21 December 2016
Juventus’ Italian Super Cup final plans at last took flight this morning as the team underwent a light training session at the Aspire Academy, the same facility that hosted them just two years ago.
Among the journalists, supporters and sponsors watching on, Aformer Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez, currently of Al Sadd, was at hand to offer the Juve players a warm welcome before they took the field and spoke to the various media outlets present.
But, there was not just training on the agenda for Massimiliano Allegri’s men; after being put through their paces in a brief stretching session, the Italian champions were treated to a special Qatari reception.
Set to one side of Aspire’s lush playing surfaces, a Bayt Achiar, a traditional tent of the Gulf nation, was erected to give the Bianconeri a taste of the local culture, culminating in Patrice Evra taking a falcon, the national bird of Qatar, on his arm.
Allegri’s charges are set to return to training later in the day behind closed doors with the focus expected to shift from fitness to tactics as Friday’s final against Milan begins to loom large on the horizon.
