Madrid Pre Season Training Stage, Ireland, 2009
(24 Jul 2009)
The Real Madrid squad ended its 10 day stay in Ireland on Wednesday 22nd July and returned to Spain for the next stage of its pre-season preparations including the Peace Cup which features 12 clubs and will be staged between July 26th and August 2nd.
PLATINUM ONE was appointed as the club’s official pre-season partner and managed all aspects of its stay in Ireland where the club’s senior squad was located at the magnificent Carton House. The squad did 3 different training sessions most days using the new training pitches at Carton that have drawn great praise since they opened last April. The senior squad of 24 players included some of the biggest names in the modern game and the set-up at Carton House allowed the squad to do this most intensive part of its pre-season training programme in ideal surroundings and complete privacy. The new coach of Madrid, Manuel Pellegrini, declared himself extremely happy with the facilities and the management of the pre-season programme in Ireland.
The club also played one competitive match against Ireland’s leading club, Shamrock Rovers, at Tallaght Stadium in West Dublin on Monday July 20th. 11,000 people attended the match which saw Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema make their debuts for Madrid in a one nil win over their local rivals.
This is the third year in succession that PLATINUM ONE has worked with a top Spanish club on the management of its pre-season, having fulfilled this role for FC Bareclona in 2007 and 2008 when the Catalan giants were based in St. Andrew’s in Scotland.