Gregory Dupont: The scientist who has turned the Real Madrid players into engines Real Madrid Brought in after France's World Cup win

When Zinedine Zidane lost faith in his fitness coach Antonio Pintus, he called Gregory Dupont and he left the French national team to join Real Madrid.

It was a way of recognising his influence over France's World Cup win, despite only arriving shortly before the tournament as he still made them fitter than their rivals.

Known as 'The Scientist' within his profession for his hobby of researching training methods, the squad at Real Madrid call him 'McGregor'.

He likes to remain in the shadows and avoids the media, though he can't shy away from stating the importance of data in his work.

Dupont defines himself as an investigator who bases his work on scientific facts.

"We can't prevent everything, but we can avoid errors, analysing the volume and intensity of work so we can have results and get the best from athletes," he explains.

"I've always wanted to associate investigations with practice, worlds that 15 years ago went on their own separate paths.

"You need to have the best data system and statistics and that's why it's good to work for institutions."

He is a member of the UEFA team for injury prevention, works for the University of Sport and Science in Liverpool and the French National Institute for Sport and Performance.

"He's the best at individual work, athletics, nutrition, everything we call invisible work, everything that involves prevention, gaining muscle and data storage," said Guy Stephan, Didier Deschamps' number two with France.

The coach also admits that he wakes up at 5:30am to cycle 35 to 40 kilometres a day in any weather to keep his fitness, showing the kind of dedication also reflected by the way he abandoned plans to move to Paris when Zidane called him to move to Madrid.