The VfB first team got the ball rolling on their preparations for the 2024/25 season on Thursday morning, with a mix of familiar faces and newcomers on board.
The aim of the coming weeks is to gear up for a campaign in which VfB will return to the European stage – and the team is ready to put in the hard yards. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing the boys again for a while now and I’ve definitely been raring to go for the last few days,” said Atakan Karazor.
“Everyone spent the six weeks we had off in their own way, with their partners or families, and now we’re back to our day-to-day lives together,” he continued. “It was a lot of fun training again today, kicking a ball around with the lads and being in the dressing room – we just want to get going.”
Josha Vagnoman, Nikolas Nartey and Dan-Axel Zagadou donned their boots and were involved in parts of Thursday’s session. “They’re always in the changing room with us anyway, but having them out on the pitch again is obviously a boost for us,” said Karazor.
The start of training also arrived at the perfect time for head coach Sebastian Hoeneß: “I arrived here in a really positive mood; seeing the team today was just fantastic.” Although they did feel the absence of the fans’ support at the season’s opening training session, “we’ll make up for it on Sunday or on Tuesday next week at the latest,” Hoeneß explained. “The sense of anticipation is huge, and I can tell that the boys are raring to go. It’s time to get going.”
Friendly on Sunday
The VfB first team will wear the new 2024/25 home jersey on Sunday in their first pre-season friendly of the summer against FSV Hollenbach. “There’ll be a lot going on, and it’ll be interesting for our new players to see what kind of noise our fans make at a friendly,” said Hoeneß. “We’re looking forward to it; it’ll be a great way to start. I’ve already seen the jersey and I like it. It’s classic – and I mean that in a positive way.”