Top 10 Fittest Players From 2014/15

John Terry played every single minute of Chelsea’s league campaign in 2014/15Fitness is one of the most important things in football these days. With such an emphasis on achieving the best level possible it’s no surprise to see players and coaches adopt new training regimes or go to extreme lengths to get one up on their opponents in this department.With some teams playing over 60 games in the span of a season, it becomes all the more important for players to be able to deal with the grueling schedule of football while maintaining the same level of performance in every game.Many players have based their long successful careers on their ability to turn up for the team regularly. Their fitness allowed managers to trust them week in and week out. This consistency has been hard to find for some players while other actively work towards it.But what players have had the best success with their fitness and who has played the most minutes over the last season?

#10 Marcelo

Madrid never had the season they were expected to have following their Champions League win last year.Nevertheless, finishing 2nd in the league and reaching the semi-finals would still be considered a half decent finish by many teams.

Marcelo though was ever-present through the campaign in that full-back role. Racking up 2925 minutes in the league and 786 in the Champions League. Playing all that while bombing up and down that left-hand side while trying to defend can be difficult but his fitness gives him a great opportunity to do all that.

Let’s be honest, playing with Ronaldo must be great if you’re a striker or fellow forward, but if you’re the full back standing behind him then you must be pretty exposed majority of the time. It’s a difficult job balancing up the attacking play from his full back role with his defensive duties but Marcelo has actually managed to find the right balance.

#9 Juan Bernat

Bernat signed for Bayern at the start of the season from Valencia and quickly adapted to life in Pep Guardiola’s side. Having played 2556 minutes in the league and 1022 in the Champion’s League. Bernat was ever present as Bayern Munich went on to win yet another Bundesliga title and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Bernat’s rise to fame has been a great one, from being a backup winger at Valencia to flourishing and showing the talent that could see him becoming one of the best left-backs in the game today.

Taking over the role from the already highly rated David Alaba, whom he also shares many of the same traits with such as the pace and attacking instinct, and instead allowing Alaba to freely explore other roles within the side including a holding role which was vital during the early stages of the season. It has proved to be a masterstroke of a signing by Guardiola.

#8 Neymar

Neymar has a great second season at Barcelona. Scoring 39 goals in 51 games across all competitions. He also managed to rack up 2567 minutes in the league and 934 in the champions league. He’s also had immense success as he’s gone on to win the treble and looks like him, Messi and Suarez are all beginning to click.

Neymar played a key role in Barcelona’s recapturing of the Champions League as he was named the tournament's highest scorer while also being named in the tournament's official team of the year.

Also with Luis Suarez missing the start of the season him and Messi had to try and keep the season alive after what appeared to be a shaky start for Luis Enriques tenure as manager. Also, it’s not hard to overlook how much Neymar has been carrying Brazil as of late including all 4 goals in a 4-0 win over Japan. Further exemplified by Brazil’s inability to cope without him in the Copa America.

#7 Jordan Henderson

Liverpool had a very poor season when compared to what they almost managed to achieve in the 2013/14 season. But no doubt Jordan Henderson’s constant availability and fitness levels have been important to them. Having played 3256 minutes in the league over the course of 37 games he’s clearly looked after himself. But if you add in his Champions League and Europa League minutes he’s totalled 3,772 minutes of football.

Liverpool may not have won anything this season but this is more in spite of Henderson’s appearances for the club, not because of them. But his work rate and fitness is a testament to his character as it’s been one of the biggest reasons for him turning round his rocky start at the club when he joined from Sunderland for £16 million.

Now with Milner introduced to the Reds for next season you can only imagine the distance Rodgers midfield is going to cover with the pair working side by side.

#6 Eden Hazard

Hazard is an exciting player with loads of talent and flair. The type of player that can get you off your seat. With 3373 minutes in the league and 653 Champions League minutes he’s clearly got a good level of fitness to go with it all.

He’s also been a massive attacking threat for Mourinho’s team as they swooped to a league and cup double. Hazard also managed to collect himself the PFA’s player of the year award against some heavy contenders and now joins the list of winners that include Suarez, Ronaldo and even Gareth Bale.

But he showed he wasn’t all just about pure flair and skills, when Chelsea went through a rough patch in the winter and a few players had picked up injuries and others weren’t in the form that saw them dubbed as potential invincibles, Hazard was still there dragging them through some matches and getting those all important points.

#5 Branislav Ivanovic

Ivanovic is quite unlucky to be honest, had it not been for a last-minute red card against Manchester United he would have played the entire the season. But while his stats show he has played the maximum amount of minutes you can in a league season it’s not technically true.

