Close season training camp at Saint Andrews

Close season training camp at Saint Andrews
FC Barcelona will hold a close season training camp between 23rd and 28th July in the Scottish town of Saint Andrews, some 90 kilometres north of Edinburgh. The team will play two friendlies against Dundee United and Hearts.

Saint Andrews, home to one of Scotland’s most famous universities, is known throughout the world as one of the birthplaces of golf. The team will be staying at the Old Course Hotel situated at the 17th hole of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of Saint Andrews, one of no fewer than six gold courses in the area.

The cradle of golf

This historic club has been in existence for more than two and a half centuries and still operates as a private club with more than 2,400 members around the world. It frequency hosts the British Open, one of the four golf Majors along with the Augusta Masters, the US Open and the PGA Championship. In recent years, Saint Andrews has been graced by golf legends such as Tiger Woods, John Daly, Nick Faldo, Severiano Ballesteros and Jack Nicklaus.

Two friendlies

During the visit, organised together with PLATINUM ONE, FC Barcelona will play two friendly matches against Scottish Premier League clubs Dundee United and Hearts of Midlothian. Hearts also won the Scottish Cup in the 2006 season. The first match will be on 26th July at Tannadice Park against Dundee United. The match against Hearts is on 28th at Murrayfield, the Edinburgh stadium where the Scottish national rugby team plays. Training will take place at the sports facilities of the University of Saint Andrews, situated some 400 metres from the hotel.

Txiki praises facilities

Director of football, Txiki Begiristain, explained to us what factors had been considered in choosing the location of this summer’s training camp: “The north of Europe is a good place to hold a close season training camp because it’s not so hot there. Also, Scotland has traditionally always been enthusiastic about football. These two reasons make the facilities of Saint Andrews an ideal place to hold the camp”. As for the two friendlies: “We’ve chosen two quality opponents. On paper, the first match is the easier of the two so that the preparation of the team is progressive”.

First time in Scotland

This will be FC Barcelona’s first training camp in Scotland. The Club started using foreign locations for pre-season training under coach Rinus Michels in 1973. The first destination was Papendhal in Holland. In the last three seasons Barça has held training camps in Peralada (Girona), summer 2004, and Aarhus (Denmark), in the summers of 2005 and 2006.