Sunderland landed in Portugal for their warm-weather training camp yesterday, with Alex Neil and his players jetting in to Faro from Newcastle. Their scheduled Ryanair flight arrived within minutes of my (delayed) flight from Leeds-Bradford and we hit the baggage reclaim at the same time.
The players wasted no time as they strode towards the waiting coach at a fair old clip with their smart suitcases in tow, but spare a thought for Black Cats kitman Steve Aziz and the coaching staff piled up like packhorses with all the boots, medical, training and match gear trundling along behind. And Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary will be rubbing his hands at the thought of those excess baggage charges . . .
While the players were straight off the plane and on to the coach, it was Uber and out for me as I headed for Albufeira. My driver Daniel was Brazilian and, as well as his first language Portuguese, he also spoke fluent French - but communication proved a challenge, since he spoke no English and even my basic Spanish was no help.
READ MORE: Sunderland include crop of youngsters in their squad for pre-season trip to Portugal
But football is a lingua franca in its own right, and and by the time we arrived in the city we had found some common ground. When I mentioned Sunderland, he immediately said 'Emerson Thome!', with a big thumbs up and a smile!
Familiar territory
There is a well-worn path from Sunderland to Albufeira, with this the fourth time the Black Cats have spent pre-season on the Algarve. Steve Bruce brought the Black Cats out here back in 2010 when they played Brighton, Hull City, and Benfica.
They returned under Gus Poyet in 2014 when they played Recreativo Huelva, Nacional, and Vitoria de Setubal. And most recently they were out here in 2019 under Jack Ross when they played Benfica B and Belenenses.
All those games have been played at the 5,000-capacity Estadio Municipal de Albufeira, and it will again be the host venue when Sunderland play Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers on Saturday evening, and Jose Mourinho's Roma on Wednesday morning.
Sunderland fans arrive
Some Sunderland fans have already arrived in Albufeira to enjoy some sunshine and a few beers before the football gets under way, although the majority are likely to arrive on Friday ahead of the Rangers game. But while there were a few red and white shirts to be seen on the main drag last night, they were far from the only colours on show.
Celtic, Roma, Rangers, Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, were all in evidence, although not in large numbers - in the Old Town, at least.
READ NEXT:
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- England striker Tammy Abraham among high profile players Sunderland will face in pre-season
- Alex Neil on difficulty Sunderland face this summer after Dan Ballard's arrival
- Five Sunderland players with a pre-season point to prove to Alex Neil