But take nothing away from Ivanovic. The big Serbian full-back has been an important part of Jose Mourinho’s stubborn defence that won a league and cup double. Also when the Champions League minutes are added he’s racked up a very impressive 4,080 minutes.

Ivanovic appears to be universally loved by his fellow colleagues. He even had Arsenal star Santi Cazorla’s backing when he claimed he was the toughest defender. Speaking at the launch of Arsenal’s kit, he said “Out of the top four sides I wouldn’t even consider anyone else other than Ivanovic. But in general, Chelsea are the toughest team defensively because of their strong work on a one-to-one basis.”

This is all impressive for a guy who appears to have all the characteristics of a man more suited to a role in the centre of a defence as opposed to the up and down the park full back that he’s been playing as for the past few seasons.

#4 John Terry

Terry has officially played every minute of every game his side played in the league this season. For a centre-half that a few folk had written off as over the hill it really is quite an extraordinary feat. No injuries for for a player that will turn 35 at the turn of this year and no suspensions for a player who prides himself on his whole-hearted approach to tackling and defending is testament to his ability as a defender.

But it’s not just a false statistic of him playing all these games, he was the leader of a defence that was hard to break down and was the building block of a successful title winning side. Terry has never struck me as someone who has been a fitness machine but this season has proven just how well he’s taken care of his body over the years to be able to continue his performances and maybe even arguably produce one of his top seasons yet.

In regard to minutes Terry played the same as Ivanovic. 3420 minutes in the league and 660 in the Champions League with a total off 4,080 minutes. When speaking to the press, Terry gave credit for his fitness to the staff at Chelsea and his decision to retire from international football.

“I don’t know what my fitness is down to, but the manager and the staff played a big part in the way we train. I feel I’ve also benefited from the couple days rest during the international breaks. So the manager and staff deserve a lot of credit, and me also for staying fit and keeping my form and place in the side,” he said.

#3 Leonardo Bonucci

The 28-year-old Italy and Juventus centre half may not get the praise that his fellow defenders in the ilk of the gladiator-like presence of Giorgio Chiellini and the classy, but ageing, Andrea Barzagli tend to get but his constant availability has been a great building block for Max Allegri’s defence.

He’s been a huge factor in Juventus’ immensely successful campaign last season having played 1080 minutes in the Champions League and 3015 in the Italian Serie A – totalling 4,095 minutes over both competitions.

His rumoured secret garlic sweets tactic last October against Roma might have been questionable. However, his performances for Juventus didn’t go unnoticed to the masses as Bonucci has regularly been given places in team of the seasons and tournaments.

His ability to adapt to multiple formations throughout the season including the three at the back and four defender systems without looking lost like he may have in previous seasons is an added plus.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is clearly a man who looks after himself and takes his fitness very seriously. Playing 3095 league minutes and 1064 Champions League minutes, he managed to total 4159. He may not in the end have won as much as his “arch-rival” Lionel Messi but his fitness is so good that it’s become almost a phenomenon. Leading to documentaries such as “Ronaldo: Tested to the Limit” which compares him to Olympic athletes and go into extreme depth on just how his body works.

Mens Health even claimed he was the fittest man alive in January 2015. He’s a man who undoubtedly has great technique and mental awareness on a football pitch to have the reading of certain situations or even be aware of them before they happen. But without his explosive pace or overall strength he wouldn’t be able to take advantage of that awareness.

When asked about how important fitness is to him he revealed on his website "If I'm capable of playing more than 60 games per season and do that year after year, that's because I pay a lot of attention to my body and my health.

“I sleep well, I eat well. I'm very meticulous with these kind of things, otherwise my body wouldn't respond as it should… One simply has to be humble enough to understand that without hard work, we don't go anywhere. My secret is to always work hard”

#1 Lionel Messi

It’s frightening to think that little Leo is 28 now. Time flies when you’re having fun watching the lad score goals. It’s also amazing to think that this was a guy who had a growth hormone deficiency as a child. But in regards to the topic at hand this season he’s managed to rack up 3375 minutes in La Liga and 1055 in the UCL making it a total of 4430 minutes.

But even after a disappointing season in 2013/14, by his standards at least, where he still managed to score 41 goals in 46 games, Messi got a new dietitian. After working with Guiliano Posner he reportedly lost 3.5kgs, in preparation for the 2014/15 season. Spanish paper Mundo Deportivo reported of his new fitness and diet regimes citing his weight loss and increased time in the gym. It obviously seems to have done the trick as he led his side to an impressive treble while scoring 58 goals in the process.

Posner’s style is reported to include complex exercises, psychotherapy and some natural emedies. But don’t think these things will turn you into the little maestro overnight because you’ll also need bags of talent and to follow it up with a work out regime to make the best of it.