VfB back in training

On Tuesday, VfB head coach Sebastian Hoeneß led his team’s first training session of the new year. “The break did us good and we all spent some time with our families,” he said. “But I won’t lie – on 29, 30 December I was already itching to go again.” Hiroki Ito, Wooyeong Jeong, Silas and Serhou Guirassy were all absent as they are currently on international duty (at either the AFC Asian Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations).

Preparations in Cannstatt

VfB will gear up for their first Bundesliga assignment of 2024 – at Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday 14 January at 17:30 CET – in Cannstatt. “We don’t have a lot of time and we’ve got good training conditions available to us here,” said Hoeneß. “That’s why we decided to do our preparations here at home. There won’t be a lot of building up to do. The boys’ fitness levels shouldn’t have dropped off too much. Having said that, it’s still been a few days since they had a ball at their feet so we’ll get them back in the groove.”

Despite the rainy conditions, numerous VfB fans were in attendance to watch the first open training session of the year. “That was unbelievable and I’m delighted that so many spectators were there as it gives us that little bit more motivation,” continued Hoeneß, who was satisfied with his charges’ efforts: “Pascal scored the first goal of the year in training and Waldi’s team won the tournament. The atmosphere is good.”