Corey Gameiro's punishing Fulham preparation
BY JOEL RITCHIE
19 May, 2010 04:00 AM
This is the sinew-snapping, muscle-busting weights regime Corey Gameiro hopes will take him to the top of world football.
The 17-year-old former Wollongong Wolf is back at his family's Port Kembla home for six weeks before returning to English Premier League club Fulham.
Gameiro's time on home soil is hardly a holiday - each day, the budding striker returns to the gym at former school Illawarra Sports High to punish his pectorals and blast his biceps to meet the demands of professional football.
The Cottagers scholar has packed 4.5kg of muscle onto his 65kg frame since February and can bench press 10kg more than his body weight.
When Gameiro is not in the gym, he throws himself into a sapping agility program to maintain his blistering speed.
"I'm the smallest at the club, but one of the fastest," Gameiro said.
"I only finished second to (first team player) Rob Milsom in the agility test.
"They want me to bulk up so I can hold up the ball a bit more and play with my back to goal a bit more.
"In England you pick up some knocks from behind, especially once they know you're fast."
Never a gym junkie, Gameiro's love of the weight room blossomed during sessions with Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who anchored Fulham's fairytale run to the Europa League final.
The Socceroos gloveman took Gameiro under his wing during the early stages at Craven Cottage.
"In the gym Mark's always pushing me to do one more set," Gameiro said.
"He's helped me out so much, he even gives me a lift back to where I'm staying.
"Mark's like a god at Fulham."
Gameiro admitted it would be some time before he joined his fellow Aussie in Fulham's first team.
"To be honest I still have a long way to go - I have trained with the reserves and the first team and I know what I have to do to get there," he said.
"I feel playing in the English Premier League could happen in the next couple of years.
"I love it, it's what I wanted to do since I was little - it's hard leaving family and friends but it's what I have to do to reach my dream."
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/sport/football-soccer/corey-gameiros-punishing-fulham-preparation/1833476.aspx