Marco Rose's Bournemouth Begins Pre-Season in Austria

The Alpine air feels a little different for Bournemouth today. It’s not just another pre-season run-out; it’s the first real glimpse of Marco Rose’s Bournemouth, with the Cherries facing German second-tier side St Pauli at the Saalfelden Arena this afternoon (15:00 BST).

New manager. New ideas. New number nine to watch.

Alvaro Rodriguez is expected to feature for the first time, offering an early look at how Rose wants his front line to function. The coach has long favoured playing with two strikers at his previous clubs, and that habit will be under the microscope here. Does he stick with a pair? If so, who gets the nod alongside the new man?

He has options. Plenty of them.

Rodriguez is joined in Austria by Evanilson, Eli Junior Kroupi, Enes Unal and Daniel Jebbison, giving Rose a varied set of senior attacking profiles to test. Power, movement, youth, experience – the combinations are there, and this quiet corner of Austria is where those partnerships will start to take shape.

One notable absentee sits on the other side of the ledger. Centre-back Veljko Milosavljevic has not travelled because of injury, a small early complication as Rose looks to build from the back while reshaping the team higher up the pitch.

The squad in Saalfelden is not yet complete, either. Rayan and Tyler Adams are both due to link up with the group later in the weekend, having been granted extra time off after their World Cup duties with Brazil and the United States respectively. Their delayed arrival underlines the staggered nature of this pre-season, but also the level of international pedigree Bournemouth now carry into camp.

For now, all eyes turn to that first whistle against St Pauli and the tactical clues it will offer. Shape, tempo, pressing triggers, the chemistry between those forwards – this is where the Rose blueprint first appears in something close to full colour.

Once the final whistle goes, the focus shifts from the pitch to the airwaves. Solent Sport will broadcast live from Saalfelden Arena after the game from 18:00 BST on BBC Radio Solent and via the BBC Sounds app, bringing reaction and detail from inside Bournemouth’s Austrian base.

By then, we’ll know a little more about what a Marco Rose Bournemouth actually looks like. The real question is how quickly this new identity can harden into something that can withstand the demands of the Premier League season waiting just around the corner.