Valter Di Salvo is the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 head fitness coach at Real Madrid

Real Madrid C.F.

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

. He was re-signed by the Spanish champions from Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

, who had brought him to the club at the recommendation of United's Portuguese assistant manager, Carlos Queiroz

Carlos Queiroz

Carlos Manuel Brito Leal Queiroz ComIH is a Portuguese football manager. He is currently the manager of the Iran national football team. A former manager of Real Madrid, and Portugal national football team, he has also twice been Alex Ferguson's assistant manager at English club Manchester...

. Queiroz had signed Di Salvo during his season as manager of Real Madrid in 2003–04

2003-04 in English football

The 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....

. Di Salvo is heavily involved in setting the training schedules and diets of the Manchester United players, including pre-match warm-ups. Before Real Madrid, he worked in a similar role at Lazio

S.S. Lazio

Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...

 under Sven-Göran Eriksson

Sven-Göran Eriksson

Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....

 from 1998 to 2003, having been previously involved with the club's youth team.

Di Salvo bases much of his training sessions around the gym and technical exercises, rather than outdoors work, according to a ManUtd.com interview with Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...

. This approach was criticised by former Manchester United midfielder David Beckham

David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...

, blaming Di Salvo's methods for his lack of fitness and stamina at Euro 2004

2004 UEFA European Football Championship

The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, better known as Euro 2004, was the 12th European Football Championship, a quadrennial football tournament for European national teams. It was hosted in Portugal, for the first time, between 12 June and 4 July 2004, following its selection by UEFA, in...

. However, Beckham's claims were countered by his Real Madrid team-mate and Portugal

Portugal national football team

The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...

 captain Luís Figo

Luís Figo

Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH, is a Portuguese former international footballer. He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Internazionale, during a career which spanned over a period of 20 years. He retired from football on 31 May 2009...

, who claimed that he himself had maintained his fitness levels right the way through to the final of the tournament.

Di Salvo has been pictured with Real Madrid in an article and interview in their official website and is believed to have re-signed with them in Summer 2007. Real Madrid have been linked with Di Salvo before, reportedly having spoken to the 43-year-old coach without United's permission.

Di Salvo has a Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

in Sports Science, and his thesis was entitled "Training of elite football players according to their positional roles". While at Lazio, he also qualified as a professor of Theory and Methodology of Sport Training at Rome's University Institute of Motor Science.

External links

• Profile at ManUtd.com