After another six days on the road with the feel of foreign pitches under their feet, the Bundesliga team of 1. FC Union Berlin returned home to Köpenick this afternoon from Neuruppin in Brandenburg. Numerous training sessions later and two weeks before the start of the competitive fixture, Christopher Trimmel and Rani Khedira briefly summarise their preparations so far.
“Every day at the limit”
A training camp in the summer belongs to a life in a football team as much the ball and the goals. In some years, there is a trip in winter; sometimes two trips in one pre-season programme. For head coach Bo Svensson’s team, the latter has been the case. Presented by sonnenschutz.de, they first travelled to Längenfeld in the Tyrolean mountains, before spending almost a week in Neuruppin working on their form and fitness.
“I think the preparation is going very well,” said midfielder and vice-captain, Rani Khedira in an interview with AFTV. “We haven’t had any more injuries and the team and the new coaching team are getting to know each other very well so far.”
There are many goals during a training camp; finding the right tactics, selecting the presumptive starting eleven, getting the players’ bodies to the maximum fitness levels. According to captain Christopher Trimmel, the social components should not be underestimated either.
“We do a lot together,” he said. “Whether it’s playing table tennis or going on a boat trip. The atmosphere is definitely good.” And that is particularly important, as the entire squad was able to train together for the first time. “In Neuruppin,” he continued, “all the European Championship players were finally there too.”
Today’s final training session before departure was also the final one ahead of tomorrow’s tough test against French first division side Olympique Lyonnais (kick off 17:00). Anyone wishing to see the results of the pre-season preparations for themselves can still purchase tickets for Union’s historic double matchday online or at any of Union’s Zeughaus stores.
Quote of the day: “Low Battery – Return to home.” – The drone required for the aerial shots was also tired from all the training.