Paul Lambert`s squad left for a week-long training camp in Germany today where they will play a crowdlessfriendly against a Verbandsliga team.
Of the German football league`s 21-level pyramid, the U`s will face a side in the sixth teir, behind closed-doors, as they prepare for the next League One campaign.
They will do so in a training camp similar to the one used by the Argentinean national team the World Cup 2006, also held in Germany.
As confirmed in the EADT paper over the weekend, Colchester currently have one of the biggest squads in League One, yet bigger is not always necessary for success.
Burnley won promotion from the Championship to the Premier League last season with just eighteen players on their roster last season.
Colchester travel to Germany specifically because of manger Lambert`s experiences as a player with Borussia Dortmund, where he won the 1997 European Champions League.
The full pre-season fixtures:
11/7/09 Tiptree – Colchester 2-3 (W) R
21/7/09- Colchester – Aston Villa
23/07/09 – Heybridge – Colchester
25/07/09 – Ipswich – Colchester
28/07/09 – Histon – Colchester
30/07/09 – Ebbsfleet – Colchester
1/08/09 – Rushden & Diamonds – Colchester
Weekend fixtures kick off at 3pm and midweek fixtures at 7.45pm.
Which games are you attending?
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Hope they get some hard-work in and then come back and thrash Villa!
Is it an Aston Villa XI, or the first-team?
Well, doesn’t say XI so am guessing some of the first team at least.
Bit like Bolton a while back in pre-season?!
Most likely…