FCBARCELONA.CAT

12.08.2007 13:32

Next stop, Munich

Jordi Clos

Back in Barcelona after the Asian tour, Frank Rijkaard’s side now prepares for the trip to the Allianz Arena. There they will face their first really big test of the year, Bayern Munich.

The Barça group touched down at El Prat at 3.00 am and, following the extended stay in Hong Kong, will have a day and a half to rest before they fly to Germany.

First contact

The first training session back in Barcelona will be at 7.00 pm, and will be the first one involving the tourists and the players that reported back to training late due to their participation in the Copa America, Messi, Milito and Márquez, who have been training all week at La Masia. The trio are expected to among the group that travels to Bavaria to play in the Beckenbauer Cup.

Trip to Germany

There will be a further training session on Tuesday morning before the squads jets off at 4.00 pm to take part in a game being played in honour of Mehmet Scholl, one of the club’s finest players of recent years and who has retired aged 36 years. Kick off is at 6.00 pm and Barça will be flying straight back that night, arriving around midnight.

Top notch soccer

The game with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena is the first for Barça against one of Europe’s highest ranking sides. Managed by Othmar Hitzfeld, the club has just signed Frenchman Franck Ribery, Italian Luca Toni and the top scorer at the 2006 World Cup, Miroslav Klose as they seek to bounce back from a poor fourth place in last season’s Bundesliga. Rijkaard however, does not think it is “a test, but just one more preparatory match”. The league programme starts on the 25 or 26 of August.