Real’s Preseason Schedule

Real Madrid’s pre-season is shaping up nicely now, with all the friendly dates announced (finally) but no word yet from the league on next seasons fixture list. That should not come as a surprise though, the LFP are always slow to release the schedule. Were European Champions, lets celebrate! is probably the vibe going through the office right now. So here is the schedule:

14-19 July: Team building in Algarve, Portugal
21-31 July: Training in Irdning, Austria
2 August: friendly match against Hamburg SV (Emirates Cup)
3 August: friendly match against Arsenal (Emirates Cup)
7 August: friendly match against Independiente Santa Fe, in Bogota, Colombia
12 August: friendly match against Eintracht Frankfurt, in Germany
Spanish Supercup against Valencia, 2 matches
27 August: the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy against Sporting Lisbon

Here is some of the highlighted adventures the Real squad will be on this summer:

Team camp in Portugal and training in Austria
On 14 July the squad will regroup for five days of family fun in Portugal’s Algarve. This experience to promote and boost personal relationships will then be followed by the first stage of training.

Real Madrid will spend a few days in the Algarve before the preseason. Real Madrid have come up with a programme designed to promote the idea of their players and their families spending more time together. They will all meet at a touristic resort in the Algarve (Portugal) called Vale do Lobo. This pioneering programme will no doubt be imitated by other clubs in the future.

Established in 1962, Vale do Lobo was the first tourist resort in the Algarve. Up until then, the famous Portuguese area basically lived on agriculture and fishing, but this changed to tourism as soon as the resort was finished and another five were built. Vale do Lobo has improved throughout the years, becoming one of the best resorts in the country thanks to its golf courses, football pitches, swimming pools, beaches and services. It will be the perfect place for the squad and their families to spend the final days in their summer holidays.

Real Madrid will arrive on 14 July and the entire resort will be available only to them.

Vale do Lobo provides its residents with a unique experience thanks to the beaches that surround it, the countless sports activites they can do, its international cuisine restaurants and a wide variety of services. The players and their families will be able to relax while playing golf on either of the resort’s two 18-hole courses prior to travelling to Irdning (Austria) once again for the toughest part of the preseason.

Golf, tennins, football… Real Madrid will be able to use the resort’s top-notch sports facilitiers to start preparing themselves for the hard season that is to come. They will return to Madrid on 19 July and leave for Irdning on the 21st.

For five years running, Real Madrid will return to Irdning, Austria for the most strenuous part of the preseason; ten days (21-31 July) of a strict training regimen during which the internationals will progressively return from vacation after being eliminated from the Euro. Only those who make the final or are participating in the Olympics will miss the beautiful Austrian scenery.

Emirates Cup:
After 11 straight days of training, the team will fly straight to London for the Emirates Cup organized by Arsenal. This year’s participants also include Juventus, and Hamburg.

Real Madrid’s participation in the Emirates Cup is creating a huge buzz, so much so that no tickets remain for their much anticipated match against Arsenal.

The preseason tournament scheduled for August 2nd and 3rd will pit Real Madrid against Hamburg and Arsenal. Teams receive three points per victory, one per draw, and one per goal scored.

The Whites will be back in the Spanish capital on 4 and 5 August, but the following day are booked on a flight to Colombia to play Independiente Santa Fe on 7 August in Bogota. The team will return home until 10 August, when they again leave Madrid for Germany.

Columbia Trip:
On 7 August Real Madrid will visit Colombia for their preseason friendly against Independiente Santa Fe. Pedja Mijatovic and Javier Lozano spoke to the Colombian press about the upcoming match.

Pedja Mijatovic:
“The match against Santa Fe is very important for us because we’ll be in the middle of our preseason. We expect all our core players to be there, starting with goalkeeper Iker Casillas. I do have to reiterate, however, that there are negotiations underway with some players, and those that can leave the team around that date will not travel.”

Javier Lozano:
Visiting Latin America through Colombia is an honor and a pleasure for two reasons: first, because Real Madrid competes in Spain but has global presence, and second, because Colombia holds us in high regard and are very fond of us.”

“Real Madrid isn’t coming as a tourist. Madrid always has its prestige, image, and respect for the world on the line. The match will be played on 7 August and the first official match back in Spain is on 14 August. This will, therefore, be a good test.”

“Bernd Schuster will treat the match in Bogota as an official match. Santa Fe are representing Colombia and we hold them in the highest regard and admiration.”

German Friendly and Spanish Super Cup:
Before the Spanish Super Cup, Madrid are scheduled to visit Eintracht Frankfurt on 12 August at the Commerzbank-Arena in what will be a rematch of the fifth European Cup title won by the Madridistas (Puskas, Gento, Santamaría, Alfredo Di Stéfano). During the last two weeks leading up to the start of La Liga, the Whites have a tie against Valencia for the first title of the season.

Santiago Bernabeu Trophy:
The final test of the preseason is none other than the Santiago Bernabéu Trophy played at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on 27 August. This year’s tribute to the great Real Madrid President will be played against Sporting Club Portugal, who just celebrated their centenary last season.

It looks like an exciting preseason. The Algarve is a hot spot for just about all football teams, but Real get their players the best of the best, judging by those pictures. That golf course looks incredible, makes my mouth water. Irding will follow normal precedure of the past few years, with Schuster picking out some easy friendlies for the boys to get back into match shape with. The Emirates Cup is a big deal, because its a great spot to try out your youngsters. I can remember seeing the great young players of Arsenal, Valencia and PSG last season, and will look forwad to this years tournament.

The trip to Columbia and Germany are symbollic if nothing more, but will be fun to watch. The main thing is the Super Cup and Santiago Bernabeu trophy, which I want us to win. It will set the tone for the season ahead, which will be a big one. Until those days comes, I will keep everyone up to date with whats going on with with Castilla team next week, if I can sift through all the Spanish articles I have. One thing is for certain, Nieto is off the Almeria, in the same type of deal all our youth players have. He joins Callejon and Adrian as the most recent departures to La Liga from the academy. Goodluck Nieto!

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Category: Team News