Bermuda grass, wildlife, maximum privacy and security, and stifling heat: this is Real Madrid's Valdebebas in Palm Beach.

An hour and a half north of Miami, Real Madrid has found peace and privacy in The Gardens North County , a county located in Palm Beach. In this luxurious area, specifically in Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump bought a mansion in 1985 for five million dollars, investing another three million in sprucing it up. This is exactly what Real Madrid has done with its workplace during the twenty days it plans to be in Miami until, after the quarterfinals (provided it remains in the tournament), it moves to New Jersey for the championship finale.

Real Madrid will train for the next three weeks on municipal land, which has been refurbished with two training pitches, changing rooms, a gym, cold-water tubs, a physiotherapy room, and a pair of stands, one for the press and one for VIPs. No open days are planned for ordinary fans who want to see their idols up close. Maximum security will be in place at The Gardens North County District Park , with an area cordoned off by local police and hidden from human view thanks to the dozens of tarpaulins installed by the club so the team can work in complete privacy.

A disappointing situation for the nearly 100 fans who turned up yesterday to watch training, the vast majority of them Latin American and wearing Real Madrid shirts, enduring a temperature of 32 degrees and 70% humidity, the stifling heat Real Madrid will have to live with these days in Florida.

He'll do so by working on a turf that minimizes the risk of injury, especially knee injuries. Here in the United States, Madrid has suffered serious setbacks in recent preseasons, as happened to Asensio, Güler, and Joan Martínez . The high percentage of synthetic material in the vast majority of North American stadiums has the club's medical team and its players on alert, knowing that it tends to play tricks on them. For this reason, Madrid's two training fields have been fitted with Bermuda grass, one of the most valuable types of natural grass on the market due to its resilience and regeneration, as well as its exceptional tolerance to heat and humidity, which is what's being sold in Miami this summer.

Next to the bunker that Real Madrid has built in Palm Beach , there are high-end residential areas where the surrounding homes typically cost no less than a million and a half dollars. These houses are nestled in the middle of lakes and green areas that warn of the presence of wildlife. This includes the presence of crocodiles, so typical in this part of the United States. It's a good idea to be aware of their presence to avoid unnecessary scares.

Xabi also doesn't want any scares in his debut as Real Madrid coach. The Tolosa native will only have three training sessions with his entire squad before Wednesday's debut against Al-Hilal (9:00 p.m., DAZN and Telecinco). With the return of Vinicius, Güler, and Lunin, who competed with their respective national teams on this side of the pond and, rather than returning to Madrid and avoiding a double burden of transoceanic travel, decided to travel directly to Miami, Alonso now has all his players (except for Endrick and Mendy, who have stayed in Madrid recovering from injuries that prevent them from playing in the tournament).

“We're starting a new era and we have to prioritize what's important: what we want to be, how we want to play, and how we feel about it. We want to do that from the very beginning, from the game against Al-Hilal. The first objective is to recognize ourselves,” explained Xabi Alonso, who wanted to send an optimistic message on club television as soon as he landed in Miami: “We have to speed up everything because we have very little time to get to know each other and train. We're here and Lunin, Vini, and Arda are already with us. We'll start building a team in these three training sessions. We're coming here with a lot of enthusiasm, with the hope of having a good tournament and being able to go all the way.”

That same enthusiasm is shared by the players, both those available, of course, and the injured, who are already nearing their recovery deadlines. The clearest example is Camavinga, who was already involved in the first training session in Miami, where a very active Xabi Alonso and his right-hand man in the physical department, Ismael Camemforte , were seen carrying the weight of the session. Pintus has already disappeared from that daily field work.

Carvajal, Militao, Rüdiger, and Alaba also participated in training, although it remains to be seen whether they will get playing time in the tournament. The full-back and the Brazilian are making steady progress, but not in a hurry. Their serious knee injuries require caution. In the case of the German defender, who underwent meniscus surgery a month and a half ago, he may be available for the second match, on Sunday in Charlotte (9:00 PM) against Pachuca. As for Alaba, who continues to suffer serious knee injuries and is recovering from a torn meniscus in his left leg, the club would be delighted to find a way out to save his high salary, but that's not the Austrian's intention, as he wants to see out the remaining year of his contract.

Florentino Pérez isn't in Palm Beach yet, and is expected back on Tuesday, if his schedule doesn't change. The Real Madrid president will arrive to watch the first match and the plan is for him to accompany the expedition for the rest of the tournament. The Real Madrid leader is excited about this new phase and a tournament that is marked in red for the club. Just like with the European Cup, Real Madrid wants to put its name on the list as the first winner of this super-Club World Cup, but to do that, they must first win seven matches. Step by step.