The secrets behind Jules Kounde's 100 consecutive matches

Sant Joan DespíJules Kounde is a man of clear ideas and convictions. A team player on the pitch, he's also a free spirit in the Barça locker room. While it's easy to see him sharing leisure time among the team's young core—recently, Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Héctor Fort, and Ansu Fati have shared photographs together—the Frenchman "does more his own thing," a source close to the team tells ARA. He uses social media primarily to express one of his greatest passions beyond football: fashion. He also uses it to express when he doesn't like something. He did so after the postponed Barça-Osasuna match was played on Thursday, March 27. "It's disrespectful to the clubs and the players; we're not machines," he thundered into DAZN's microphones. He later shared his video on X, tagging Javier Tebas and the official account of the Spanish Football Federation.

Against Osasuna, Kounde played the full 90 minutes, as usual. What's less common is the milestone he achieved on Saturday against Betis: the former Sevilla player has played 100 consecutive matches, starting (most of them) or coming off the bench. Fifty-five of these have come this season: 47 with Barça, of which he has started 44 (the three substitutions were disciplinary actions for arriving late), and 8 with France, in which he has played the full 6 against them. Furthermore, in the last international window, he played the full 90 minutes in the first match against Croatia and 120 in the second, as the match went into extra time. At Barça, Kounde is Hansi Flick's most-used player, with 3,901 minutes, to which must be added another 664 with the national team.

The secrets behind Jules Kounde's 100 matches

"He wants to play everything. He's anxious about this," said the Barça locker room at the ARA. "He has a privileged nature and is a great professional," added another source. "He takes great care of himself. It's incredible that he's managed to play 100 consecutive games at this level," explained Gavi in the run-up to today's match against Dortmund (9 p.m., Movistar Champions League). The training ground attributes two main reasons for Kounde being the player with the most minutes in the squad.

On the one hand, Flick's lack of confidence in his replacement: Héctor Fort. Despite the fact that the young full-back from Les Corts displayed good manners when he debuted with Xavi, the German hasn't given him many opportunities. On the other hand, "he has a privileged physique that he cultivates a lot." Kounde has a personal trainer who works in California with NFL athletes, among others, and who visits Barcelona monthly to provide him with exhaustive, personalized training. "He does incredible strength training."

It's not unusual to see him hitting the gym before leaving to train with the group or upon returning. It's also not unusual, depending on the stage of the season, for him to participate in the reserves' recovery workouts, which are more intense than those of the starters. "I think it was Thierry Henry who said that hard work and discipline are talent. I really like this idea because I identify completely. I'm a talented player, but not full of talent. I don't have a huge margin. So it's good to see my efforts paying off," Kounde told The Parisian.

"The system of play, the winning dynamic with Flick, and having established himself in the full-back position also help to understand his stability. As a full-back, it's true that he has a long way to go, but midfielders tend to be more worn out. His constitution, the physical work with the club's coaches and on a personalized basis," says a football and fitness trainer who worked with Barça's youth team, among other clubs. "Nutrition and rest are also essential components, as is the emotional component of feeling that you have the trust of the coach and the national team," he adds.

In fact, the mental factor (and rest) is also decisive. "Maintaining healthy habits favors the management of stress and pressure. Kounde's routines favor his performance and allow us to rule out risk factors, not only in terms of injuries, but also to foster confidence in his actions," notes Marcela Herrera, psychologist and professor of high-performance psychology. "Adjusting rest and recovery times, as well as spending time off with family or close friends, have completed a process that combines both biological and social aspects," he concludes. Against Dortmund, Kounde will play his 101st consecutive match. "Brutal," as Gavi says.