But it shouldn't have – the NAS Sports Complex has become the go-to venue for clubs and athletes looking for some winter sun.
Dele Alli was there last week as he stepped up his recovery from his latest hamstring injury that has seen him miss five games since mid-January.
The Tottenham and England star was just the latest high-profile athlete to pick the facility as the base for his recovery.
Cristiano Ronaldo was a visitor in December, Patrice Evra is a regular and Alex-Oxlade-Chamberlain, Virgil van Dijk, Novak Djokovic and Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford have all used the facility for injury recovery.
Manchester United weren't the only club to travel to the Middle East to use the facilities in January – Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers and West Brom manager Darren Moore also took their sides.
Facilities on offer
Health club and spa – Luxury facilities include everything an athlete could need to recover from injury or a training session. It has the stuff you would expect, such as a fully-equipped gymnasium, swimming pool, plunge pool, steam room, sauna and large dressing room for 25 athletes.
It also has hi-tech extras such as an altitude chamber, cryo chamber, climate chamber and a performance lab to give coaches data.
There are also full medical facilities with on-site physios and masseuses.
Two Fifa-standard football pitches – The facility has two full-size pitches with immaculate turf up to Fifa standards. One of them has an IAAF-standard athletics track circling it, while another is surrounded by trees to offer more privacy.
Sports Complex – The sports complex houses courts for a number of indoor sports, including squash, padel, beach football and volleyball as well as badminton and fencing. There's even a mosque and a Starbucks, as well as a large car park just north east of the site.
Pearl Dive Centre – Not part of the sports complex but on the same site, the shell-shaped Dive Centre houses the world's deepest recreational pool. Pearl diving is one of the favourite past-times in the UAE.
Indoor stadium – The world-class 5,840-seat venue hosts local and international matches in futsal, volleyball, basketball, badminton, boxing, fencing, gymnastics and martial arts.
United were there last summer for their pre-season tour, while Real Madrid and a host of other clubs around Europe have also held pre-season training camps at the venue.
Teams and athletes are flocking to the desert not just because of the guaranteed sunshine, but because of the world-class facilites.
The complex includes two Fifa-standard pitches, one with an IAAF-standard athletics track around the outside of it, and every hi-tech apparatus one could need for injury recovery.
The sprawling site boasts a luxury health club and spa with a fully-equipped gym.
The health club contains an altitude chamber, climate chamber, swimming pool, cryo chamber, a performance lab for real-time data and full medical facilities, including on-site masseuses and physiotherapists.
There are indoor courts for squash, padel, beach football and volleyball, as well as badminton, volleyball, futsal and fencing.
At the north end of the site is a world-class indoor stadium which hosts futsal and volleyball tournaments.
Another huge bonus is the location of the complex – just a short trip outside of downtown Dubai.
Manchester United stayed at the five-star One&Only Royal Mirage, where the cheapest rooms are £289-a-night, with the complex just a 20-minute drive away.
The site also contains a mosque and even a Starbucks coffee shop.
Robert Wadsworth, the complex's sports director told MUTV why he believed elite clubs and athletes picked Dubai.
"Warm weather training is beneficial for all athletes – particularly ones from Manchester where you don't quite get the weather of Dubai," he joked.
"Coming into warm weather training, [players] can train outside for a longer period of time, [they have] the advantage of getting Vitamin D.
"From a sports science perspective the ability to train in those hot conditions benefits athletes and teams."
Wadsworth also says that teams coming away on a trip together helps create and strengthen team spirit and the bond between players.
Solskjaer must have been doing something right, with United dropping just two points in six matches since returning.
Wadsworth added: "On top of the sports science aspect, the benefit of getting away as a team and to be together at a critical point in the season.
"Hopefully they can come together, enjoy the experience at NAS and get the most out of it in terms of training and go on to have a fantastic second half of the season."
Solskjaer was clearly delighted with how the trip went after getting home.
He said: "It was very good. We had four good days of training, so I think the boys enjoyed it.
"We put some principles down and they worked hard — they enjoy working hard."
The players also clearly loved the trip, with a number of the players sharing snaps of their trip on social media.
Romelu Lukaku took a trip to Salt Bae's restaurant Nusr-Et, while others took trips to the zoo, as Solskjaer relaxed the curfew for his players.
Celtic manager Rodgers also spoke highly of the his training camp at the facility.
"It's been great… it's nice for them socially to be together," said the former Liverpool boss.
"This gives us a chance to recharge and get some good coaching work into the players but also to really connect again – and in great weather.
"We're able to work on some aspects out here that doesn't happen so much in the domestic season."
He'd said ahead of the trip: "It’s a hard gig. Players aren’t robots.
"They are human beings and it doesn’t matter how much money the player is paid.
"For the best quality of the game you want them to be as fresh as they can be.
"We can come back mid-January feeling re-energised for the second part of the season. It will do us the world of good."
It seems Rodgers was right – after losing three of their previous six matches, Celtic have won seven out of seven since returning from the desert.
Expect many others to be doing likewise as well.
Source: Read Full Article