Moena is finally ready for Fiorentina

Although Fiorentina has begun its preseason camp, everybody is still in Florence. This breaks a tradition going back I don’t know how many years of the club retreating to the far northern town in the Trentino/Südtirol province to spend a month training, playing friendlies, relaxing, and getting to know everyone in the cool and beautiful mountains before returning to the Tuscan heat.

The reason for the delay isn’t anything in the team’s control, though. Rather, the region was hit by slow-moving storms that caused some pretty serious flooding, rendering the streets unpassable, much less the pitch at the Campo Sportivo Carlo Benatti. The damage to the entire Val di Fassa has been considerable:

However, the local authorities have worked tirelessly to set things right. The road over the Dolomites has been reopened, phone and internet services are expected to be back online shortly, and the Benatti has been deemed enough for athletes to train on it (which, holy crow that must be the best-drained field in the world). Crews are continuing to clean debris out of buildings in the city center and should be done with Moena in the next day or two, after which they’ll tackle the more remote parts of the area.

The team will probably finish the week training at the Centro Davide Astori before making the trip up north over the weekend, then resume usual activities there—including friendlies against local amateur side Fassa Calcio, Serie D side US Burgo, Serie C side Vincenza, and Serie B side Venezia—on Monday or Tuesday.