The Algarve has yet again been chosen to host the Dutch football team for a week-long training session before a main international competition.
According to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, the Clockwork Orange squad will be fine-tuning its attack on the 2014 World Cup title between May 20 and 27 – only a couple weeks before the beginning of the competition in Brazil. But as yet the location for their stay remains a secret.
Considering the news “excellent for the Algarve”, Algarve tourism chief Desidério Silva recalled that the Dutch team chose the region as a training ground before the nationally hosted Euro 2004.
“The region has been sought after for some time by Dutch football teams for winter training sessions,” Desidério Silva continued, acknowledging that his tourist board’s “work is starting to show results”.
Louis van Gaal, the Dutch team’s coach, will feel very much at home in the Algarve as he owns a home in Vale do Lobo.
In 2012, Dutch tourists accounted for 1.4 million ‘sleepovers’ in the Algarve, making Holland one of the Algarve’s best “tourist suppliers”.
Photo: Coach Louis van Gaal owns a home in Vale do Lobo
