According to Spanish newspaper El País, since Luis Enrique and Rafael Pol’s arrival this season, they have done away with excuses for not wearing GPS-equipped vests and required all the players to use these vests in training sessions.

The technology in the vests warns about injury risks by quantifying muscular fatigue values. This allows the technical staff to choose the fittest starting line-up, with the end in mind to be in the best physical shape in the last parts of the season.

The GPS controls variables such as speed, distance, accelerations and decelerations, impacts, and sprints. “These accelerations and sprints are the most important values to gauge the risk of injury,” a representative from the club said. It also provides a heat map to show where and how far the players are running.

Just last season, Barcelona had 44 muscular injuries, with nine of those muscular tears. Fifteen of these muscular injuries are located in the femoral biceps. So far this season the team has endured 20 muscular injuries, with four muscular tears and just one injury in the femoral biceps.