Training camp in Donaueschingen - Schaaf sees things positively

SV Werder Bremen have completed their third and final training camp for the on-going season preparations. The Green-Whites left the Öschberghof hotel in Donaueschingen Friday afternoon and headed back home to Bremen. The Day of the Fans will take place in Bremen on Saturday 11 August 2012 starting at 1 p.m. including an international test match against Aston Villa.

Head coach Thomas Schaaf saw the training camp as a positive. "We worked excellently in all three training camps as well in the days in between and played some very good games. The team worked really well together - both on and off the pitch," said Schaaf, who is "very satisfied" with the preparations until now. The coach was also satisfied with the conditions in Donaueschingen. "We haven't booked yet but it could be that we come back if they let us."

The 51-year-old coach sees a distinctive winner of the preparations. "The team. This year we had a majority of the team together relatively early. And the preparations showed that. We could work well with one another and really integrate the newcomers," said Schaaf.

Still Schaaf warned that the preparations are "no guarantee that it will continue like this automatically". The coach still refuses to talk about concrete goals for the season. "But the team has once again found an interesting game, that gives us hope. If we continue this way and approach things correctly, that is an additional strength."

The training camp was newcomer Kevin De Bruyne's first week of being with his new teammates. "I am a little tired after this week. But I feel good. The mentality is a different one than with Chelsea. The training is also somewhat different because we almost exclusively worked with the ball. Of course every player likes that the most. But you need a little bit of everything. Besides, we have a young, hungry team and I like to play football with the guys," said the midfielder.