Bayern teams return to Trentino for pre-season

For the third year in a row, a host of Bayern teams will spend a portion of the pre-season training period by the shores of Lake Garda in the Trentino region of northern Italy. Jupp Heynckes and the first-team squad will be quartered in Riva del Garda from 15 to 20 July, but a number of the club’s junior sides will also travel to the picturesque area during July and August. The province is an acknowledged natural gem, with its breathtaking mountain scenery, picturesque valleys, glittering lakes, Mediterranean flair - and, of course, superb training facilities.

Bayern's advance guard this year is formed by the reserve team under coach Mehmet Scholl. FC Bayern II will be based in Molveno in the foothills of the 3,000m Brenta dolomite peaks, tuning up for the new fourth division season on the shores of Lake Molveno. Scholl and company face English third division outfit Swindon Town in a friendly at 5.30 pm on 11 July.

Two weeks after the reserves, the club’s U-19 and U-17 youths will also travel to Trentino. The senior youth side are staying in dolomite village Fiera di Primiero and will train in neighbouring Mezzano. The U-17 squad are quartered in the heart of the region in provincial capital Trento, named the Italian city boasting the best quality of life a few years ago.

From 12 to 18 August, the elemental force of nature takes centre stage when the Bayern U-15s get to work in Valle di Ledro. The training facility is in Locca, just a kilometre from Lake Ledro. Fans and friends of the club are warmly welcome to attend every training session and warm-up match played by the FCB teams in Trentino.

That especially applies to the senior squad, who will work out daily in the municipal stadium in Arco, 10 minutes drive from the team base in Riva del Garda. The schedule, identical to that of the last two years, includes the opportunity to collect autographs. The programme also features a friendly match on 20 July, rounding off what is once again bound to be a fruitful and idyllic week in beautiful Trentino.

For more information about Bayern’s preferred summer training region, visit http://www.visittrentino.it.