Ben Young has been a part of a World Cup, a Euros and is now helping the greatest player of all time.
Young, 37, is Inter Miami’s Head of Strength and Conditioning with the club boasting a stellar cast list including Lionel Messi plus the likes of Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. But Young - who graduated with a sport and exercise science degree from the University of Gloucestershire - started his career in rugby under Eddie Jones at Saracens before moving into football.
Young worked with the Lionesses at two World Cups, a Euros as the lead physical performance coach and was part of Gareth Southgate ’s set-up at the Qatar World Cup before moving to Miami in January 2023. His role in sport has become irreplaceable, a huge part of football and the likes of Messi - especially at the age of 36 - are benefitting from Young’s expertise as he looks after strength and conditioning, player loading and rehabilitation.
Young said: “Messi is first in, last out, a true professional. He does his own individual activation and strength sessions, he will even be in training the next day after being away in an international camp in Argentina.
"He’s in his rhythm, his routine and that is why he’s at the top and has stayed there. He ticks all the boxes, he pushes himself but also does all his recovery work.
“We always want to make sure that the players can thrive in the most intense parts of the game and you do that by the training we expose them to. We systematically expose the players to various training stimuli that mimic the demand of the game and when appropriate we exceed the game demands to ensure they are completely prepared for the toughest of moments.
“To offset this work we are also continually educating the players on the importance of recovery, nutrition and make sure your recovery is good and sleep in that process to make sure they can keep training and playing at that intensity. Messi is getting individual treatment, massage and recovery which shows the importance of having people close to you who you can rely on.”
Messi’s arrival has made Inter Miami the hottest ticket in town and the world ’s greatest player is helping transform the sport in a way that David Beckham did with La Galaxy. Young said “With the World Cup coming up in 2026, it’s really exciting to be a part of it. Football here is just incredible and the sport is growing so much.
"I personally love America, after the 2015 World Cup, I travelled around North America and always loved it for the show they put on around every sport. I love the country for its different states and different cultures in every state."
Young, a dad of two whose family now live in the States, has great experience having worked at the Football Association and with some of football’s biggest names. But within that comes one of the biggest qualities which is trust. Close relationships are vital for a coach in his field.
Young added: “Without trust, you can’t ask the player to buy in. It’s about meeting the player at the right level and then beginning that coaching relationship of both challenge and support.
“Some athletes want to do absolutely everything they can on and off the field, other players you have to slowly influence by supporting them and adding value into their routine. Once you have trust and buy-in you can start to influence their training to ensure they are achieving their targets.
“Football is getting more and more demanding. The game is getting faster, more intense and the players get through more work in every game.
“So I think all the guys now appreciate the importance of the physical training and unfortunately even the players that do not enjoy the physical work often might become believers after they have an injury. If you were working with only one player and you only had one game per week it would be a fairly simple role, but it can get quickly complex as you have up to 30 players which will be all in different physical states and have different needs.
“Some players will be playing regularly, some maybe regular players off the bench and some might not be playing regularly but need to be ready and 100% when they get called up. In addition, you then add multiple games per week, travel and injuries you can start to understand the complexity of getting and keep a squad fit throughout a gruelling season.
“That’s where it becomes difficult and a challenge, but it is a hugely enjoyable and rewarding one!”
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