Almost three weeks after having trained last, SV Werder Bremen’s Bundesliga players returned to the training pitch on Thursday afternoon. On the way to the pitch, the lads who had not seen each other in a while due to holiday had plenty to catch-up on. Pitches four and five saw the start of the preparation for the second half of the 2022/23 campaign.
After a short warm-up, the Green-Whites focused on different match situations. The coaching staff created various different tasks in with having a spare man or being a man down, which the boys had to find solutions too. At the same time, the goalkeepers trained with their coach Christian Vander. Jiri Pavlenka and Michael Zetterer went between the posts for some match situations with their teammates.
Felix Agu and Manuel Mbom, who both trained individually, were not present, with the latter expected to be gradually reintroduced into team training next week. Niclas Füllkrug and Milos Veljkovic are both taking a few days extra holiday to allow them to catch up physically and mentally, just as the rest of the squad were entitled to. The two World Cup players will soon be back on their way to training.
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— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) December 8, 2022
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— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) December 8, 2022
As well as journalists and a few supporters, head of scouting and professional football Clemens Fritz was also among those in attendance. “I’m glad that the lads are back fit and healthy – and there was good intensity and playfulness today,” said the 42-year-old. “We decided to take that break from training so that we could return fresh. Now we are setting the foundations to ensure we start the rest of the season well-prepared.”
Head coach Ole Werner’s side will play a friendly away at SV Meppen on Thursday, and from 23rd December the first team will take another short break before they head to Spain for a training camp from 2nd to 9th January. In the coming weeks, the Green-Whites will be looking to prepare as effectively as they can in order to get the second half of the season off to the best possible start when they visit 1. FC Köln on Saturday, 21st January 2023.
