BARCELONA, SPAIN - RIT Head Coach
Bill Garno reports from Spain, where he and the RIT men's soccer team are having a great time, training for the 2010 season. Here is a day-by-day account from Garno, as of Sunday, August 8. Check back for more updates from Garno and players, as the trip continues until Thursday, August 12.
Wednesday, August 4
The team was met at the Rochester airport by RIT Senior Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Mary Beth Cooper, who wished the team a safe and productive trip and provided each member of the team with an RIT water bottle. RIT soccer alumnus Dave Gregg joined the team for the trip as the representative from the company that organized the tour, Soccer Europa.
The departure wasn’t without some initial concern. Two days before the trip, senior midfielder
David Vogt (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) sustained a major injury in the final minutes of the team's training session at RIT. Due to the nature of the injury, it wasn't until the last few minutes before the team was ready to board in Rochester that Dave was cleared to travel with the team by the team's medical staff. Although a massive disappointment for Dave and the team that he will miss most if not all of the season, everyone was relieved that he was able to travel with the team on this once in a lifetime tour of Barcelona.
After an uneventful trip from Rochester to JFK, the team was on its way to Barcelona via Madrid.
Thursday, August 5
The team landed in Barcelona after 17 hours of travel and were met by their Spanish hosts from Soccer Europa, Laura and Jordie. The bus trip from the airport to the hotel in Barcelona provided a glimpse of the beautiful surrounding area, as well as a glimpse of the team’s primary training facilities at La Universidad Barcelona.
The team was honored with the opportunity to have our first training session of the tour on the grounds of RCD Espanyol, one of the two big professional teams from Spain’s top league, La Liga. The facilities were first class, and despite anticipated fatigue from the trip (most of the team had 3-4 hours of sleep during the flight) and jet lag, the team had a very energetic training session, undoubtedly spurred on by the excitement of the environment and opportunity.
After a terrific late night dinner (10:30 p.m., traditional in Spain) at the hotel, the team got some much needed rest.
Friday, August 6
After an 8 a.m. team breakfast (another great meal…the food at the hotel has been great!), the team traveled to La Universidad Barcelona, for its first of three training sessions led by Dani Sanchez, professional coach with RCD Espanyol and CE Mataro. Dani stressed the importance of technique with tactics (always!), saying “this is the Spanish way”, and giving credit to the historical ties of Dutch and Spanish futbol in large part brought about by the great Johan Cryuff, who played and coached for Barcelona FC in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
After training, the team spent the afternoon exploring the area around the hotel in Barcelona. After observing the training session of Espanyol’s Segunda B team (2nd team), the team returned to the hotel for dinner followed by more sightseeing and experience of the Catalonian culture in the city of Barcelona, including a walk down the famous Las Ramblas.
Saturday, August 7
After breakfast, the team took a short walk from the hotel to the world famous Camp Nou, home to reigning UEFA Champions League champions, FC Barcelona. The team toured the museum and stadium of one of the most storied clubs in the world. This was truly an awesome experience.
After Camp Nou, some members of the team returned to the hotel for rest, while others took their first trip to the beaches of Barcelona. This was followed by another team training session, dinner at the hotel, and another walk down Las Ramblas.
Sunday, August 8
After another early breakfast, the team took the metro (subway) and a bus ride up the coast for a day in Lloret de Mar. After a training session at the facilities of a local club, the team spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the beaches and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. The day included a scenic boat ride up the coast to Torre del Mar. After the return trip, the team had dinner at the hotel and called it a night as everyone was looking forward to some much needed rest.
Monday is a big day. After another light training session at La Universidad Barcelona with Dani Sanchez, the team will play it’s first of two international friendly match at the home field of local professional side, Palamos FC.