England at home at the Bernabeu

England at home at the Bernabeu

When England play Spain at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday 17th October it will be a short drive for two of England's superstars. Although Beckham and Owen are already based in Madrid, many of the other players will also feel at home on the pitch. Over a third of the squad play for their club on the same DD GrassMaster playing surface that Real Madrid installed in 2002. This unique semi artificial surface allows the best possible playing surface to be achieved in spite of the notorious grass growing conditions of modern stadium.

With the news last week that UEFA have sanctioned the use of artificial turf for all UEFA competitions, it is important that clubs are aware that there are other options available. Lee Gladwell, Sales Manager for Desso DLW Sports Systems comments, "Mr Olsson (UEFA Chief Executive) said this week that "a good natural pitch is always the best surface but that a good artificial surface is better than bad natural turf". At Desso DLW, we are in the unique position to be able to provide both options for clubs, a UEFA approved artificial surface and DD GrassMaster, which is in essence a natural pitch. Many companies will try to influence clubs one way or the other, as they can only provide one type of product. At Desso DLW, you can be assured that our solutions are not driven by product range alone but from an informed and impartial view point".

After England return from their Spanish trip, they play Holland in February on another DD GrassMaster surface at Aston Villa's Villa Park.

Alongside the international friendly, the Rugby League tri-nations is in full swing with 5 of the 7 matches taking place on DD GrassMaster pitches. This included the first ever rugby league game played at the City of Manchester Stadium. Only 48 hours later Manchester City played a home game on the pitch which showed no signs of the wear and tear normally associated with a game of rugby, thus proving it is possible to have a good, hard wearing, natural surface in today's modern stadium.

About DD GrassMaster

A computer controlled machine injects over 20 million artificial grass fibres about 20 cm deep into a natural grass pitch. As the roots of the grass grow, they intertwine with the artificial fibres, anchoring the grass roots to give a very stable grass surface. Both UEFA and FIFA have approved this grass system for football games at the highest level.

For more information:
Rick Thorley, UK General Manager
Tel 01494 680088
rick@dessodlw.co.uk