A Busy Start – Cifuentes Gets To Work With The Foxes

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A Busy Start – Cifuentes Gets To Work With The Foxes

Martí Cifuentes took to the dugout for the first time as Leicester City Manager on Saturday, casting an eager eye over his new squad as they claimed a 1-0 win over Hungarian side Zalaegerszeg.

2025-07-20T17:00+01:00

by Sam Stevens

Published

20 Jul, 2025

A Busy Start – Cifuentes Gets To Work With The Foxes

Martí Cifuentes took to the dugout for the first time as Leicester City Manager on Saturday, casting an eager eye over his new squad as they claimed a 1-0 win over Hungarian side Zalaegerszeg.

Sam Stevens

2025-07-20T17:00+01:00

A Busy Start – Cifuentes Gets To Work With The Foxes

Martí Cifuentes took to the dugout for the first time as Leicester City Manager on Saturday, casting an eager eye over his new squad as they claimed a 1-0 win over Hungarian side Zalaegerszeg.

Sam Stevens

2025-07-20T17:00+01:00

A Busy Start – Cifuentes Gets To Work With The Foxes

Martí Cifuentes took to the dugout for the first time as Leicester City Manager on Saturday, casting an eager eye over his new squad as they claimed a 1-0 win over Hungarian side Zalaegerszeg.

Sam Stevens

2025-07-20T17:00+01:00

A Busy Start – Cifuentes Gets To Work With The Foxes

Martí Cifuentes took to the dugout for the first time as Leicester City Manager on Saturday, casting an eager eye over his new squad as they claimed a 1-0 win over Hungarian side Zalaegerszeg.

Sam Stevens

2025-07-20T17:00+01:00

A sharp strike from Jordan Ayew in the 70th minute made the difference, ensuring the Foxes’ perfect pre-season run rolled on in western Hungary.

But beyond the scoreline, there was plenty for the Blue Army to savour – not least the long-awaited return of Abdul Fatawu. Sidelined for eight months, his reappearance will have been a welcome sight for those watching on from home. Twice denied a dream comeback goal by ZTE ‘keeper Bence Gundel-Takács, the Ghanian's hunger and sharpness were clear to see – and the goals will surely follow as he edges back to full match fitness.

Shot-stopper Jakub Stolarczyk was called into action on occasion, but was up to the task. There were encouraging interchanges throughout the contest too. The Academy was once again healthily represented across the 90 minutes as well, with youth possibly going to offer an exciting option throughout the coming season.

For Cifuentes, it was an early chance to test ideas on his new group – over 20 players earned minutes in front of a lively home crowd, offering the Manager glimpses of the tools at his disposal. This was our third outing of the summer, but the first under his watch, marking the beginning of a fresh chapter with clear purpose. “What is non-negotiable from day one,” he said earlier this week, “is we’re going to try to be an attacking team, and we’re going to try to be dominant. We want to be the team that is dictating the game, that will never change.”

It’s been a whirlwind start for the new man at the helm. Arriving in Seagrave just days ago, Cifuentes wasted no time, meeting his squad for the first time and diving straight into training on home soil before heading abroad. Within hours, the Foxes were boarding a flight to Austria, landing in Graz ready to work.

Under the hot summer sun, Cifuentes and his assistant Xavi Calm put the squad through their paces – sharp passing drills, precision crossing, relentless shooting sessions. By Friday, the training pitches were busy again, sweat and focus in equal measure. But in a pre-season like this, recovery and spirit are just as vital as tactics. With that in mind, after a day of graft, the Foxes switched boots for trunks and headed to the pool for some water polo – part recovery, part camaraderie.

As the sun sets, the group winds down together. Team dinners give way to fierce competition around pool tables, table football, and even Mario Kart. UNO remains a dressing-room favourite, with Cifuentes watching on as the likes of Ricardo Pereira and Jakub Stolarczyk battle it out in the communal areas.

This camp isn’t just about sharpening fitness or fine-tuning tactics – although clearly that remains a priority with the new campaign looming – it’s also about building bonds strong enough to weather the season ahead.

Hamza Choudhury, back from loan this term, said on Friday: “I think it’s essential for team bonding to get away from your normal surroundings because our team are quite close I’d say. There’s a lot of friendships and everyone gets on, so it’s nice for us to spend downtime together and just have a laugh. It’s so important when you’re going into such a big season.”

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