The Barça players had their first training session in Abu Dhabi on Monday. However, Leo Messi stayed behind in the hotel to continue his personal recovery programme.
Despite a gruelling eight-hour flight the day before, the players reported for
training on Monday at 1 pm local time. It was a short session of just under an hour designed to
help the players adjust to the Gulf climate. The temperature here is about 25ºC so the players had
to pay especial attention to drinking enough water during training.
A change of venue
Due to pitch conditions, the training session was switched at the last moment from
the Army Stadium to the Officers Club. While his team-mates went through their paces, Leo Messi
remained in the hotel to work on his personalized recovery programme
Excitement locally
The presence of FC Barcelona in Abu Dhabi has created a lot of excitement locally and some
100 journalists and organizers watched the session, which was open to the public.
The match ball
The training session followed the usual pattern with the players who took part in
the match against Espanyol being subjected to a lighter programme. The players also got the chance
to try out the ball that will be used in the tournament and also the one that will be used in the
World Cup in South Africa, known as Jabulani.
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Next session on Tuesday
The next raining session for the Barça players will be at 6.30 pm (local time) on Tuesday. It will
be held at the Zayed Stadium, the venue for the semifinal match against Mexican club Atlante.
Shortly before the session, team manager Josep Guardiola, together with one of the players, will
address a press conference.