Reis: “Full of beans!”

A couple of weeks rest, well-deserved relaxation after an intense season. Then it was back to preparation for the new season for head coach Thomas Reis. On Monday, he gathered his players on the training pitch for the first time. Afterwards, the coach gave information about personnel and preparation.

Thomas Reis about…

…the short break: “The break was important. Of course, you didn’t have the whole time off, which is a bit different as a coach. Nevertheless, you were able to regenerate and are now full of energy again.”

…the first week of training: “This week will be a little different than usual. We want to gently build up the guys who are here. VfL now has some national players who are still away on their breaks, of course. The squad that’s available to us right now will first build up the basic substance. Of course, we’ll also do a lot with the ball. You can get to know each other, that’s not wrong either.”

…the absence of Zoller and Stöger: “Both have slight health problems. We didn’t want to take any risks there, plus we’ll ever have enough time due to the early start. I think that both can be back in the course of the week.”

…the return of the national players: “Most of the national players will start on June 27. Takuma Asano will get a little longer break. He only had a short week off after the season, then it was already off to the national team. Jacek Goralski will train here for the first time on July 4. But that’s not a problem, he has played a lot lately. Besides, he is an experienced player who will surely get used to the new tactics quickly.”

…the interaction with the fans: “We were a real unit last season. Fans and team. You saw it away from home, it was often a real home game atmosphere. The excitemnt is there, certainly ahead of this new season. We are again trying to achieve the impossible together.”

…the first friendly on Saturday: “It’s not planned that any of our players will play 90 minutes. Especially with regard to our older players. Therefore, we will certainly have one or two youth players with us. Mo Tolba, for example, who is training with us today and has already played a few test matches for us. He is scheduled for the preparation. Such talents can present themselves and take the next steps, they should get their opportunities.”