Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers has poured the praise on Liverpool physical performance coach Ruben Peeters – who joined the club this summer alongside Arne Slot.
Peeters is well-regarded for his innovative approach to player fitness and performance.
His work at Feyenoord contributed to the Dutch club’s successful campaign under Slot, where his methods focused on optimizing the physical conditioning of players to meet the demanding requirements of modern football.
He is expected to play a similar role at Liverpool, ensuring that the squad maintains peak fitness levels throughout the grueling Premier League and European campaigns.
It was previously reported that Peeters would be bringing unique strategies and methods from Feyenoord.
Peeters oversaw a “DNA project” in which Feyenoord collected samples of a player’s perspiration, saliva, and urine.
The project’s goal was to gather more data on Indvidual level in an effort to expedite physical healing and shorten injury recovery times.
Feyenoord’s player availability reached 90% or above in each of Slot’s first two seasons thanks to this meticulous management.
What did Cyriel Dessers say about Ruben Peeters?
The Rangers man worked under the guidance of Peeters at both KRC Genk and Feyenoord, so he knows a thing or two about his methods.
Speaking to Het Belang van Limburg (via Sport Witness), Dessers gave some of his thoughts on Peeters’ impact:
“At Genk, Ruben mainly did the fieldwork. I felt he couldn’t quite do his thing there yet.”
“At Feyenoord, Slot gave him much more freedom. Together with Australian physical coach Leigh Egger, he put in something very impressive,” he said.
“I was on the bench a lot in the first six months, but they pulled me through and kept pushing me. When I got my chance, I felt stronger than ever and scored 20 more goals.”
Dessers then went on to reveal that he broke all sorts of individual records while under the stewardship of Peeters:
“That year I gained four kilos of muscle mass at Feyenoord. That was the fittest season of my career.”
“I broke all my records in competitions: running distance, sprint distances, high-intensity runs… The credits for that go to Ruben and Leigh,” Dessers explained.
The Nigerian also believes that his former coach will continue the impressive trend at Anfield:
“I have every confidence that he’ll also do the same at such a level. Ruben is a super good performance coach, but also a fine and sincere human being who is tough when he has to be, but also there for you when you need him,” he added.
With how many injuries Liverpool seem to pick up each season, hopefully the former Feyenoord man can improve on this front.
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