BOLT FROM THE BLUES

Forte Village is a lucky place! And, not only that, it is the perfect spot to prepare a national football team for a major competition. In fact, the Azzurri’s victory at the European Football Championships was assured right here at Forte Village. And this has been confirmed in several TV interviews by some of the major players including Leonardo Bonucci, captain Giorgio Chiellini and above all manager Roberto Mancini. There’s no doubt then that the historic win at Wembley was born between the beach and the mountains that border the most beautiful resort in the world. Being here created a strength within the team that enabled it to fight, suffer and win.

From 24-28 May, Forte Village opened its doors to the 33 players selected by Mancini. With them came their families and the staff of the Italian national team. This was the first retreat-

holiday in the history of the national team and, given its success, we are sure it will become a regular fixture before any major international competition.

This was an unprecedented experiment by Mancini, as no resort, not even one as famous, well-equipped and luxurious as Forte Village, has ever been seen as the first stage to approaching such an important competition. The basic idea was to create a situation halfway between work and play for the team members, their families and the staff, with one main goal: to build camaraderie and to create a united team.

Here then was the perfect atmosphere for the first training sessions which culminated in a friendly match with the San Marino national team at the Sardegna Arena in Cagliari. The national team trained every day, honing their levels of fitness and perfecting the set moves required by their coach, but above all, they bonded as a group particularly when relaxing, often singing the songs that became the soundtrack to the summer 2021 competition. So, Forte Village became the birthplace of this band of brothers who resolutely climbed the peaks of the European Championship, one by one, until the final triumph over England.

Between the sea, which seemed bluer than usual (an omen of things to come, perhaps), the state-of-the-art sports facilities, offering both grass and synthetic pitches, the Performance Center, with the latest generation gym equipment and the green of the resort’s dazzling tropical and Mediterranean gardens, the Italian champions also enjoyed a brief holiday with their families: their wives relaxed on the beach and at the Aquaforte Thalasso & Spa, while their children played in the pools and in Children’s Wonderland. All came together in the evening to enjoy the cuisine of the multi-starred restaurants.

The choice of our resort was no accident. Forte Village had distinguished itself by becoming the first in the world to apply the most advanced health procedures in the field of Covid-19, which made it possible for guests to stay in total freedom, without restrictions and without jeopardising their own or anyone else’s health.

In September 2020, this was put to the test for the ATP 250 tennis. Then, the following May, the anti-Covid protocols were refined down to the smallest detail for the national football teams visit, and have been further strengthened for this season. “We are extremely proud to have hosted our extraordinary national football team,” declared Lorenzo Giannuzzi, CEO and general manager of Forte Village. “The work undertaken last year has meant we are the first resort to be able to offer guests a safe and peaceful holiday. We are happy that the whole team and their families spent a few days together in absolute safety, tranquility, relaxation and happiness and therefore to have contributed, albeit in an infinitesimal way, to the superb achievement of our Azzurri winning the European Football Championships!”