Essendon coach James Hird, chairman David Evans and assistant coach Simon Goodwin recently returned from a visit to the headquarters of Spanish soccer giant Real Madrid.
Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez and manager José Mourinho 'opened up the doors' for the fact finding mission, giving the Bombers entourage unparalleled access to the inner workings of one of the world's powerhouse football clubs.
Evans said it was an extremely beneficial trip that provided many key learnings.
“We certainly did get some significant jewels that we can implement into our club,” Evans said.
“The professionalism and attention to detail both in the way they train their players and the way they manage the club off the field is quite extraordinary.”
“The leadership of the club including Ian Robson, James Hird and myself have been talking about gathering some intelligence from other codes and major clubs around the world so this trip was a part of that.”
Evans said the most surprising aspect of the trip was getting an understanding of the magnitude of the club’s operations.
“It is a global brand that has supporters all over the world but the scale of the operation particularly their merchandise business as well as the way they train their players was something that very much impressed us.”
Similar to Essendon’s new High Performance Centre near Melbourne Airport, Real Madrid’s base is situated alongside the Madrid Airport.
Evans said the club's training facilities were some of the best he had ever seen in the world.
“The facility is extraordinary, it has eleven soccer pitches and the landscaping of the facility in parts is quite beautiful the way they have done it.”
“As a place of work for the coaches, players and staff, the facility is quite something for them to come to every day.”
Evans said they had extended an invitation for Mr.Pérez and Real Madrid manager José Mourinho to visit the Essendon Football Club.
“Both of those gentleman were very generous with their time and both said they would like to come and visit our new facilities.
“We would love to repay the hospitality that they showed us in our stay.”
