FCBARCELONA.CAT

16.07.2009 10:39

Preseason materials under control

Jesús Carrillo

The players are not back yet, but work has already started on preparing for the preseason. The people in charge of the team’s equipment are getting everything ready for the trip to London and the US tour.

The shirts for the five games to be played in London and the United States, the materials required for the training sessions, the boots the players will wear, towels, tracksuits, anoraks, training kit for players and staff – there is a lot to be considered by two men who have been in charge of the first team equipment for many years: José Antonio Ibars and Josep Maria Corbella.

Everything new

This morning much of the equipment the players will be taking to London and then to the west coast of the USA arrived from London. Josep Maria Corbella explained that “we get new material every year and replace everything after a certain period. Apart from the kit used in games, we also have to think about what the weather will be like in London, whether it’ll be cold and wet, or whether it’ll be very hot. We have to think about these days many days in advance”.

Training gear

The kitmen don’t only look after work clothes, sportswear and casual gear, but also all the things the players use on the pitch, such as “cones, four different coloured sets of bibs, a pair of boots for each player, things for cleaning them and for mending them if they break. We have to be on top of all these things”.

Match shirts

Barça have two games in London, against Tottenham and Egypt’s Al-Ahly. For those games “we will take different kits for each game. One will be the normal home kit and the other will be the new away kit, which was worn for the first time against Deportivo in the last game of last season. Then there are the shorts and socks, and everything else we need for the games. The only difference regarding the shirts is that they have numbers but not the names of the players wearing them. They’ll be numbered from 1 to 30”.

55 people

As well as the footballers, the party heading for the British capital will also be Corbella and Ibars’ responsibility. “There will be about 55 people, including players, coaches, doctors, physiotherapists, treatment specialists, press officers and others. So we also have to make sure that their work clothes are taken as well”.