Petersen great start

Werder players went through two training sessions on Thursday, and the plan is for more of the same in the coming days. "Now it's time to go after it. We will have two more trainings tomorrow and then on Saturday we head for the island," said head coach Thomas Schaaf. "We are going full power straight away. We are starting in all areas - techniques, tactics and fitness."

The coach said he was satisfied with the state of his transfer players. "We have some very interesting players with us," said Schaaf, who still hopes to add an offensive player or two. Manager Klaus Allofs for the first time on Thursday confirmed officially interest in Eljero Elia. "I don't want to spoil things for the public and you cannot do anything unnoticed in this business. So I would like to say here that we are interested in him and are looking right now if it's possible."

Schaaf has set high goals for the new season. "Our expectations remain the same. Certainly we want to play for the international spots," said Schaaf. And an injury-free Mehmet Ekici will play a big role in that. "Yeah, I can go full out. The individual training in June was really fruitful. I have some big expectations," said Werder's new number 10. There is also confidence in the attack as Nils Petersen scored his first goal of the new season in training. Things can continue like this.