“Good intensity and quality out on the pitch”

Werder have wrapped up their 2026 training camp in Zillertal, signing off from their six-day stay in Austria with a 2-0 win over VfL Bochum. After the final whistle, head coach Daniel Thioune sat down with journalists to look back on the week and assess the work his side had put in. He spoke about...

…his overall assessment of the training camp: “There’s still plenty of work ahead of us, but the lads have worked well. They’ve shown good intensity and quality out on the pitch. One thing that was particularly important was how well we defended set pieces. The younger players also had the chance to show what they can do. I can’t really find anything to complain about, apart from a few players being unavailable, which meant we had to make changes for the friendlies.”

…winners and losers from the training camp: “For me, there’s a lot in between. We’ve still got some players who need more time, and that requires patience. The new signings have confirmed the impressions we expected of them. When Salim, Paul or Mats score, they’ve clearly made an impression and made good use of their time here. I don’t think anyone has come away from the camp worse off.”

…tiredness within the squad: “By and large, we covered everything I wanted to work on over these few days. We went into a lot of detail and did plenty of video work. Now we’ll see what next week brings. The second day was very intense and the game against Fagiano Okayama was very demanding. I knew they might look tired against fresher opposition. I wanted to see the lads dig in, and that’s exactly what they did. In the end, they didn’t look all that tired.”

…the World Cup players returning: “We’ve got some very good players coming back into the group, and that will help the team. It might also mean everyone can play in the position that suits them best. Cedric Itten will join us the week after that. Mitchell Weiser will continue to be eased back in, while Julian Malatini and Senne Lynen should also be back before too long. We’re looking forward to having Marco, Romano and Alex back next week.”

…Paul Erevbenagie: “He’s a good finisher and carries a goal threat. He benefited from a few of the wingers being unavailable and he’s made an impression. The important thing is that these young players get minutes. There’s no point in them sitting around in a training top when they could be playing for the U23s. Here, though, there were plenty of opportunities for them. And if someone pushes for a place with their performances, I’ve got no problem rewarding that.”

…Mitchell Weiser: “The plan is for him to be partially involved in training this week without any contact, and that will continue next week. Once we introduce contact, we’ll see how well his body copes with it. He’s fully part of our plans, but I don’t want to set a target date. Twelve months have already passed, so I think we can wait another twelve weeks if that’s what it takes.”

…a fresh opportunity for Skelly Alvero: “All the lads are here and have the chance to show what they can do. As long as they’re under contract, I’ll work with them and judge them on their performances. Skelly has that opportunity with me as well.”

…what comes next in training: “We need to increase the physical workload first. After that, we want to reduce the volume and focus heavily on tactical work during the second training camp. The friendly against Auxerre will then be the final test before we’re ready to go. We’ll introduce everything in small doses and make sure we don’t overload the lads.”