FC Barcelona held their first training session in Dallas on Thursday evening, in very hot temperatures. A large group of fans waited for the team at the location of their training session, Southern Methodist University (SMU), despite it being a closed session.

Despite the heat, more than 40 degrees, the public waited with enthusiasm for the arrival of the Barça players, who held their first training session in Dallas, on the pitch of Wescott Field at SMU. The majority have watched the session, which lasted approximately one hour, from outside the fences or from the building adjacent to the field.

After a long day (the players departed Miami at six in the morning) and having also taken an hour and a half flight, the session was relatively mild, with rondos and exercises working on passing and ball control. Despite the defeat at Sun Life Stadium, the good atmosphere continued as usual.

The training was different for some players, such as Carmona, who worked individually with a bruised right foot that he received in the match against Chivas. Like in Miami, Maxwell and Puyol did recovery exercises on their own, while Muniesa, nursing a muscle injury that will keep him out for three weeks, watched from the sidelines. Afellay, also injured, stayed at the hotel.

The players who featured for more time in Wednesday’s match (Keita, Abidal, Jonathan, Thiago and Cuenca), completed a less intense workout than the other players.

The session started late, at eight in the evening, after the sun had already set. Even with the delay, the heat was considerable, more than 40 degrees Celsius, and the players had to continuously hydrate themselves. However, the atmosphere was less humid than Miami, where the level of oppressive mugginess was very high.

The team will train again on Friday evening at 8pm (20:00) at Cowboys Stadium, in a session open by invitation only.

Source: fcbarcelona.cat; Image: Miguel Ruiz (FCB)