World Cup

out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Osorio heard about Boullosa’s work and brought her along to take care of the diet and nutrition of the squad.

“Every player has specific needs, not just based on his position but also based on his physique and his performance in training and in games. It’s not the same for someone who played 90 minutes, to someone who stayed on the bench. We take every variable into account to make sure every player gets what they need,” Boullosa said.

The nutritionist is also responsible to monitor the nutrition supplements for the players to avoid any chance of doping violations. She said everything was supervised by a laboratory in Germany before the World Cup.

The team did not ingest any red meat from Mexico to avoid any chance of positive tests for clenbuterol, a banned substance that is widely used by Mexican ranchers as a growth enhancer.

In 2011, five players from Mexico’s squad tested positive for clenbuterol, among them Guillermo Ochoa, the starting goalkeeper in this World Cup. The country’s federation ruled the positive tests were caused by contaminated meat. More recently, Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez tested positive for the same substance, forcing the postponement of his rematch with Gennady Golovkin.

“We started consuming red meat since we arrived in Denmark,” Boullosa said. “Players are carnivorous by nature, and they are happy to get the red meat back on their diet, and in nutrition terms it was also important because it has great bioavailability, and we had it banned while in Mexico.”

With red meat available, players can now eat all their favorites, and that includes tacos.

“We brought a lot of food, and we also brought a chef to make every dish as the player likes it. We are making corn tortillas that taste like glory,” Boullosa said. “Players ask for their quesadillas and their tacos, and that really helps psychologically, because you bring them closest to home.”