

“Tchoυameпi is a combination of a sprinter and a marathoner. This year (in Madrid) he became a celebrity” -Fabrice Gaυtier

-How would he describe you physically from a professional standpoint?

It seems like he’s always had a good upright posture, strength, explosiveness, body fat percentage, muscle percentage. Sometimes I say he’s a cross between a sprinter and a marathoner, which doesn’t make a difference because they’re not the same muscle fibers. Don’t watch him play. He’s still strong, but he’s also capable of being gritty, aggressive, and very explosive. And he’s only 23 years old. Last year he became a real adult. And so is Jules. I thought, ‘Oh shit, (Tchoυameпi) isn’t a kid anymore’ (laughs).

-Aυrélieп and Jules, Madrid and Barça…

Obviously, I have a love-hate relationship with the Spanish because they beat so many times in basketball (laughs)… Yes, but I have a lot of respect for the Spanish sport. Especially basketball, they are always there. Back to Madrid or Barcelona… Many years ago I met Karim Benzema and we worked together several times. He is from Beverly Hills. We were very close and I’m not a Madrid fan, but I started to enjoy watching Karim play. I was at Stade de France, where Madrid won the Champions League, and seeing Karim win the Ballon d’Or made me happy. I like people to be successful. I would say he might have a little more sympathy for Real Madrid.

-Previously I talked about players being able to play multiple games. Tchoaυmeni experienced a decline in the second leg of last season. Why did he think I could call him?

There are so many factors… the World Cup in the middle of the season is out of them, without a doubt. There are elements of sport, recovery, emotion… I don’t know, that’s just what I personally think. Teams change over the summer and things go well, you get to the World Cup finals and you lose miserably. You have to recover afterward. It takes time. It’s hard for me to know exactly if there’s any single factor or if it’s a combination of all of them. Many times people underestimate the emotional impact of losing. I feel like it’s rare for a French player to have a great season.

-Griezman?

Maybe yes, he played great. But without him… Defeating a final like the World Cup is rated lower. You cannot be sure that it will not affect you during the process. What I can say is that I’m looking forward to seeing how Aυrélieп does this season. I’m pretty sure he’ll break it.

-Is there anything they should improve?

We are talking about the best football teams in the world. Real Madrid year after year. And he plays for the French national team. Tchoυameпi is one of the best soccer players in the world. I’m sure he’s in the top one or five. He is part of that 1%. They have qualities that make them stand tall. I think they should agree. There are many technical aspects of football that I don’t know, but I think they should focus on recovery. This is very important. Recovery can be passive and active. There are many types: 40 minutes of weight training, ice baths… You must be aware of its importance.

“Tchoυameпi is one of the best in the world in his opinion, he is part of that 1%” – Fabrice Gaυtier

– Is Aureliп the one who suggests the exercises or is it you?

It was mostly me and we adapted. In the last session, we did five or three minutes in the gym because he had to go back to the team and practice, they had matches coming up… We had to lighten the load. You must communicate. It does not prevent destroying his body and tries to make him vomit every time he practices. That’s adaptation. And if you do that at the same time, you will continue to grow.

Do you ask for advice during the season?

Yes, we talk. If you need it, please contact me. However, the most interesting thing is that when we talk, we do it about basketball. Aυrélieп is a Philadelphia fan and Jules is a Clevela fan.