The German national team initially prepared for the European Championship for eleven days at the Arabella Golf Resort 'Son Vida' in Palma from May 19, 2008 . The players' families were invited for the first four days, as was the case before the 2006 World Cup , when their closest relatives were with them in Sardinia . The workouts during the preparation as found before the Euro 2000 in Stadium Son Moix of RCD Mallorca instead.
After the training camp on Mallorca , the team moved into their EM quarters on May 30th, 2008 in the five-star hotel Giardino Relais & Chateaux in Ascona, Switzerland . The training ground during the European Championship was the Centro Sportivo in nearby Tenero .
Preparation games
Before the start of the European Championship tournament, the national team played two test matches, against Belarus on May 27th and against Serbia on May 31st, 2008. Against Belarus, the team in Kaiserslautern couldn't get past a 2-2 draw. The goals were scored by Miroslav Klose and Wladimir Korytko for Germany and Vitaly Bulyga (2) for Belarus . In the second preparatory game against Serbia it was initially difficult, but after falling behind at halftime through goals from Oliver Neuville and Michael Ballack they won (2-1).