Subject: Strength Programming for an Italian Professional Soccer Team

“How do professional athletes train?” or “I want to train like the professionals” are probably two of the most common training questions and the second autofill option on a Google search of “how do professional athl….” (I didn’t even have to finish spelling athlete).


Mauro Franzetti, StrongFirst Certified Elite Instructor, is a professional soccer coach in Italy. He follows up on his previous article by giving us a “peek behind the curtain” of the training of a professional soccer team.

Mauro begins:

Most of us know the important role strength training plays in sports. This also applies to soccer, where the quality of technical skills is fundamental. During the 2022-2023 season, with the help of Fabio Zonin, StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor, I designed a training program based on StrongFirst principles for Pro Vercelli Calcio, a soccer team in the Italian Third Division (Third League). By implementing this program, I brought innovation and a unique methodology to the world of soccer (see my previous article).


This season, in collaboration with our sport-specific coach, I changed some of the strength exercises I programmed for my athletes.

CLICK HERE to read the article and see how Mauro progressed the strength program for his team.