Summer is a difficult time for football fans. No matches—with the exception of a couple of insignificant friendlies—mean no spectacular goals, no poring over the rankings and no nail-biting tension. Only the odd player acquisition livens up the football scene but it is a meagre offering to assuage the real fan’s cravings. Unless, of course, you decide to up and take a holiday where football teams are having their summer training camps, and watch as, dribbling after dribbling, they prepare for the new season.
After all, holidaying with the footballers is no hardship. In Italy, summer training takes place at some pretty spectacular resorts—perfectly in tune with it being the land of the (self-proclaimed) ‘world’s most beautiful championship.’
Even better, many of these places cater as much to the teams’ needs as to the whims and fancies of football fans. They offer a packed programme of activities—from access to the training ground to street parties—that revolve around the team based there. The very best resorts provide even enough entertainment to keep the rest of the family quiet and happy, allowing the football fanatics—beg your pardon, the serious aficionados—time and peace to enjoy their favourite team. Bliss!
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Veneto
Fiorentina chose Italy’s poshest mountain resort for its ‘ritiro’ in 2009 and 2010, and Cortina came up trumps with special holiday packages for fans. The Viola team is going to spend some ten days in town from 16 to 26 July, training at the local pitch, which is usually home to the (somewhat less glorious) Cortina team. Fans can get special offers in hotels and restaurants but, more importantly, go and watch Fiorentina train and play friendlies against the Cortina and Belluno teams (tickets cost €10).
A special Viola card (priced €20 for Fiorentina season ticket holders and €50 for everyone else) gives free access to the buses linking the town centre to the training ground, free entry to the local swimming pool, ice rink and new children’s playground, and discounts on the lifts, sporting activities, amusement parks and in shops.
Assuming you don’t want to spend your entire time watching the team—OK, assuming someone else in your family doesn’t—Cortina also offers wildlife spotting walks among its forests, meadows, mountain pasture and lakes, rock climbing, mountaineering, mountain biking, flower arranging and herb gathering courses (perfect to park football-averse wives and girlfriends) and good old massages, sauna, and beauty treatments in the spa. Oh and a full calendar of activities for children.
For more information, visit www.cortina.dolomiti.org/.
Pinzolo, Trentino Alto Adige
Juventus is heading to Pinzolo, a pretty village in the majestic Val Rendena, close to the celebrated mountain resort of Madonna di Campiglio, for the fourth year in a row. The team will stay there until 21 July, training at the Pineta Pinzolo sporting club. During this period, both Pinzolo and Madonna di Campiglio are offering a special Fan Week package to Juventus supporters. It includes seven nights in a hotel or agriturismo on a B&B or half-board basis, access to the sporting club to watch Juventus train, tickets for lifts in either Pinzolo or Madonna di Campiglio and a Juventus gadget. There is also the opportunity to watch Juventus play in two friendly matches against Cisco Roma and Vicenza (tickets are sold separately by the local tourist board).
The price of the package varies from €166 to €562 per person, depending on the quality of the accommodation, the number of people sharing a room and the dates of your stay. Individual tickets to access the training grounds are also available separately at €5 each.
During the two weeks Juventus will spend in Pinzolo, the local tourist board will hold a series of team-inspired events across the village, including the street parties, music and performances of the Notte in Bianco e Nero (black and white night, named after Juventus’s colours); new players’ official presentation; and a special evening when footballers meet and greet their fans in the heart of the village.
But the rest of the family can count on some good entertainment too. Golf, mountain biking, swimming, tennis and Nordic hiking are just some of the many sports on offer. Then there are walks in the woods, ice skating, massages and treatments at the Centro Pineta. As for children, they can play at the playgrounds in Prà Rodont and Pineta, join art and crafts labs, read a book at the local library, discover the mountain through play with the local Alpine guides, join the evening baby dance in the village square and even learn how to cook. For more information, visit www.pinzolo.to.
Moena Val di Fassa, Trentino Alto Adige
Sampdoria also chose Trentino Alto Adige for its pre-season training. It will be in Moena Val di Fassa between 11 and 31 July.
This is the eighth year in a row that the Ligurian team spends in the postcard-pretty village, known as ‘the Dolomites fairy,’ which is the part of a newly recognised UNESCO World Heritage site.
Supporters can follow Sampdoria’s action as it trains at the Cesare Benatti stadium. They also have the opportunity to watch its friendly matches against the local Monti Pallidi team and the Bolzano team. A new pedestrian-only area will link the heart of the village with the training ground. Local hotels are also offering special discounts to the team’s supporters.
Moena is a particularly good choice for football fanatics with children because the village has put together a fantastic package of activities for the little ones. Think entertainment, geology labs, theatre performances, puppet shows, introduction to rock climbing and mountaineering, walks, treasure hunts—all free of charge. And if the parent(s) can occasionally detach themselves from the Benatti pitch, this is the place to go mountain biking together on easy, verdant tracks (though there are some challenging ones too for die-hard cyclists). Of course there also is great walking, hiking and riding among the woods, minigolf, fortnightly street markets and the obligatory spa treatments (great for mums).
For more information, visit www.fassa.com.