Halo rekan-rekan. Hanya sekedar mengumpulkan informasi dari beberapa situs yang pernah saya kunjungi berkaitan dengan Arsenal Training Facility.Tempat latihan Arsenal diklaim sebagai pusat latihan terbaik di Inggris saat ini. Bahkan tim nasional Inggris pun menggunakan fasilitas latihan ini guna mempersiapkan pertandingan yang dilangsungkan di London. Tulisan ini dibuat bukan hanya untuk menonjolkan sisi kemewahannya tetapi dari sisi bagaimana sebuah tim dibangun dimulai dari latihan dengan fasilitas yang memadai. Mudah-mudahan bisa menambah wawasan dan syukur-syukur informasi ini bisa dimanfaatkan untuk kemajuan sepakbola Indonesia.
Go Arsenal FC, Go sepak bola Indonesia
Berikut ini adalah hasil rangkuman tulisannya.
Backgorund
When Arsene Wenger first arrived he was shocked that a club the size of Arsenal did not own their own facilities. In 1997 the Arsenal board agreed to Wenger's request and set the wheels in motion to create a purpose built facility where the club could train uninterrupted with the best facilities available. In September of 1998 Arsenal were given planning permission to construct a new complex.
Location Arsenal's new training centre is one of the most advanced sporting fitness facilities in the country. It could well be Arsene Wenger's greatest legacy to the club. Adjacent to the Bell Lane site in London Colney, the £10m unit is based on research from clubs in Europe ranging from Milan, Ajax, Bayern Munich and the French national training complex at Clairefontein. Ideas from the Far East were also incorporated, but Wenger added his own, and came up with something unique.
Utilities The first team squad along with the young professionals and Academy scholars all train on what many consider to be the best playing surfaces in the country. In excess of 60 footballers use the facility on a typical day while at the weekend the Centre stages youth team matches as well as reserve team friendlies.
Area and Facilities
The Training Centre covers an area of 143 acres, including 45 acres of forestry and 27,000 trees. At the start of the 2004/05 season, a dedicated press briefing building was opened at the site. This building, where the players and staff fulfil their media requirements, consists of 10 interview rooms and a press conference room, seating up to 100 people.
The 2,500sq metre, glazed building houses a hydrotherapy pool, treatment areas, gymnasiums and individual rooms for a doctor, manager, coaches and youth officer. At the centre of the site is the senior squad gymnasium, with an adjacent warm-up area. The wide variety of equipment ranges from exercise bikes to multi-stations. There are squad changing rooms and treatment areas, and a couple of pools and boot rooms. On the first floor there is a semi-circular kitchen and dining area, where specially prepared meals are provided.
Pitches
There are ten pitches between the trees and the training facility. Two are for high intensity use, the others for moderate and `recreational' use. All are under the watchful eye of award winning Arsenal groundsman Steve Braddock. The high intensity pitches last three times longer than 100% grass pitches. They do not divot easily, so players and coaches are assured of a smoother surface offering less chance of injury. On the heavy duty pitches, polypropylene strips have been inserted into the top 200-250mm layer (27,000 miles per pitch) to aid soil stability and drainage (there are PVC drainage pipes at 5-6 metre spacings). There is also underground heating for two of the pitches.
Sources:
http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=The+Club&article=344346&Title=Training+Ground
http://www.anr.uk.com/anr.features31.html
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-215091.html
PS:
Ngak salahnya nengok akademi sepakbola Prancis yang jadi sumber inspirasi bagi Arsene Wenger. Bisa dilihat di http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clairefontaine
